The ENVE Gravel Ride: A Complete G Series Experience
A 1-day gravel experience with ENVE Composites, DZ Nuthouse and Pedalers fork
With the release of multiple gravel specific products, ENVE is going all-in on gravel in 2019. The G Series Wheels announced last Summer, the G Series Fork and Bars announced last Fall, and just last week ENVE released their very own proprietary aluminum road hubs that the company says will bring improved performance and value to their G Series Wheels.
With a full suite of gravel specific hardgoods it was good timing to bring some friends together to test out these products on some of the finest roads and gravel in the country. You guessed it… Los Angeles, California.
PC: Tony Brandotti
Alright, well you probably weren’t thinking LA. But seriously, there is some amazing adventure to be had in the mountains just north of the city.
PC: Tony Brandotti
But first we picked up some coffee, and possibly a donut or two, just off the 405.
PC: Tony Brandotti
We arrived early at Pedalers Fork in Calabasas, the perfect base camp for the day. With 10 Speed Coffee, a bike shop, bar and restaurant all on-location, we could have skipped the ride and been content to hang there all day.
PC: Tony Brandotti
Many of us got a chance to test out the full G Series package of wheels and components. Their all new ENVE aluminum road hubs will drop retail pricing down to $2550 on their gravel specific G23 and G27 wheelsets, good news for prospective wheelset buyers.
To ensure everyone enjoyed an amazing ride that day, ENVE enlisted the experts of Los Angeles gravel, DZ Nuthouse. Spearheaded by Dave Zabriskie and Ryan Steers, DZ Nuthouse offers multi-day gravel camps in the surrounding Santa Monica Mountains.
With just the right amount of rain the conditions in SoCal can be perfect for off-road riding. But tip the scales too much and things can get ugly quickly. While the 3 days prior we saw an unusual amount of rain, things dried up just enough for a great route that day.
Once in the mountains there were few cars to be seen, and some sections like this one were even closed off to most vehicles.
“The Santa Monica Mountains are a cycling paradise. There are endless paved roads, hundreds of miles of fire road and single track, sweeping ocean vistas, thousands of feet of climbing and descending that will have you grinning in pain and joy. ”
PC: Chris Lyman
The route took us from Stunt Road to Tuna Canyon, along the PCH then back over the mountains via fire road and singletrack.
A long but gratifying grind up a fire road in perfect condition.
With a regroup at the top, some were ready for lunch while most were ready for more dirt.
With some of our favorite dirt sections towards the end, the ride seemed to only get better as the day progressed. Our equipment that day made all the difference, with a 3T Exploro equipped with G27 wheels, ENVE’s new aluminum road hubs and G Series gravel bars.
Here the AbsoluteBLACK oval chainring provided added traction and a smooth cadence on each type of terrain encountered.
We all headed back to Pedalers Fork for lunch and beers, a great ending to an amazing day. Overall everyone enjoyed some spectacular roads and scenic views that day, and we were definitely impressed by the durable ENVE goods that carried us there. For more information on some of the products, people and places visit:
You can also see a few other great write-ups from the week’s festivities at: