Lauf Grit Fork Feedback

[pbarry]

Anyone here running one? Wondering how they do on washboard surfaces? Worth the weight penalty?

Pretty happy with large volume/low pressure tires, but these look intriguing for rougher terrain.

[cachagua]

Have to remember to call them that, that's pretty good.

[pbarry]

Haha! Effing spell check.

[Clancy]

A friend bought one off of eBay and I was able to play with it but only very briefly. I was surprised at the side-to-side flex, it was possible - when standing still - to crank down on the bars and actually get the tire to rub either side of the fork. My friend quickly got rid of it.

Disclaimer. This was all of a 10-15 minute look over and I have no idea if the fork was set-up properly in terms of rider weight. I have no idea if there are different bands available for different compliance It may very well be that it was set-up for a light rider but even if it was, very surprising how easily it flexed.

I wouldn’t go for one without a test ride. Given the scarcity of the product, that may be hard to do.

Long stretches of washboard are a huge pain, no pleasure at all bouncing over that. If this fork functions properly, it may be the perfect solution. Hard to tell.

[Wayne77]

FWIW, I saw quite a few complete Lauf bikes and other bikes with the Lauf grit fork at the Crusher this year, a handful in the Pro/Cat1-2 field. I spoke with 2 guys and they swore by them...especially for washboard.

I think the earlier models, especially on other bikes, look crazy weird, but the new Lauf gravel bikes, with the fork legs painted to match actually don’t look too bad to me. I will say this...the new gravel frames they sell look really nice from a feature perspective. The paint options look really nice as well.

One other data point: I’ve found that a super stiff wheel can be an equal factor in side to side rub...it’s the fork flexing (especially suspension forks). Anyway, I don’t think too many light XC oriented suspension forks are going to be as stiff side to side as a solid fork...if indeed that is the point of reference for comparison.

I’d try one in a heartbeat. Can’t say whether I’d like it, but I really like companies that innovate and do their own thing.

[GScot]

I rented a Lauf True Grit gravel bike with the newer Grit SL fork and rode as much as I could for two days. Rides started on pavement with some small hills to climb and went through dirt road, canal path, and single track. Loved it (disclaimer is that I have a bad elbow and reducing vibration and hard shocks is my number one priority).

If you stand to climb a steep hill on pavement you can tell the front is soft if you're actively trying to make it flex, if you treat it like a bike and just ride the flex is not intrusive or very noticable. I was a 160 pound rider on a medium frame so at the lower end of its rider weight expectation. On hard packed road with some large rocks and pockets from recent grading if I tried to hit everything the fork made a very noticeable difference in the shock from each hit without any odd deflections that would change your direction. I also had a couple of washouts to cross that were full of deep loose sand and gravel. In those conditions I did not perceive any lack of steering response or downsides from the fork. I never experienced any washboard but did try to ride the rough lines in the roads and paths and found the fork to be great for reducing heavy hits and vibration.

I haven't ridden the same routes with my current monster cross but with my elbow being my ride time limiter a 2 hour ride on one day leaves me with a tender elbow for a couple days. Two days of ridding with the lauf left my elbow feeling better than expected. After the first day it wasn't sore at all. I was considering buying it as an all arounder I liked it so much as I really needed a new road bike (sold off the old ones after arm injury and change of location), now I am in road riding paradise and came to my senses and bought a real road bike. When the time comes to add to the stable a Lauf will be very likely for me.

[AngryScientist]

search for some comments from ebaumman, i know he ran one for a bit, including our east coast infamous D2R2. he had some good insight if i recall.

[bobswire]

I've been intrigued by those forks also because of the type of riding I prefer. If the Grit sold for half the asking price I would have purchased one by now. This was the best review I've seen on the fork. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT1k-7-lcHU

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by Clancy

I wouldn’t go for one without a test ride. Given the scarcity of the product, that may be hard to do.

A friend of mine did just that: Rented a bike with a Lauf fork for a one week gravel camp in southern Arizona last February. Liked it so much he ordered a new Lauf bike, which he took delivery of a couple months ago. He's definitely well over 160lbs.

