Why the ENVE Mog Might be The Perfect Gravel Bike!

[@rollamichael]

Great review, thanks! I rented a MOG equipped with a SRAM 2x in Girona, Spain and loved it. I probably put 300 km on it over a few days with some big ups and downs and, at one point, had to carry the thing on my back (thankfully very light bike!) as I trudged for a km or so through some farmer's wheat field. So much for the Komoot route I was following!

[@jimc5696]

Would be great to hear David compare this to the Scott Addict Gravel he seems also very fond of.

[@thecappy]

Reminds me of the Salsa Warbird. Gravel race bike with bikepacking mounts.

[@rupertlangdon2246]

Hotchillee Ekoi StoneCircle event was an amazing route. Had 50mm tyres on an aluminium frame grizl at 23/24psi (on your wide tyre advice) for 93kg all in weight so sure the mog would be v comfy with bigger tyres.

[@davidarthur]

Thanks for the info!

[@rayF4rio]

With the cost of frames today, every bike sold should come stock with a chain keeper (1x) or chain catcher (2x). If not, be smart and put one on. You're just as likely to drop a chain as you are to flat on tubeless, and we all carry all sorts of gear for flats.

[@StanEby1]

Very adept assessment. Thanks very much. All the best.

[@colnago6501]

The Melee is an astonishing bike to ride, so I have no doubt the MOG is a cracker. If I could afford both I'd buy them. ENVE have nailed ride comfort and performance.

[@martinhudobivnik5895]

How do you make sure that tyres / tyre pressure don't affect your comparison to other bike frames? Because from my experience, the same bike can go from "harsh" to "comfy" and "compliant" with a bit of pressure change.

[@davidarthur]

I try and swap around and run the same tyres and wheels as much as I can to help in that regard. I've also tested a lot of these bikes on same size tyres and I use the same tyre pressures. Sometimes tyre pressure can help a lot but some of the racier bikes I mentioned were still uncomfortable even with super low tyre pressures

[@MrIsaac-dh3uh]

i love it when David says "...riders like US." David, I have news for you; you can drop us all! LOL! The Mog appears to be trying to capture the gravel comfort/race/tour bike category. Hey, I know those three guys!

[@CaptainT8TR]

couldn't agree more about the dust. washed my bike the other day, then promptly got back on some gravel to get it dusty again. it just felt right!

[@Hippiehansie]

And again a bicycle that is totally priceless for the common man! I just bought an almost new used canyon ultimate , put fat tires on it and you have the fastest gravel bike out there . And much more affordable than 5500 for a frame

[@PaulFrost35]

I'm not at the pointy end of gravel races and I don't want to bikepack, just adventurous day trips and participate in things like the Gralloch and the Trakka. I live in the Scottish Highlands and I want light weight, top tube mounts, downtube storage and able to handle the rougher end of gravel with some level of comfort. I thought the Mog would tick all those boxes, but you seem to be saying it's not very smooth and that the Crux is smother. But most reviews of the Crux highlight how stiff and fast, but not so comfortable it is. I'm confused.

[@ryanolson8295]

Yeah have to run something like the k-edge chain retention, I run that with my 1x SRAM set up.

[@ketle369]

Shouldn’t have mentioned Stonehenge. Now it’s all I can think 🤔 about.

[@jonpoon3896]

Not a fan of race organizers making people put number plates on the handlebar. Aero setup with fully integrated negated by a number plate

[@keepingtherubberdown5715]

Didn't you just say the Vitus was the do it all? And before that Revolt and so on.. Which one is it Dave? 🤣 I think they are all so very similar now it comes down to choosing tire specs and bikepacking or racing.. I have the Cervelo Aspero and Revolt AP0 both with SRAM 1X. And love them both!!

[@rudyelizondo1935]

Good vid Bro, which is better, Crux or Mog? Which is smoother ride?

[@hdenjoy6783]

Hi David, great review as usual. I know the Melee is coming as well and was wondering if you could compare the bike to the specialised Aethos, as I know you you tested and loved that bike? I currently have the former and I also love it, but I am sitting on the fence rummaging with the idea of selling the Aethos and getting a Melee…..

