Enigma Columbus Xcr steel

remy martin

It's been my dream to get a custom steel for some time and after a lot of research and saving, I popped down to Enigma in Jan to order this beauty. As I had hoped, the frame was built surprisingly quickly and I was able to pick it up about a week ago. Incidentally, Mark and Jim were very good at keeping me informed of the progress of the build along the way.

The biggest decision I had to make was the colour scheme I wanted. The 'incomplete' paint job does seem a little odd initially but the idea is that the rear half is going to get quite dirty over time so it's left in it's original state albeit with some polishing done to it.

The decal idea was borrowed from Independent Fabrication's cursive option which I've always liked.

As for the ride, I haven't had a chance to do a long one yet but it's been great on the commute to work so far. It's comfortable and crucially, there doesn't seem to be any perceivable loss of speed compared to the carbon frame I sold off to get this.

Anyway, enough of my yapping.....













Spec:

Frame: Enigma Columbus Xcr steel
Forks: Edge 2.0

Bars: Deda Zero100
Stem: Deda Zero100 servizio corse
Seat: Specialized Toupe gel
Seat Post: Deda Zero100
Seat Post Clamp: Enigma
Headset: Chris King
Bar Tape: Lizard Skins

Groupset: Campag Chorus 11 speed

Pedals: Crank Brothers candy
Wheels: Campagnolo Neutron ultra
Tyres: Continental Gatorskins

Weight: 7.9kg

Moaner

Absolutely bloody gorgeous - please let us know how you get on with it on a long ride.

bigpikle

I rode a 953 framed demo bike there last weekend and absolutely fell in love with it! I ended up with the Ethos as it was in budget and really a great next bike for me, but I WILL be back for one of these in the future.

Yours looks a beauty and I remember seeing the frame all wrapped up when I was there. That logo is quite distinctive!

Enjoy it as I bet she rides like a dream 8)

wicked

Oh I DO like that! Very very nice I have been monitoring these myself. Love the panel decals!
Possibly my next bike there.

remy martin

Thanks for the generous comments guys.

I must admit I have spent way to much time just staring at the bike since I got it because it just looks so nice and I can’t believe I finally have something I have been wishing I could get for over a year.

Moaner, the weather has been pretty average which hasn’t really inspired me to get out but I'll make sure to provide an update after I get a longer ride in.

Bigpikle, I saw a blue 953 frame that I'm assuming was the bike you test rode when I was there to pick mine up. Good to hear that you enjoyed the ride.

You must have been one of the first people to test ride that frame. jim was saying that he had just got that it to trial it out. Just saw your Ethos thread. Its very nice. I think its best described by the phrase understated elegance.

I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed, should you decide to get either the 953 or the Xcr as your next bike. As for the logo on mine, I was really curious / somewhat apprehensive about whether the paint company they use could mimic the decals I wanted and wondered if I should just have stuck to their stock version with the stainles steel look shining through. Once I saw my frame though, I realised I had nothing to worry about. And to top it off, it didn’t cost any more to get that decal.

Cheers

Evil Laugh

Lovely bike. Paint job reminds me of the Baum I lust after unil the wallet slaps me and tells me to grow up. Love the stays.

Nice to hear the comments about the frames. My stripped steel frame was built by mark from omega. I've taken a total punt on it so hopefully will have a lovely ride too!

That's a bike for life, enjoy.

remy martin

Thanks Evil Laugh. Ah Baum's.... If only I could afford them. He is from the same part of the world I'm from but well and truly out of my price range. I saw some at Mosquito bikes when they first got them in and was very impressed with the frames I saw.

Getting the Enigma has been well and truly watching every penny for some months now and to come however definitely worth it. My wallet has been kicking me up the a@s! for some time now and I've largely been ignoring it.

Re the frame, Mark told me that I'll need to polish the stays once in a while with some Autosol if I want to keep the current shine on it, particularly at the joints where he has used the silver filler.

I've just seen the unbelievable effort you have been putting in on your frame. Absolutely insane! You make it sound very easy but I would be terrified of messing it up even if there isn't much you can mess up when stripping a frame.

You have one picture that seems to highlight the smoothness of the fillet braze (I think) on the frame. That in itself would instill me with the confidence of the quality of the frame. I have no doubt that you'll end up witha fantastic finished product given your dedication to date.

Hibbs

Evillaugh, that paint job is pure Parlee, not Baum! The only difference is the name!

