During the past few years, mountain bikes have changed drastically with 38mm stanchion forks being the standard on enduro bikes and advances in frame design mean wheels don't need to make up for lack of stiffness. Owing to this, ENVE has taken its M-Series of wheels back to the drawing board and has brought fresh rim profiles, more compliance and lower prices.

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With the new M-Series lineup, ENVE has simplified its offering. Instead of the M525, M630, M635, and so on, the range now consists of the M5 Pro, the cross-country wheelset, the M6 that's built for down-country, the M8 for enduro and the M9 Pro for enduro race and downhill. 

2024 enve m8.jpg, by Liam Mercer

But to set the record straight, the range includes e-MTB compatibility with the M6 suitable for e-bikes with up to 75Nm of torque whereas the M8 and M9 Pro can be run on all e-mountain bikes.

However, most of the development has been focused on the rim shape. Now, the front and rear rims get specific profiles with the former being wider for more tyre volume and support, whereas the latter is narrower for more forgiveness and better rolling resistance. Both rims get a 20mm depth in a bid to balance compliance, weight savings and durability while the sidewalls are concaved, again, for compliance.

More front/rear specificity is found at the rim's beads as the fronts are narrower to shave grams and put more material at the rear wheel to improve durability without affecting overall weight. with that, the rear's beads are wider to fend off pinch flats.

2024 enve m9.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Rim widths span 27mm on the rear (M5 Pro wheelset) up to 32mm (M8's front wheel). The downhill-focussed M9 Pro gets 29mm widths at both ends with ENVE's Protective Rim Strip tech.

Promoting compliance throughout all wheelsets without sacrificing strength was a key goal in the design of the updated range with up to a 77% decrease in vertical stiffness on the M9 Pro wheels, and a 64% decrease in lateral stiffness. The reason behind the brand's hunt for compliance is that stiff wheels require more energy from the rider to manage impacts. A rim designed to deflect and absorb vibration allows the suspension and tyres to do more of the work.

2024 enve m5 pro hub.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Each of the wheelsets are driven by ENVE's Innerdrive hub driver that employs oversized steel ratchets that are inboard and over the bearings. It's said that this design reduces stress on the axle and improves bearing longevity. The brand also promises immediate engagement with its 100T option claiming 3.6-degree engagement whereas the 80T 4.5-degree ratchet comes standard.

Finally, through cost savings applied to the hubs (while increasing features), newfound efficiencies in manufacturing and a new process in manufacturing the brand's Protective Rim Strip tech, ENVE has carried those savings to the customer. Now, each wheelset will cost $2,300.

The new ENVE M5 Pro wheel is available in 29-inch only whereas each of the other wheelsets offers 29-inch front wheels and a choice of 650b or 29-inch rear wheels.

• enve.com

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