[@changpark5518]

I have…had 2 Aethos (one Sworks and one Expert), Sworks Tarmac, and Melee and from my experience on them with an identical set of wheel/tire/pressure is: 1) Aetho is a bit less aero, more complaint, and lighter version of a Tarmac with same geometry. I consistently registered about 0.2 mph slower average speed on my Aethos. 2) Melee is a Tarmac with more tire clearance and slight higher stack height. I thought the ride quality was very similar as well. A minor issue I have with Melee is the -7 degree stem angle. I have it slammed with no spacer under the stem, and the stack height of the bar is about 15mm higher than my Tarmac (set up with a spacer and a -12 degree stem) 3) Crux very much feels like a gravel version of Aethos but MOG feels slightly more compliant. MOG also feels a bit faster but I ‘m running a 40cm Enve aero AR bar on MOG and a 42cm Roval Terra bar on the Crux, so it’s not a fair comparison. I thought the Crux does feel slightly snappier and more responsive than the MOG when pedaling out of the saddle.

[@hdenjoy6783]

@@changpark5518 Hi there, well, thank you so much for taking the time to respond, that is quite useful and thorough, I really appreciate it! So, if you were in my position [one road bike only], having to choose between those three [adding the tarmac here], which one would you go for?

[@changpark5518]

@@hdenjoy6783 if you are trying to ignore the “N+1” 🙂, I would go with a Melee for its tire clearance and slightly more upright position which maybe ok for gravel riding. If you do more gravel riding than road riding, I think Crux is a bit better choice for its light weight and Aetho like road manner.

[@ser69rom]

I already have one do it all bike, a steel road bike from 80’s

[@PaulFrost35]

I currently have a Diverge Comp 1x with 36 chainring and 10-42.But am thinking of getting a Crux as a replacement for my Canyon Endurace 2018 e-tap. I would like some lower gears than the 34/50 11-32, and the Crux Expert is 1X 40 and 10-44 xplr I'm thinking it would be fine on the road and able to do lighter gravel if I wanted and be light for climbing. But I'm now wondering if a MOG could replace both? I already run 3 sets of wheels with differing tyre combinations to suit conditions. As you own a Crux and have now ridden the MOG what are your thoughts? Do you think the Crux would have been more comfortable than the MOG on that ride?

[@echtogammut]

Every review of the MOG seems to reinforce that I should buy one. The only thing holding me back is that it seems to be online only and only comes as frame/fork for $5500. The price is on par with with Specialized SWorks and the like, but not being able to go to a dealer to test it, like I can with Melee makes me hesitate.

[@MrIsaac-dh3uh]

Few shops can inventory $10k demo bikes in multiple sizes. If you demoed a Melee in your size, you were very lucky. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice. David provides a great service in this regard. If you like what he said about this bike, find your size and buy it.

[@changpark5518]

You are not wrong…,though you get a carbon stem and a carbon bar with MOG.:-)

[@happydays8171]

If something happens, and you had to sell the MOG, it would only bring a fraction of what a S-WORKS will.

[@10ktube]

Are the mudguard mounts proprietary to Enve branded versions or will anything work?

[@svendkristensen8676]

Nice review - 9,26 kg - for Bike with a frame at 950 gram, is that correct ?

[@scottwatson7844]

Lovely looking bike for sure but with them being new to building bike frames I really can't see how they can justify a price similar to a high end Specialized.

[@peteo3436]

Lovely bike but the price for the frameset is just silly.

[@RealShkillz]

I do wonder with it's set up, would it be closer to a S-Works Diverge (Non STR) than the Crux. The geometry seems similar, both have similar down tube storage, similar clearance, similar weight, the big difference being the future shock. If today you had to pick between the 2, for an everyday gravel bike, which do you think is better? or makes sense for people who don't intend on racing them.

[@cjohnson3836]

Spec just needs to produce a mid-tier and a S-Works carbon diverge without the future shock mess. It would be the perfect gravel bike for 99% of people riding.

[@PaulFrost35]

I agree, I'm thinking this is a Diverge style bike, but a bit lower at the front end and a bit lighter.

[@aprendizdeingeniero1787]

what do you think about aspero 5?

[@SWFlowseeker]

Love your vids! My question is if you just could have one bike… Crux or Enve MOG? I personally don’t care about mounts and fenders. Just speed and comfort Thx sir

[@davidarthur]

That's a really tough question! Feel like the MOG might have the edge for outright speed and comfort is okay and on a similar level to the Crux - the Mog does have mudguard and other mounts too which is pretty darn cool

[@SWFlowseeker]

@@davidarthur Ty very much for the reply, really enjoy your content 👍🏼

[@markgill3099]

I would be interested to know, with your experience of the bike, if it could be a 'do-it-all' bike. 2 different wheelsets 1 for road, 1 for gravel, the nature of the bike seems that it could be possible.

