Review
New Enve M6 Wheels
There is some good news to report before we dig deeper into Enve's 5th generation M series wheels. The first is that the price of the wheels, with carbon rims that are hand laid at the company's Ogden UT facility, has dropped by 250 USD a pair. The best news for me is that Enve nipples now extend through the rim so they are exposed for adjustment, rather than living underneath the rim strip as they did in the past, which meant removing your tire and ripping off your rim strip if you broke a spoke or just needed to give your wheel a quick true. Finally, all the wheels are more compliant, impact resistant and impervious to flats than previous versions, according to Enve's testing. Enve are also now producing their own hubs with a star ratchet freehub mechanism. I haven't had great luck with Industry 9 so I'm happy to see this change. Another tidbit that is probably overdue is that all rims are now taped in the factory. Paying over two and a half thousand greenbacks for a pair of wheels and then taping them yourself is a little hard to swallow.
Gen 5 Enve M Series Highlights
- Price for wheelsets reduced from 2550 USD to 2300 USD
- Externally accessible Alpina brass nipples with Nylock inserts
- eMTB compatibility for M6 (for bikes up to 75nm), M8 and M9 Pro
- Wide sidewalls which are said to provide the following two benefits:
- Improved pinch flat resistance
- Improved impact resistance
- New Enve Innerdrive Hubs with what appears to be an over-sized star ratchet freehub mechanism
- Front and rear specific carbon lay ups and inner widths
- Reduced rim depth for for increased compliance
The New Enve M6
I received a set of M6s to try on my 170mm travel We Are One Arrival - which is now mullet and UDH compatible thanks to the updated rear triangle. I'd love to be able to swap these wheels to other bikes but alas, the Arrival uses a super boost rear axle so they'll be staying put. If you are wondering why I chose the M6s instead of the M8s, it's because I don't tend to be too hard on wheels. At 165lb, breaking carbon rims is uncommon for me and I want to make sure to challenge a set of expensive wheels to make the testing worthwhile. M8s would be like full on DH wheels for me whereas if these trail wheels can stand up to enduro and DH levels of abuse under me on the North Shore, they should be dialled for trail duties for those of you in the Clydesdale class or even lighter riders who ride hard enough to have carbon graveyards in their garage.
The M6 line has been simplified from three models down to one, with options for mullet wheel sets and super boost axles. The previous line included wheels with 30, 35 and 40mm internal widths as well as 27.5 sets. Now there are no width options and all M6 fronts are 32mm internal while the rears are 29.
There are a couple of big changes to the gen 5 rim profiles. One is that, rather than the deep dish cross sections Enve has been known for since before they were Enve, they have gone to a more shallow silhouette in order to promote compliance. The M6s are now 20.8mm deep while the previous M630s were 27.3mm. This is a significant change in philosophy for a company that was all about making stiff wheels and apparently it came from their sponsored DH athletes.
No Dedicated 6-Bolt Interface
Rather than making both Center Lock and 6-bolt hubs, Enve decided to use Shimano's new 6-bolt adapter so their hubs could be compatible with both systems. I asked for 6-bolt but instead was sent Shimano's new Center Lock adapters. I don't know the timeline but I wouldn't be surprised to learn these were inspired by P321's elegant solution we saw at Sea Otter. Shimano's new system isn't quite as slick but it works.
An aluminum flange, with six 5mm holes drilled in it, slides onto the splined interface. The kit comes with 6 bolts that have heads that mount almost flush. They tighten with a T15 Torx bit which is a little fragile or my liking. After that a non-skid plate onto which you tighten the lock ring, sits on top. This all sounds great but Center Lock is not compatible with Hope rotors, which I happen to be running on my Arrival. I don't know of other incompatible rotors but the SRAM HS2 rotors I used instead worked just fine.
Compliance
This was Enve's stated primary objective in the gen 5 development process. This was identified as a goal in 2019 while working with the Commençal Muc Off team. Durability was first improved but ride quality wasn't there. This led to a development process that involved new testing procedures, 18 different molds, 192 different prototype revisions, and 1000+ rims produced.
Like the Crankbrothers Synthesis program, Enve identified different preferences for front and rear wheels. Riders preferred their front wheels to be more compliant than their rears, meaning each wheel would require a different mold and lay up. Compliance was improved in both vertical and lateral planes. The results were so dramatic that the burliest gen 5 Enve wheel, the M9, is now more vertically compliant than every gen 4 wheel and at least according to the graph above, every gen 5 wheel. Even the stiffest gen 5 wheel in the vertical plane, which surprisingly is the M6 rear that I was sent, is more compliant than every gen 4 wheel. The burlier wheels, according the graph, have more lateral stiffness than the lighter wheels, but even the M5s, which weigh 1341g, are stiffer vertically than the M9s.
