A day with ENVE Composites
On the way back from the 2011 Dealer Camp we stopped by ENVE Composites in Ogden, Utah to take a tour of the facility where the wheels are crafted, and much more is happening.
Quite a few staff members were still at the Dealer Camp site at the Deer Valley Resort outside of Park City, Utah, but Jim Pfeil and Jason Schiers returned a day early to Ogden to show us around. ENVE recently moved into this newer larger place and this facility is big enough to allow for some growth. Word was that the previous space was a wee bit too tight, but that was certainly not the case here.
All images are © Herbert Krabel / slowtwitch.com
Founder Jason Schiers with an ENVE rim fresh out of the oven.
A very humble sign leads into a fairly large complex.
Tyler Mattson at one of the cutting tables.
The sheets are kept in a freezer until they are getting worked on. Here Summer Ingles is starting to cut out patterns.
Various diameter mandrels hang on this rack for tubing that is crafted here.
Finished carbon tubes are awaiting further work in a shrink wrapped state.
Once the wheel is out of the oven, the mold remnants need to be sanded off. Jose Salazar is cleaning up a rim here.
Steve Sessions is one of the wheel builders here.
A big number of wheel sets is awaiting shipment to a distributor, but in many cases the wheels are assembled abroad. Here Lona Richmond makes sure all the hubs and spokes are in place for the shipment.
More rims sitting in storage.
ENVE also builds various frame parts for several hand made builders, in this case a head tube lug for Independent Fabrications.
Testing Engineer Brent Pontious overseeing one of the wheel tests.
Here the brake surface is checked to make sure it has enough of a grip.
Jason Schiers with one of the Smart rims in a conference room.
This unique hand etched Parlee show bike now sits in the ENVE offices.
CEO Sarah Lehman in her office.
A big bike rack in the entrance are is filled with employee bikes.
A shower has been converted to a bike wash room, because we know what is important here.
