The ultimate all-terrain adventure bicycling reality show? That’s what ENVE’s got in mind, with help from a notorious influencer.
When you need to produce a hit reality show, you swing for the fences. ENVE looks to have done just that, tapping crusty adventure bike influencer “Ronnie” Ronmance/Ultraromance for its new reality show.
Of course, part of the point is to show off its own high-spec gear. The concept? Simple: Let five contestants build their own bike from expensive ENVE parts, and then send them on a mission to complete a mystery course designed by Ultraromance. The grand prize? Keep the bike, get the glory.
The casting call is live, and Ronnie “do[es] not care what you look like, what you smell like, or what you sound like.” We can’t wait.
ENVE Reality Show Concept
So right off the bat, we’ll say this reality show/contest has a very, erm, underground feel. Details are a little thin. But what we do know is quite enticing, especially if all-terrain biking and early 2000s-looking web-dev are your thing.
First of all, ENVE will choose five contestants based on their answers to the questions listed here, as well as a 1- to 3-minute video.
The selected contestants will kit out their own bike based on a Crust Bombora frameset, equipped with an ENVE fork. It adds various ATB top-spec components like an SRAM ATB gearset. Decisions on bars, wheels, pedals, etc., will all be up to the rider.
Second, each contestant supplies their own bikepacking bags. No restrictions seem to apply to the gear for the adventure (but don’t quote us on that).
Finally: The show will fly them to an “undisclosed insanely rugged location” somewhere in the United States, where they’ll get 18 hours to finish a 73-mile course with around 11,345 feet of elevation change. ENVE calls it the “World’s Most Challenging ATB Route ever imagined.”
Follow the retro scrolling action on the show’s ’90s-style neon website to find out everything else you need to know. Be aware that you’ll need to answer a few questions to answer the call.
Some questions are clearly designed to evaluate the marketability of your behavior: “An ancient but still-functioning vending machine or roadside fruit stand has saved my life.” (Answer yes or no.) Some are a little more unnerving: “Is cotton or leather a better technical fabric?”
It could just be all scare tactics and marketing; this is reality TV. But what’s fake about 73 miles with 12,000 feet of loss/gain on a bike in less than a day? Five “lucky” winners will soon find out. The application deadline is August 27, so get moving!
