Enigma-on-Sea
In little more than three years of existence, Sussex-based Enigma Bikes has gone from being a well-designed, executed and finished bicycle brand based around frames built in titanium to being, well, all of the above but with an alternative range of frames in high-end steel tubing and the distinction of building its custom titanium frames here in the UK.
This has been made possible through two factors: Enigma owner Jim Walker’s son Joe trained to weld titanium to the required standard, which is very high indeed going by the look of the models gracing the Enigma showroom, and the company moved shop from idyllic but slightly cramped premises in Hurstmonceux to a spacious workshop and office building on a purpose-built industrial estate on the outskirts of Pevensey.
Here, a showroom on the upper storey houses a fleet of Enigma-framed machines, all wearing the distinctive red logo and clean lines of one of the UK’s most recogniseable brands. Amongst them are several wearing attractive paint finishes of the type rarely applied to Enigma’s trademark titanium; these are all in steel, which is now such a significant part of the business that it has its own website at www.enigmasteel.com.
The sharp end of the operation, however, lies on the ground floor, where mechanic and, formerly, industrial pattern maker Neil Fitzgerald makes up bespoke parts on the company machine tools and assembles complete machines to customer specification.
The walls are decorated with bins of components, unfinished frames and, of course, boxes of tubes – titanium tubes. There’s what looks like a plywood garden shed standing against one wall. Inside sits Enigma’s new TIG-welding machine complete with foot pedal, a selection of gloves and face masks and, for a brief moment, RCUK’s editor.
I get a chance to TIG-weld titanium but, despite owning and, very occasionally, using a MIG-welder, I am unable to do anything but leave a small blob of weld on the side of a tube. Sorry, whoever gets it…
Joke. It was an off-cut. Joe Walker, however, is soon laying a really neat weld between two more off-cuts, just to show how it should be done. Now building around a frame per day, his output makes Enigma the only UK manufacturer to build its custom titanium frames in-house. Which is nice…
A moment with Enigma owner Jim Walker
RCUK: You’re now making Enigma frames in the UK. Has this always been part of the plan? How did it come about?
Jim Walker: Yes it was always the plan. When I sold my shares in the Jim Walker distribution business, I decided to look for a new opportunity to do something close to my heart and the collapse of the Omega business gave me the opening I was looking for. It was the sudden availability of all the design and frame building expertise from Omega that was attractive to me and made what we are doing today possible. We had to start somewhere and so the plan for Enigma was to adopt the Omega formula, which on the face of it was a good one, of importing high quality frames designed in-house, but with the addition of solid investment and management. This would give us the platform to eventually produce our own frames here in Britain.
RCUK: What does it mean to you to manufacture frames in Britain? And what does it mean to your customers?
Jim Walker: For me it means everything! I am British and I am very proud to be British. For the last 30 years I have witnessed almost all bicycle manufacturing disappear from these shores, and it has not been pleasant to watch. Now apart from a few pockets of resistance it has virtually all gone! As far as bicycles and bicycle components are concerned we buy in almost everything from abroad. There are a couple of British success stories like Hope, Brompton and Pashley but there is nobody over here making top quality road bikes in any real numbers. However I see no good reason why this should be so. Granted we in Britain cannot compete with other areas of the world in terms of mass-production, but we certainly CAN compete when it comes to high quality, handmade, specialist products. It’s what we British are good at! I want Enigma to challenge the worlds best with a product proudly made in Britain.
What does it mean to our customers? It means that if they buy a British frame from Enigma they are investing in the future of British engineering and manufacturing, which sounds noble but is in fact essential if quality bicycle manufacturing has any future in these islands.
RCUK: British frame builders are rare these days. How easy was it to bring manufacture back to the UK? Do you think this might be the beginning of a resurgence for UK frame builders?
Jim Walker: Production of steel frames is relatively easy if you have the know-how, although to achieve the level of quality that we produce in our steel frames is down to the skill and craftsmanship of our team. I believe that our master frame builder Mark Reilly is the best in the business!
The production of titanium frames on the other hand is anything but easy, in fact it is extremely difficult and cannot be undertaken lightly. We have made a large investment in training, new plant and equipment plus new workshop facilities to enable us to build with titanium. It’s been a very steep learning curve, frustrating and very expensive but the end results are worth all the effort and we are immensely proud of what we have achieved, even though it has taken far longer than we had originally envisaged.
I’m not sure if this could be the start of a resurgence for UK frame builders although it would be brilliant if it were. We have the skills in the UK and we are a creative people but it all comes down to whether or not we have the will. The temptation over recent years has been to take the easy route with no particular regard for the future. As far as the bike business is concerned anybody can buy a few frames from a cheap manufacturer overseas, stick on some decals and then call themselves a bike company, that’s easy. However to manufacture the frames yourself, create real skilled jobs and a long term future? Now that’s something else entirely.
Of course what we are doing as a company is on a small scale and is in its infancy, but I truly believe that the time is right for Britain to rebuild some kind of manufacturing base and take on the world.
RCUK: What are your plans for the future on Enigma? (new frame models??)
Jim Walker: Our aim within two years is to build in-house all the frames that we sell. For now we will continue to work with our Taiwanese manufacturer who produce a first-class product. They will make selected titanium models while we will build the higher-end ti frames plus all the custom and all the steel frames ourselves here in our Sussex workshop. We plan to create skilled jobs and expand the workforce as the business grows. As for new models we are now building a stainless steel frame, which is an absolute beauty and we are producing two high-end titanium models with our trademark smooth welds, these are something quite special.
Enigma has grown hugely in a very short time frame. What would you attribute this success to? Great products, a great team, lots of passion, a huge amount of hard work plus sheer bloody mindedness in the face of real adversity!! It has not been an easy ride but I am very happy now with the way we are moving forward.