[@davidarthur]

I could swap in some road wheels and see how it performs if you want?

[@markgill3099]

@@davidarthur I think it would be a good to see, especially as there seems to be a few brands doing it. The VITUS you had on recently was pushing the same idea.

[@HKRoad]

Before going down that road @markgill3099 make sure you’ve read the Mog spec sheet. There’s a limitation on the size of the 1x chainring and the 2x options have to be wide due to the chain line. I was planning on using it as an endurance and gravel bike but the gearing challenge caused by the chain line needs made that impossible. Bloody good gravel bike though.

[@slowdownadventures]

How is 9,26kg light? The only thing that was loaded was a saddle bag and a GoPro. An OPEN UPPER, which is cheaper than an Enve Mog with similar wheels, built up with SRAM Red XPLR would get you somewhere between 8 and 8,5kg with those tools mounted...

[@Jacob99174]

Such a nice bike

[@matcharlie2379]

What was the event?

[@davidarthur]

Stone Circle, there's a link in the description. Was a new event organised by Hotchillee

[@matcharlie2379]

@@davidarthur looking for long gravel events but never seem to find them in time!

[@davidarthur]

I have the same problem!

[@ketle369]

Are they licensed from Fara bikes? They look pretty similar.

[@PabloMollAN]

I don’t like the shape of the fork.

[@aprendizdeingeniero1787]

could you say what is yor enve bike size?

[@davidarthur]

It’s a 56cm

[@ervinbrakic5988]

How much of the aero qualities of a “aero” bike would be diminished by a number plate like the one on the bike? 🤔

[@davidarthur]

It's going to have the same impact on a non-aero bike isn't it. Be fun to test that in a wind tunnel but ultimately numbers are often needed for events like these so no way around them

[@thomasolsson489]

Not comin in a livery one would die for🤔

[@frienduro24]

You are forced to use full internal cable routing. No option to run the cables under the bars/stem like the Grail and new Aspero even with a 3rd party spacer kit holes.

[@adamcoppock5018]

Sooooooo expensive.

[@neiljeffries6497]

Looks like a giant revolt

[@danielmiles8208]

V4RS review ??? ⌛️

[@davidarthur]

Sunday! 👍

[@n22pdf]

The Enve bikes all look so boring certainly not bikes you would look back at think yeah that’s awesome.. just my opinion 😢

[@deverenfogle3201]

Exactly, I actually test rode one in Girona and it ran like hot oil. But looking at the bike inspired nothing else. So it’s unfortunately a pass for me. I’m thinking about getting it painted if I ordered one. I also like it because it’s one of the few 2x gravel options available.

[@andrewhayes7055]

Let me guess this is another c£10k bike that most cannot afford?

[@justinharder1257]

Always

[@LifeCycle1978]

Only if you found it on sale.

[@dakrisht]

All these bikes are the same regurgitated designs with utterly useless real world claims about carbon fiber weave and saving 5 grams here and some nonsense aerodynamic tunnel BS. Enough. Whether S-Works or ENVE or Colnago V25RXSTF, these bikes lack character, emotion, and excitement. They just have ridiculously absurd price tags and various reviewers claiming “omg the best bike I’ve ever ridden.” Granted, I’d probably say the same if I was getting bikes in the mail all the time. The bike industry has gone from the craftsmanship era of steel tubing, lugs, beautiful welding to Taiwanese plastic for $6k a frameset. End rant. But you know I’m right.

[@cjohnson3836]

Most carbon isn't coming out of Taiwan. Many steel and Ti frames are. And, you know there's still a shit ton of perfectly awesome steel frames still being made? David here has even placed one frequently in his vids as he personally owns a Fairlight steel frame. All you need to do is google steel gravel bike and you'll have days worth of frames to sift through from mass production to boutique custom.

[@pawelodz8050]

I don't like gravel bikes. It is bike for masochists.😂

[@billmaidment5623]

This is the ugliest bike I’ve seen in years. It’ll be hot for a minute. I’ll take my Niner RLT 9 RDO at a fraction of the cost and still every bit as capable.

[@Andy-co6pn]

The sunrace 11 speed cassette is available in 11-44 and 11-46 for an HG freehub if the rear mech will take it.. shifting is fine, just a little less slick than Shimano