[Closed] Lauf suspension fork

25% discount available if you've entered the Dirty Reiver. But still over priced at that IMHO.

Please no, they're just such a mechanically unsound design. The wheel is effectively attached to the frame with a pair of springs, there's nothing to keep the axle tracking correctly as it travels up and down. As soon as you start going around a corner you'll be fighting the lateral movement.
Not to mention the lack of damping...

I think pushbikerider is exaggerating a bit, they're probably no worse than Rockshox Indys.

Please no, they're just such a mechanically unsound design. The wheel is effectively attached to the frame with a pair of springs, there's nothing to keep the axle tracking correctly as it travels up and down. As soon as you start going around a corner you'll be fighting the lateral movement.

Have you actually ridden one?

I've ridden them, one of the earlier ones and one of the later ones.

The early ones suffered badly from lateral flex to the point where it was quite unnerving. The later one was better but still not great. I think if you're a lighter rider (I'm not) then you'll probably be fine but for me the slight (and I mean slight) benefit from having a little squish was offset by the vagueness/scaryness of the flex.

Rob C on here used one for the SDW double double and TD so he's had way more experience than me - probably best to ask him

Flange, thanks. I belive they do have a 4 week full refund policy if you do not like. I am about 70kg so not that heavy (or light by some cycling standards!) And would only be used gor xc type riding.
Ideally would like to try one before buying, but may just end up staying with rigid fork.

[img] [/img]

And yes I've rode them. Early models. Lateral flex as above was noticeable at 80kg.

A bit early for the vomiting gnome Greg, there haven't even been any photos yet 😆

Never to early.

There are a suspicious number of low useage used ones for sale....

I raced against someone a couple of months ago using a pair. The pogo effect as we sprinted to the line was incredible to behold...

They used to be "common" here for marathons racers. (Dozen or so on the start)

They aren't anymore. (2 or 3, mostly sponsored riders)

From the above sounding like they may still need a bit of developing before worth considering. Any positive experience of them?

i like mine for bashing round wiltshire on, no maintenance required so ideal winter fork, dead light and better than rigid which is the alternative. rode swinley on it which was fine, would get overwhelmed on anything too rough

My thoughts.. https://bruce-dalton.squarespace.com/blog/2017/3/13/ridden-lauf-grit

Had one , the fat bike version, Carbonara.

Wanted to love it, but just couldn't get on with it.

For younger, fitter and stronger riders it might be ideal, but the lack of any compression damping is my main concern.

Fitted to the fat bike, the pogo stick action from successive hits was the biggest flaw.

Fire road riding, simple design, light , even liked the looks.
Just needs some form of controlling the rebound and it would be a lot better and more popular.

Thanks for feedback so far, nice blog write up bikerbruce. If i got a pair it would be for longer regular rides instead of using rigid, maybe a few xc races. Nothing against normal sus forks just do not like the regular maintenance if used a lot.

If we're making a comparison to a conventional fork, how much does a Lauf fork cost?

Quite a lot! About £750.

Wait till you see John Climbers' bikes.
That Gnome will be working overtime.. 😳

I saw this thread and wondered if the chundering gnome had made his appearance yet....

Made my afternoon it did

DirtyReiverHappyHour

Four words which may or may not get you 25% discount, allegedly.

but there's also this, potentially

http://road.cc/content/tech-news/218385-foxs-new-adventure-cross-suspension-fork-revealed-instagram

There are lovers and haters of most bikes/parts in the world - I just select what works for me.
The Lauf has done loads of rides with me, and I will be using it on the American Trail Race 5000 this June from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast via great places such as the home of Jack Daniels, through Arches national park and Moab. Its an off road race and the first bike shop on the course is 3000 miles in.
I want a reliable rig, so the Lauf goes with me.
It smooths out washboard, small hits and small rocks.... it is hopeless with taking air and thrashing around BPW.
Follow its progress by checking out The Adventures of Rob Colliver blog. I won't put up a link to it, but feel free to check the site.

They certainly get you noticed.

And it is a comfey ride too.[img] ?w=685[/img]

Thanks rob, if i ended up getting this fork would most likely be used in a simular fashion as yours. If i get air then something has normally gone wrong! Will have a look at the blog.

I have a Carbonara on my fatbike, i think it works great.

It's interesting to see the reaction to the looks. In the real world, people meeting you on the trails who see it for the first time are overwhelmingly positive.

The hate for the looks is almost entirely confined to internerd warrior types on here.

For £500 plus the potential of import duty and vat from Iceland it would have to be frigging awesome

I was lucky enough to get a pair of the TR29s.

As a Designer I was more interested in the gorgeous aesthetic when they first hit the media to be honest, and as an XC rider the weight obviously!

I've run these almost exclusively for 2 years as my only form of suspension from Racing to Afan and they have been faultless. However, it depends on which paradigm you are coming from. I ride single speed carbon fibre rigid rocket bikes and I weigh about 67kg I have one other suspension bike and it has a whopping 100mm. If you are coming from a longer travel perspective you may find it odd and your riding will have to accommodate the fork, but the tales of poor tracking and bad lateral flex are greatly exaggerated. I've had 150mm Pike boys laugh then look a little sad when you overtake them on the descents or maybe it's being over taken by a lyrca lout, and as above you'll always get some keyboard warrior tell you they are shite.

