Outside the box: Lauf Forks

[William]

The design of the Lauf Spring Fork is based around eliminating all “moving parts”, and therefore, friction. The monocoque carbon fiber structure delivers incredible strength, and the test-fork we have in our lab has already been “shocked” over 170 thousand times, without showing any signs of wear and tear. That equals more mountain-biking than you'll manage to cram into at least 5 years of action!......


http://www.laufforks.com





Another design consideration.





William

[William]

Side shot...

[christian]

Hey, it won the Icelandic XC championship. No, seriously.

[Richard]

Coming soon - an added shock absorber for damping. :eek:

[William]

Seems like it could be an interesting addition to a gravel grinder type set up to get some suspension without the needed the full squish of a mtb ride....if one was looking for that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgQ6jW0M5oY






William

[wallymann]

agreed. just enough movement to take the edge off of rough-road riding. light weight, too. depending on how much movement, damping might be needed.

Seems like it could be an interesting addition to a gravel grinder type set up to get some suspension without the needed the full squish of a mtb ride....if one was looking for that.
William

[oldpotatoe]

agreed. just enough movement to take the edge off of rough-road riding. light weight, too. depending on how much movement, damping might be needed.

Not cheap are they? I know high end shocks are similar $, are much more complicated but still.

[tiretrax]

That's very elegant. I am astounded by the statement that their are no moving parts to fail - what about the springs? Those are joined to the fork piees and subject to failure under certain conditions.

[bluesea]

Anyone recall Mert Lawwill's leading link? Old motocrossers will remember the Sachs/DKW 125cc racers, and how they changed geometry driving through the turns and raised during braking.

[Mark McM]

That's very elegant. I am astounded by the statement that their are no moving parts to fail - what about the springs? Those are joined to the fork piees and subject to failure under certain conditions.

The don't claim that there are no moving parts to fail. They say that there are no moving parts to create friction, and no moving parts to wear out (all motion is due to spring flex, with no sliding or rotating joints)

[josephr]

The don't claim that there are no moving parts to fail. They say that there are no moving parts to create friction, and no moving parts to wear out (all motion is due to spring flex, with no sliding or rotating joints)

kind of like a torsion bars???? interesting...maybe they can come up with some that have different levels of flex? I'd love to try it!
Joe

[dhalbrook]

Only $1000. But I guess that's par for the course these days?

[carlineng]

Looks really cool. I love seeing products like this -- engineering refresh of an old idea to make what looks like a solid initial product, but with lots of potential for other applications.

[William]

Looks really cool. I love seeing products like this -- engineering refresh of an old idea to make what looks like a solid initial product, but with lots of potential for other applications.

Agree. I think it looks like a pretty interesting take on a mild suspension set up that minimizes moving parts. I would also think that if it takes off you would probably see pricing come down at least a little bit.

Gravel, it's the new road!*



William

[Ti Designs]

Gravel, it's the new road!

That's pretty much what it's come down to...

[William]

That's pretty much what it's come down to...

Not that there's anything wrong with that....:D






William

[ultraman6970]

Wonder if specialized has a trade mark or a patent related with a product like this :D

[jimcav]

[QUOTE=William;1513975]Another design consideration.

but flipped so the movement is at the wheel vs up at the HT. I never got to ride that unique design either

[d_douglas]

These forks hurt my eyes. I am all for innovation, but the convex curve effect makes me cringe. I do think current sus forks are pretty clunky but these are just ugly.

I think Lefty forks look odd but elegant.

[William]

That Whyte hurts my eyes much more than the Lauf. Also a lot more parts in that equation to come to a similar point.


These forks hurt my eyes. I am all for innovation, but the convex curve effect makes me cringe. I do think current sus forks are pretty clunky but these are just ugly.

I think Lefty forks look odd but elegant.


I like Lefties as well, but the Lauf doesn't bother me as much as it does you I guess. Different strokes.:)







William

[carlineng]

If the technology actually proves its utility and the Lauf fork (or variants thereof) become more common, I think the aesthetic will grow on people. I'm optimistic, and will definitely be keeping an eye on where this goes.

[NHAero]

Looks elegant. Minimizes unsprung weight nicely. I wonder how the damping is.

[rrudoff]

170,000 cycles is no where near adequate testing. It represents under 40 hours of 1 cycle/sec vibration. This could easily occur in under a year if use on a rough road. I would want to see several million cycles as well as testing to failure and having a non critical failure mode before I would trust it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hockeybike]

Gravel, it's the new road!*



William

After this winter, is there a single road in the North East that isn't as gnarlier than a gravel road? At least gravel is consistent.

I ask that seriously. Potholes for days, out here in DC. Of course, it's DC, so the weather is only partly to blame for the lame roads.

[William]

After this winter, is there a single road in the North East that isn't as gnarlier than a gravel road? At least gravel is consistent.

I ask that seriously. Potholes for days, out here in DC. Of course, it's DC, so the weather is only partly to blame for the lame roads.

Roads up here in the NE are awash with sand and moon craters. Riding the dirt roads around here is much safer, and in many cases, less jarring.;) A little cush would be helpful, but it's the sand that will get you.





William

[pdonk]

These remind me of atz forks and rear shocks that bolted onto existing frames and forks.

Brodie did a similar concept fork as did IRD.