“The Enigma story began 13 years ago. From humble beginnings in a converted shed, we now occupy an 8000 sq. ft workshop. Founded on the principles of an unwavering devotion to the art of British craftsmanship, we engineer top-performing handcrafted bicycle frames and complete builds.” – EnigmaBikes.com / STOXbyHand.com (USA Importer of Enigma).
Enigma Escape Titanium
Go Anywhere, Adventure, Gravel & Touring Bike “The Escape is a highly adaptable and hugely capable all terrain titanium gravel bike. It’s equally at home munching mile after mile of tarmac on an ultra endurance road event or some back of beyond forestry bridleway for those seeking for a bit more solitude. Whatever you throw at the Escape it handles it with ease.”
Enigma Escape Titanium Review Video
In this video, JOM of the Gravel Cyclist crew covers the specs and conducts a no nonsense, real-world review of the Enigma Escape Titanium Gravel Bike.
STOX by Hand Wheels
“STOX by Hand started its journey in Sydney Australia in 2016. After a few years of building wheels for himself and eBay clients, Shane decided to take his passion to the next level and launch the business. In 2018 STOXbyHand gained UCI approval for their 35 and 50 rim brake wheelsets. Nowadays the operation is based in Massachusetts.”
STOX by Hand Gravel 35 Wheelset
“Our latest gravel wheelsets are ready. These are a 24mm internal hookless rim, 30mm width and 35mm depth. The rim itself is asymmetric with a 2.8 mm spoke offset. This allows for a more even spoke tension between drive and non drive spokes and an increase in lateral stiffness. Weight is 1440 grams when laced to our SLCL hubs.”
More about the Enigma Escape Titanium
What was our Design Brief?
“To create a drop handlebar bike without limits. It should be capable of sustained off road use, loaded or unloaded. The ride should inspire confidence, with stable handling and maximised tyre clearance. It should be our most versatile model that can take on any conditions.”
How has this been achieved?
“The roots of the Escape lie in a previous model – the Ecroix. This was our first titanium gravel bike, and whilst it rode well, had geometry and features closer to that of a cyclocross bike. As touring, adventure road and gravel bikes have evolved, so has the Escape.”
“Our factory is based a short ride from the South Downs National Park, which provides us with the perfect testing ground for this style of bike. Many hours were spent testing and refining the design on the chalk and flint bridleways of the downs, even venturing into Friston forest on the singletrack normally reserved for MTB riders.”
“The original Escape launched in 2017, and built on the foundations laid by the Ecroix with improved geometry, cable routing, and an upgrade to the latest bolt-thru axle / flat mount braking system. We settled on geometry that still handled well on the road, but really came to life once you headed off onto varied terrain. This proved to be a popular model, with riders making full use of the versatility from commuting and training, to adventure racing and world touring.”
“Cable routing is another area we considered carefully. For the style of riding the Escape is intended for; where you may end up a long way from a bike shop, we felt that keeping the cables external for ease of maintenance was the best solution. The main cable run attaches underneath the downtube, out of sight for a neat and tidy solution. The cable guides bolt in place and can be adapted for 1x, 2x or electronic groupsets.”
“As a versatile bike the Escape naturally has full mudguard and pannier mounts, whether you’re commuting, touring the world or just messing about on your local MTB trails it’s got you covered.”
Who is it for?
“The primary focus of the Escape is for mixed road/offroad, and touring use. It’s also quite at home on audax rides, endurance racing, commuting, gravel, allroad, singletrack and more. It sits in our core range as the model most suited to offroad use. If you’re interested in something a little more road focused we recommend you take a look at the Etape.”
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Links of Interest:
- Panaracer Gravelking SS Tyre Review
- BUCK!T UWMiniBARbag Handlebar Bag Review
- Recommended Tire / Tyre Pressure Chart (by our friends at ENVE)
- SRAM Force eTap WIDE Long-Term Drivetrain Review
- SRAM Force eTap AXS Wide Builder Video, Part 1
- SRAM Force eTap AXS Wide Builder Video, Part 2
- Gravel Cyclist’s Route Page
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I love my Escape. I built up a gen 1 frameset with Ultegra hydro, RX-800 RD, rotor 46/30 cranks, Thomson everything, and either Reynolds carbon ATRs and 700 x 30-40mm slicks or Clement Ushuaias and 650 x 48mm GK SKs. It’s taut, fast, comfortable and heaps of fun on any surface. Note the gen 1 has slightly different tube profiles in some sizes so possibly my 55cm trades in some comfort for slightly more responsiveness compared with the gen 2 you reviewed.