Strength and Weight
Every model of the new M series is said to be stronger than the previous version. The M6 I am riding is said to be 40% stronger while only putting on 3g of weight. The M5s actually lost a little mass and they are now 1341 g vs 1425g while getting a little tougher. The M8 descends from the M730 but is clearly a burlier hoop at 240g heavier. It's a little easier to understand why this one is stronger. The overall strength numbers weren't given for the M9 but they weigh a little more than the M930s they replace.
Flat Prevention
Enve tackles punctures from two angles: their wide hookless bead and their protective rim strips, which are available only in the M9 wheel sets. The bead widths of the wheels range from 4.2mm for the M5 front to 6.2 for the M9 front and rear. This means that during an impact energy is spread over a wider area. It's like the difference between hitting something with an axe or hitting it with a hammer; clearly the axe was built for splitting.
The M9 wheels come with Enve's patented protective rim strip which both acts as a bumper and creates a seal between the rim and the tire and actually curves over the sidewalls.
Innerdrive Hubs
Clearly one way Enve was able to reduce the price of their hubs was by having their own hubs manufactured. They are using what appears to be a star ratchet system only unlike other systems, the inner teeth are inside the freehub body while the outer teeth are part of the hub shell. This allows them to create a larger diameter ratchet which should be subject to less stress and also allows them to use larger teeth and, for higher engagement, more teeth. They offer four ratchets with 40, 60, 80 and 100 teeth. The M series wheels come stock with 80 but I'd be just as happy, possibly happier, with 40 for less interaction between suspension and chain and lower friction.
Bad News
Thus far there isn't much here. The hubs appear to be an improvement but only time will tell. Everything Enve is saying about these rims sounds good as well. The only niggles for me are the incompatibility with Hope rotors and the spokes. Well, not the spokes themselves, rather their shape. The M5s and M6s come with straight pull spokes while the M8s and 9s come with J-bend. The hubs are compatible with both though, which is clever.
If you have ever tried to find a specific straight pull spoke, even at bike shops in mountain bike meccas, you know what a problem this can be. J-bend spokes are easy to find almost everywhere. There are some advantages to straight pull of course. You can often replace a spoke without removing either rotor or cassette and in some cases you can do it while the wheel is still mounted to the bike. I like straight pull spokes in theory but in reality J-bends make more sense. The star ratchet mechanism makes quite a lot of noise. It isn't angry bees like Chris King, it's a little more intense and louder. I didn't notice it much on the trail but I may try a slurry of some very light oil and some micro resistance grease designed for freehub mechanisms.
On The Trail
Generally I can only feel subtle differences in compliance and stiffness doing back to back runs on wheels with identical tire set ups. Unless of course they are incredibly stiff because that is instantly noticeable. That was not the case here and I actually felt that these wheels felt quite comfortable and I noticed a stable and quiet ride. I didn't notice any compromises and given that both vertical and lateral compliance have been greatly increased, I wondered if I'd notice deflection when tipping into a rock face or under hard cornering, but everything felt precise and accurate. I'm looking forward to getting more trail time on the new M6s to verify some of Enve's assertions but so far they seem to be accurate.
Height - 6'/183cm (mostly legs)
Weight - 165lbs/75kg
Inseam - 33"/84cm
Ape Index - 0.986
Age - 58
Trail I've been stoked on lately - Sam's Dad's Trail
Bar Width - 760mm
Preferred Reach - 485-500mm
Comments
Cr4w
4 weeks, 1 day ago
WR1 has really put these brands on notice.
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Jerry Willows
4 weeks, 1 day ago
at about half the price and Project 321 hubs coming in November = no brainer
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Cr4w
4 weeks, 1 day ago
Canadian rims laced to a Canadian hub and sold in Canadian $. Lovely.
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Cam McRae
4 weeks, 1 day ago
Are they doing P321 hubs now? My favourite pretty much. But these Enve's are very nice as well, aside from the loud ratchet!
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Jerry Willows
4 weeks, 1 day ago
I enquired and got a response that sometime in November is launch date.
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Shoreboy
4 weeks, 1 day ago
At this point I dont think id consider anything but WAO if buying carbon rims/wheels. Not sure id be risking my money on new ENVE hubs either given their history and straight pull spokes are a non-starter for me anyway.
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4Runner1
4 weeks, 1 day ago
WAO has ruined all other carbon wheels for me.
