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A customer review by Mervyn Chew, who tested many other high end bikes and chose Enigma.

Bikes I tested before ordering my new Enigma:

Merlin Extralight
The first titanium cycle I had ridden, with the best ride quality of any, with the exception being the Enigma. Handling was good, excellent build quality on frame, not much to fault except for the real design forks. (Record group set and Real design wheels)


Storck CD 01
This cycle frame had a truly excellent quality of design and build. Ridden with Dura-ace group set and Ksyrium ES wheels this cycle was responsive, had equal weight distribution and handled superbly. Unfortunately there was very little concession to comfort.


Seven Axiom
A beautiful cycle to look at, excellent design and quality of finish. Ridden with Sram force group set and specialized wheels, the cycle handled well but did exhibit a small amount of flex in the bottom bracket area. Ride quality was good but the cycle did not feel responsive.


Seven Aerios
At 2 ½ lbs the frame was ½ lb lighter than the Axiom. The Aerios was lovely to ride and had more comfort than the Axiom, but despite being lighter I thought the Aerios did not climb as well as the Axiom. This was possibly because the bottom bracket area of the frame had excessive flex and you really did notice this when stamping hard on the pedals. My ideal Seven cycle would have the light frame, lively ride and comfort of the Aerios with the firm frame of the Axiom.


Museeuw MFI
Quite a nice looking cycle, unfortunately weather wise it was not a good day to ride this cycle. This cycle was disappointing, the chainstays flared out too soon from the bottom bracket and my heals touched the chainstays occasionally. Yes it did soak up the bumps although I was not convinced this was solely down to the frame. The wheels were PMP hubs with lightly tensioned spokes to ambrosia extralight rims. If this cycle was not comfortable with these wheels, it never would be. The cycle was also light on the front end and did not inspire confidence. The quality of the frame finish was poor for a cycle frame which cost £1000.00, this frame cost £2800.00!


Titus Ligero Isogrid
I only became aware of this cycle from reading a review in Procycling by Chris Boardman. Designing such equipment requires an in depth knowledge of resonance control and I immediately realized that Titus had mastered the art of this discipline in the design of the Ligero. This cycle frame cost £3000.00 and at this price level should be close to perfect. The weld quality on the titanium parts was very good, as were the parts between the carbon and titanium. The points between the Easton Sc90 slx chainstays and seat stays to the main triangle was also to a high standard. Unfortunately a cheap head badge attached with double sided tape, pop riveted brake cable guides, poor quality decals and cable adjusters that cannot possibly adjusted on the move, have no place on a frame of this quality. These details have to be seen to be believed and you keep asking yourself why did the manufacturer do this on a £3000.00 frame? For some reason the importer had supplied the frame with an Ultegra group set and wheels and low cost ancillary items. The handling of this bike was exceptional and it immediately felt right. The frame is stiff and comfortable and isolates all the vibration created by the road surface from the rider. You could ride this cycle all day and not feel tired.
The performance of the Titus is just about perfect, but perfect can sometimes seem bland and I never had the ear to ear grin on my face that I had when I was riding the Enigma.


The Enigma
The Enigma is a very special cycle; it’s an enigma in so many different ways. The frame was not particularly light but it felt light when riding it. The frame is compliant where it needs to be for comfort, yet stiff enough to give firm handling and excellent power transfer. The frame is also very responsive unlike so many of the competitions “state of the art” frames, be they titanium or carbon!

Mervyn chose to send us his review, in no way did we procure this review. In the end we made him an ultra-light version of our Esprit.