Enigma Bike Fit and Evade Test

by Paul Horta-Hopkins · 07/06/2016

Enigma Bike Fit and Evade Test

Neil Smith

Neil will be trying out the Enigma Bike Fit and seeing if titanium lives up to it’s reputation for legendary ride quality.

He will also be putting the famed Sussex-based bike maker’s customer service to the test and asking whether titanium can really make a bike for life.

The Enigma Evade

Perhaps you, like me, ride a decent annual mileage but are ‘stuck’ at a certain pace and have a growing catalogue of aches and pains. Perhaps also you are looking for a bike material that is a bit different from the usual?

I have decided to kill two birds with one stone by buying a titanium bike and getting Paul Smith at Enigma to analyse by current cycling position. Could he provide the answer to my cycling woes and would I be tempted to go ‘full-metal’ instead of carbon?

Once you’ve had your Enigma Bike Fit, then the magic can start!

So, I’ll shortly test Enigma’s full bike fit service, from their website sizing form, through a three hour fitting consultation with Paul, to an extended test of one of Enigma’s tempting titanium creations. I’ll be reporting on how well the fit and their Evade model perform on club rides, hilly sportives and time trials. It’s billed as providing ‘fast, smooth endurance riding’, but will it prove to be a more versatile machine than that?

Riding a titanium bike is not a cheap option, even second-hand, so I need to be sure that the bike will fit my varied needs, while providing the renowned titanium ride quality. Heavy and soft, or fast and smooth? I will soon find out.