Then comes the question would I pay for a Lauf fork, I reckon I would in the sales to build up yet another <9kg Hardtail, or if having something different was important - Note - it seems everyone in the car park with want to bounce your fork and lift up your bike to see what it weighs...it's annoying. If you want a general hacking around trail bike then sadly you're probably better off going with the traditional forks.

That's lucky you stumbled across this for your first post eh?

As a Designer I was more interested in the gorgeous aesthetic

as a non-Designer I think they are Ugly as Sin.

That's lucky you stumbled across this for your first post eh?

Well actually I stumbled across Krytons post on his new aeropress first and was going to rip the piss out of him, as we go a long way back. I came across this later but as someone who has actually ridden them for years I figured giving some sensible advice to someone looking for it would be appreciated.

But hey don't let me stand in the way of you and your bitter little cynicism.

An f is pronounced the same as gh

As a Designer I was more interested in the gorgeous aesthetic

You fuggin' what!!! God only knows what would pass as ugly in your world

Aeropress and a lauf fork, you're perfect for this place.

Right, off to ride my rigid bike and exude bitterness.

Aeropress? Nah I was going to tell him to get over himself and just buy Nescafe

I just read their website. They have zero damping. (!?!?)

A suspension fork designed by people who don't understand how suspension works. If you want to know what these feel like you should take out all the internals from your normal forks except for the spring. blech

[url= https://magazine.bikesoup.com/review-lauf-forks-trail-racer/ ]My review of the original (non-boost) forks[/url] , which has been slightly changed by the editor to be less scathing (I would have given it 1 star).

Review for the boost versions will be up in the next few day, but a basic summary: better than the originals (stiffer, slightly better spring action); actually occupy a genuine niche (for gentle XC and marathon stuff) rather than being essentially useless like the old ones; still quite scary on jumps/drops/big impacts.

Got a set for sale incidentally...

Right, off to ride my rigid bike and exude bitterness.

Your post kinda left you open to that...

Retrodirect - Member
I just read their website. They have zero damping. (!?!?)

A suspension fork designed by people who don't understand how suspension works. If you want to know what these feel like you should take out all the internals from your normal forks except for the spring. blech

I think the material has some inherent damping. But anyway they also have no maintenance, no tuning required and 5 year warranty. Probably pretty decent for offroad touring.

I think the material has some inherent damping. But anyway they also have no maintenance, no tuning required and 5 year warranty. Probably pretty decent for offroad touring.

Nope. The website advertises zero so that you err ... don't lose any energy.

Retrodirect - Member
Nope. The website advertises zero so that you err ... don't lose any energy.

shirley that can't be case or you'd be bouncing along like a pogo stick the entire time 😆

I love them, No Greg I won't post a photo on here for your gnome 😉

I've an original trail racer which is too flex compared with my others and I'll be upgrading to the boost version as soon as I can.

I've 2 Carbonara's one on my Fat Bike and another on my 29er+ and for me they are absolutely perfect for everything that I ride.

I've a Grit on my CX bike and after 2 normal CX bikes in the past this takes it to another level.

Mileage according to Strava
29er Trail Racer (original) 1,876.9 miles
Fat Carbonara 2,405.9 miles
29er+ Carbonara around 1500 miles swapped on frame from a rigid
Grit CX fork 789.6 miles

I'm no mtb journalist and I'm no downhiller who loves the "gnar" I'm an xc rider and bike packer and I've never had a thought while riding them thinking I wish I had a traditional fork for this trail

Gnome avoiding link
https://sfp.sharethrough.com/creatives/DSkX9voExYFqAKv3WgDoxpGRrz/article_content?referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bikeradar.com&pkey=e44ae0d1&layout=single&status=live&utm_source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bikeradar.com&utm_medium=vcpm&utm_campaign=DS29Rew8KzLry1Tmw6eErbsmnY

I was lucky enough to get a pair of the TR29s.

As a Designer I was more interested in the gorgeous aesthetic

😯

Shurely shome mishtake ?

There's was no mention of being a designer with taste

[img] [/img]

being a designer with taste

*Smugface*

Had one (borrowed) on my touring bike for a month. Used for commuting to work on gravel path and old railway line. Really nice, liked it, saving up to buy one.

Thanks for all the feedback from people who have used the fork both good and bad views . I suspect i will probably give some a try, especially after cleaning my 2 month old reba of 12 hour use and already marks on uppers! Reason intetested in this fork is i only ride xc, unlikly to get more than 1 foot of the ground (unless something goes wrong!) And planning to ride bike about 6 to 8 hours a week in all weather. As amazing are normal suspension forks thats a lot of potential required maintenance so it seems this fork for the my intended use could be quite good.

Good call dis40

By it from Lauf and you get a 4 week return policy
[url= https://lauf.myshopify.com/ ]https://lauf.myshopify.com/[/url]

Enter the Dirty Reivers ride and you get 25% off as well

I think the material has some inherent damping.

Basically it will do what a bigger tyre, a very skinny springy fork or an undamped short travel sus fork would do. Over very high frequency low amplitude bumps it could be effective, pros/cons as ever.

Over very high frequency low amplitude bumps it could be effective

Which is pretty much what you get in a lot of Iceland.

I think they look fine on some bikes and wrong on others. I've had a very short play around on one of John Climber's bikes but there was a lot else going on as well: Plus tyres and Jones Loop bars, so a little difficult to isolate things. I have seen one pair break at the crown race, not sure if it was a faulty unit or it had been fitted incorrectly.

JonClimber, are you sponsored by Lauf? I get that impression from your blog.