Enigma Eclipse £1,599.99 www.enigmabikes.com

In only a short space of time Enigma has grown to offer discerning cyclists a choice of top quality titanium frames and, through smart design and top-notch branding and finishing details, manages to stand out from the many manufacturers of ti frames competing for your hard-earned.

Titanium’s downfall has always been its price – it’s notoriously difficult and hence costly to work with – but its unique ride quality and the rarity induced by the often high price tag ensures a faithful following. For 2008 Enigma launched its first sub-£1000 frameset, the Eclipse, and with it opened up the Enigma brand to a whole new raft of potential customers. But has Enigma diluted its sharp design and supreme ride quality in order to meet this price point? You’ll have to read on to find out…

Frame

It may be Enigma’s entry-level frameset, but £899 for a frame alone is still a lot of money. However, testament to just how good this frame really is is when Enigma sent an early sample into the RCUK office, hot from the container. Unlabeled, it was hard to put a price on it, and the team came up with estimations that fell far above that of the actual asking price. Impressed we most certainly were.

The clear demand for titanium and the increasing ability of Far Eastern companies to build quickly and affordibly with the material have pulled the price down. It isn’t any plain boring frame either, boasting many Enigma trademarks. The tubes are of the 3AL/2.5V titanium alloy variety, with profiled top and down tubes and fat flared chainstays providing a decent level of stiffness and high levels of power transfer. Don’t expect double butting at this price – you’ll have to lay out a few more notes for such tubing – but even so the weight is a reasonable 1.36kg for a medium frame. Impressed? It’s hard not to be.

Further enhancing the fact that you’re getting a lot of attention to detail for your money are such parts as the engraved Enigma logo on both head tube and dropouts. The gear hanger is replaceable.

To keep the price low, Enigma won’t offer a custom option on this frame, but with four sizes (S, M, L, XL) available, finding a good fit shouldn’t be a problem for most potential owners.

Components

Many Eclipse frames will be sold as just that, framesets. But Enigma do complete build options, and the £1,599 sample bike sent in for this test displays a good choice of components. With the high price of titanium and Enigma only being a small company, it’s no surprise to see only Campagnolo’s fourth-rung 10-speed Veloce Infinity groupset fitted. Much of its DNA is similar to that of the higher ranking groupsets, but the finishing materials and performance is a notable step down from Chorus and Record.

Campagnolo also supply the Vento wheels. Tipping the scales at 1755g, they’re not the lightest, but are on a par with the popular Fulcrum Racing 5’s fitted to the other test bikes. Tyres are Michelin Krylion Carbon 23mm and the stem, bars, saddle, seatpost and seat collar Enigma branded parts. RCUK has spent some time with Enigma’s in-house branded parts and as yet found no complaints; even the saddle offers a decent level of comfort. The bars are well-shaped and the two-bolt seatpost clamp easy to adjust.

Ride

There were no surprises from the first few rides of the Eclipse. It demonstrated the keen character RCUK has come to expect from Enigma frames, with a lively, stable and sure-footed ride. The frame may lack some of the kudos of its more expensive rivals, but you’d be hard pressed to actually notice these once out on the roads and into the groove of your training/club/social ride.

Riding a bike such as the Specialized Tarmac and then jumping immediately onto the Eclipse reveals the stark differences between the two materials. The Eclipse relays a lot of the road ripples and road texture through to the contact points, which if you like an involving ride will suit just fine. It’s clearly not the most comfortable option here, but who wants to feel like they’re planted on a sofa when they’re riding their bike?