Good work Remy, I love an Enigma steels. I'd get one like a shot as a sportive bike if I wasn't pumping all my money into a new best race bike. Maybe when Best Race is completed next winter I'll look at an Enigma steel in a couple of years to replace the summer training/crit bike.

remy martin

Thanks Hibbs. Spot on re the Parlee colour scheme. I spent ages looking for some inspiration and Parlee's was the one I preferred the most. Good luck with the completion of your project too.

mattythemod

Just came across this post and have to say thats an amazing finish and has given me inspiration for a future Egnima frame build .

pride4ever

Incredibly light for steel.

awsm

Very nice, I think that's lighter than my Enigma Ti.

ianbar

damn gorgeous! just got an echo myself, enigma a brilliant company!

Yellow Peril

Enigma make great bikes. I know it's a custom build but is there a rough frame size for it?

APIII

Like it 8)

remy martin

Cheers for the comments everyone.

Mattythemod, the paint job has held up pretty well 3 years down the line and a few thousand km's later. However, I'm already itching to get a new paint job with all the variations I have seen over the years. The frame itself has also been nothing but fantastic. It's not as super stiff as perhaps previous carbon frames I have had but I don't race so it's less important for me. I'd say the thing I like most about the bike is that I'm willing to take more risks with it that I would have on previous bikes because of the craftsmanship involved.

Awsm, it's even lighter now with a few changes to the spec from Chorus to Super record and a set of handbuilt wheels from Wheelsmith (ambrosio excellight with PMP hubs)..nothing crazy but a little less weight than the Campag Neutron ultras that were on the original spec.

Ianbar, yes, I would tend to agree with you, well certainly in terms of my dealings with Jim and Mark. I have had lots of follow up questions over the last couple of years and they have been nothing but helpful.

Yellow peril, I wold say its equivalent to a 48cm. The top tube is 51.5cm.

remy martin

For those of you that have looked at this thread previously, an update of sorts. Enigma recently opened their own in-house painting facility which coincided rather well with my decision to get a new paint job. It's a take on a Baum titanium paint job with a slight variation in relation to the silver and decals. The whole process took about four weeks and whilst it meant missing a few weeks of summer riding weather, I'm absolutely thrilled with the result.

styxd

Great paint job, that short stem looks fucking rediculous though. Did you not get a bike fit when you ordered the frame?

Iamnot Wiggins

Old paint job looked much, much better. However, I like the colour matched seatpost on the new one!

rajMAN

Very, very nice that just looks the business. :shock:

napoleond

One thing I don't get with Enigmas is the fact they are supposedly custom built but virtually all of them have freaking hyooj stacks of spacers. If custom then the head tube and consequent rest of the geometry should be right...

smidsy

remy martin wrote:

The 'incomplete' paint job does seem a little odd initially but the idea is that the rear half is going to get quite dirty over time so it's left in it's original state albeit with some polishing done to it.

I would have thought that was exactly the wrong approach myself? Surely something that is going to get dirty is the exact thing that needs painting to protect it and disguise the dirt as much as possible??

Camcycle1974

Preferred the original paint job personally but glad you retained the polished rear triangle. Adds a touch of class (have the same on my vintage cinelli Columbus frame). Gives me inspiration to treat my steel frame to a restoration and update.

diamonddog

That looks very nice indeed.

housemunkey

For a bit of a change I prefer the Baum replica, looks hot.

remy martin

Thanks all for the comments ranging from prefer it to not sure. Re the stem, what can I say, I like it short I suppose even at the expense of aesthetics. It wasn't a bike fit in the strict sense (ie the kind carried out for 2-3 hrs). Enigma took a series of measurements and plugged it to a website to come up with a general size and took on board my views based on my previous bike.

Napd, I take your point about the spacer issue. I have a 30mm stack on mine but could do with 20mm. Again, I know it mightn't look as good but it doesn't bother me. Most of my rides nowadays are about 2.5 hrs long and by the end of those rides, the extra 10mm is often worth it.

Smidsy, you're right, it would seem that painting the rear triangle would make sense but after three years of riding the bike in all types of dodgy weather, the area of the bike that has required the least maintenance in terms of care has been the rear triangle, largely because it isn't painted. However, it has needed some polishing every few months. Admittedly, the previous paint job actually held up rather well but in a way like titanium frames, stainless frames seem to hold up rather well unpainted.

napoleond

My point was that they should make the head tube longer and adjust the other tubing relatively. This is what builders like Pegoretti do and, as well as stiffer looks far better. If you didn't care about aesthetics you wouldn't have had the paint job
Granted the enigma way makes for a slightly lighter frame.