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Kenneth Perras
4 weeks, 1 day ago
In a pinch you can use a j-bend spoke in a straight-pull hub. Just bend the J portion straight. I did this often, with the customer's blessing, working as a bike mechanic years ago. The steel elbow is resilient enough to take that modification and will last long enough until you can source the correct straight pull spoke.
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Cam McRae
4 weeks, 1 day ago
Enve actually says you can use J-bends as-is in these hubs and the M8 and M9 come with j-bends using the same hubs as proof, so no need to even straighten them.
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Kenneth Perras
4 weeks, 1 day ago
Nice. I missed that detail. A close-up of the M6 hub flange profile and how they accomodate J-Bend spokes would be neat to see. Right now the M8 and M9 wheels clearly show regular hub flanges that can only use J-bend spokes on their website.
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Cam McRae
4 weeks, 1 day ago
Interesting. It doesn’t mention anywhere in the materials that the M8 and M9 use different hubs. That requires a follow up.
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Frorider
4 weeks ago
Not sure I understand. Most shops have a spoke cutter / thread tool, so for a repair you get a long J bend spoke, cut off the J and turn it into a straight pull spoke right? It’s a $40 tool, I’ve even thought of getting one.
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Znarf
4 weeks ago
Cool hack! How do you improvise the protrusion at the "head" of the spoke. The little disk, which hooks the straight pull spoke into the hub?
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GrundleJ
3 weeks, 6 days ago
This doesn't make any sense
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Coiler
3 weeks, 6 days ago
Most shops do not have spoke cutters, those things are pretty damn expensive. If they do, spoke cutters just use a blank straight or J pull spoke, cut it to the right length, then cut threads on it.
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the prophet
3 weeks, 5 days ago
Or they can cut any already threaded spoke to a different length, as allowed by the butt if butted. They don't cut the threads, they form the threads by rolling which produces a much stronger thread.
It's a no brainer for any shop that builds wheels. Money saved in reduced spoke inventory pays for the cutter.
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GrundleJ
3 weeks, 5 days ago
They are a useful tool, but they still are not a common at bike shops. A Phil Wood machine costs $5k+ used. There are cheaper options, but they are typically junk
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Andy Eunson
3 weeks, 3 days ago
The Phil Wood spoke cutting and threading tool only cuts and rolls threads a spoke to length. There are no shop tools that I have seen that would create and spoke head.
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GrundleJ
3 weeks, 3 days ago
Oh, absolutely. I wasn't trying to imply that it could, that comment about cutting the j bend off to make a straight pull is still ridiculous. Just saying that a useful sound cutting/threading tool is very expensive.
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hotlapz
4 weeks, 1 day ago
> Reduced rim depth for for increased compliance
Hey if someone pays me $1000 I'll show you this failproof method of increasing compliance by letting out a little air in your tires.
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Cam McRae
4 weeks, 1 day ago
LOL. Not exactly the same thing. And not that effective if you are cornering hard. Riding lower pressures in the WBP, for example, is a non starter if you want to ride fast.
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Andy Eunson
3 weeks, 5 days ago
Rim compliance is a thing but you can get magnitudes more compliance from varying air pressures. I think some WC DH riders use narrower rims for that reason. There was a video around 2006 showing a Zipp 303 tubular hitting a cobblestone edge in slow motion. The sidewalls bowed out a bit. As a light rider I can’t say I felt a difference in compliance from some Stan’s aluminum rim going to an ENVE M6. I noticed the wheel being stiffer probably owing the much higher spoke tension on the ENVE wheels. 90 versus 120 kgf. I wonder of lateral compliance is more important than vertical.
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GrundleJ
3 weeks, 5 days ago
I don't think many MTB riders are running a higher pressure than they need for protection and tire integrity/support.
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ohio
3 weeks, 3 days ago
It's counterintuitive but spoke tension does not affect wheel stiffness (unless it's so low as to detension the spokes under compression). The youngs modulus is the same regardless of the amount of preload on the spoke. However, higher spoke count, shorter spokes, or thicker gauge spokes will all increase stiffness.
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Cam McRae
3 weeks, 3 days ago
Interesting.
Is this related to the fact that in an impact tension is actually released from the spokes closest to the ground? Or perhaps some other factor makes tension irrelevant to wheel stiffness?
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Andy Eunson
3 weeks, 3 days ago
Speaking of compliant wheels, I don’t hear much about Zipp wheels. No one seems to be making a copy either.
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Mark
2 weeks, 4 days ago
That last photo just goes to show that you don't need to be doing something particularly gnarly just to get a great shot.
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