Evolve
Evolve designs carbon race frames in Xiamen, with the Elitewheels engineer and a former UCI rider. A brand that publishes the painted weight of every frame size.
Two backgrounds, one race brand
Evolve was born in Xiamen, in south-east China, from two complementary backgrounds. Tony Tong founded Elitewheels and remains its product engineer, with more than ten years of work from design through to quality control. Mian Chan comes from racing: a UCI-registered professional rider and former technician for a UCI team, he also founded the crankset brand Cybrei. They took three years to prepare the brand, launched in 2025 with a single aim: carbon frames designed for racing.
Tests beyond the standard
Frame and fork go through 21 in-house tests that are tougher than ISO, including a seatpost fatigue test at 1,440 N over 10,000 cycles, the equivalent of about 147 kg sitting on the saddle, ten thousand times in a row. The German institute Zedler certified the CIMA at its Advanced level, and its shape was validated in the wind tunnel at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub, in the UK. In 2026, the CIMA, co-branded with its distributor Rali, equips the UCI ProTeam Solution Tech NIPPO Rali and its development team.
Figures published size by size
Evolve publishes the weight of every painted frame, size by size and colour by colour, next to the unpainted figure, with a breakdown of the 180.2 g of small parts supplied in the kit. On the CIMA, 650 g unpainted in size M becomes 696 to 736 g once painted: the difference is the paint, and the brand says so. Frames are covered by a limited lifetime warranty.
Why MAAKE carries it
For that frankness about figures, and because Evolve designs the frame with the rest of the bike in mind: the stock top cap is designed for Kreuza handlebars, and Elitewheels wheels come from the same team. At MAAKE: the CIMA for the road, for climbing and aero, and the CIMA GR for gravel racing, with tyres up to 50 mm in 1x. The Apex handlebar fits it without an adapter.
Frequently asked questions
Where are Evolve frames made?
Evolve is based in Xiamen, China, and draws on the city's resources in carbon research and manufacturing, with a team that has more than twenty years of combined design and production experience.
What warranty comes with an Evolve frame?
Evolve frames are covered by the brand's limited lifetime warranty, on top of the 2-year legal guarantee. MAAKE passes the claim on to Evolve and follows it up.
CIMA or CIMA GR, which Evolve frame should I choose?
The CIMA for road, climbing and aero, at 650 g unpainted in size M. The CIMA GR for gravel racing, at 830 g painted in M, with tyres up to 50 mm with a single chainring; it shares most of the CIMA's parts.