Originally Posted by GScot

I rented a Lauf True Grit gravel bike with the newer Grit SL fork and rode as much as I could for two days. Rides started on pavement with some small hills to climb and went through dirt road, canal path, and single track. Loved it

Given your location (AZ) I'm wondering if you rented from the same place my friend did? Somewhere south of Tucson but north of Nogales...

[GScot]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

A friend of mine did just that: Rented a bike with a Lauf fork for a one week gravel camp in southern Arizona last February. Liked it so much he ordered a new Lauf bike, which he took delivery of a couple months ago. He's definitely well over 160lbs.




Given your location (AZ) I'm wondering if you rented from the same place my friend did? Somewhere south of Tucson but north of Nogales...

McDowell Mtn Cycles in Fountain Hills for my rental. Nice shop and helpful staff. I tried small and medium and even though small was more of a normal fit the short stem on the medium handled better. I'm glad they talked me into taking that one out as that's what I'll buy.

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by bobswire

I've been intrigued by those forks also because of the type of riding I prefer. If the Grit sold for half the asking price I would have purchased one by now. This was the best review I've seen on the fork. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT1k-7-lcHU

The problem I see with the fork is that it's ~600g weight penalty and less lateral stiffness at the front end for benefits that should be achievable with a large 650b tire. 30mm of suspension travel is not that much at all, and remember since it's not a true suspension fork there's no ramping / damping and the hit at the end of the travel is severe.

I think it would be great to use on long, rough races like the Dirty Kanza where there's dozens of washboard miles but for everyday riding I don't see the benefits outweighing the costs/negatives.

I found this user review when researching whether to go in on a True Grit frameset and seems to confirm the negatives that of the professional reviews:

https://www.bikeforums.net/cyclocros...true-grit.html

[John H.]

If I need this fork, why wouldn't I just ride my hardtail?

[simplemind]

Originally Posted by yinzerniner

The problem I see with the fork is that it's ~600g weight penalty and less lateral stiffness at the front end for benefits that should be achievable with a large 650b tire.gatives that of the professional reviews:

https://www.bikeforums.net/cyclocros...true-grit.html

There's a lot about that review that is suspect, imho! The bike was certainly not set up correctly and I'd bet that there were no dimensions taken from his HT bike and transferred to the Lauf. Just a difference in seat height and angle can cause back issues. And the tire pressures were at least 20% too high, just say'in.

[pbarry]

Originally Posted by Clancy

A friend bought one off of eBay and I was able to play with it but only very briefly. I was surprised at the side-to-side flex, it was possible - when standing still - to crank down on the bars and actually get the tire to rub either side of the fork. My friend quickly got rid of it.

Disclaimer. This was all of a 10-15 minute look over and I have no idea if the fork was set-up properly in terms of rider weight. I have no idea if there are different bands available for different compliance It may very well be that it was set-up for a light rider but even if it was, very surprising how easily it flexed.

I wouldn’t go for one without a test ride. Given the scarcity of the product, that may be hard to do.

Long stretches of washboard are a huge pain, no pleasure at all bouncing over that. If this fork functions properly, it may be the perfect solution. Hard to tell.

How much tire clearance on your buddy's bike? I ride 38c tires with lots of clearance left, and know it's easy to make bikes do impossible things when they are at rest. One size fits all on these, but I'm in the light to mid range. Test ride is an excellent idea. Thanks!

[pbarry]

Originally Posted by yinzerniner

The problem I see with the fork is that it's ~600g weight penalty and less lateral stiffness at the front end for benefits that should be achievable with a large 650b tire. 30mm of suspension travel is not that much at all, and remember since it's not a true suspension fork there's no ramping / damping and the hit at the end of the travel is severe.

I think it would be great to use on long, rough races like the Dirty Kanza where there's dozens of washboard miles but for everyday riding I don't see the benefits outweighing the costs/negatives.

I found this user review when researching whether to go in on a True Grit frameset and seems to confirm the negatives that of the professional reviews:

https://www.bikeforums.net/cyclocros...true-grit.html

Maybe a 450g weight penalty? Are ENVE forks 300g? Thanks for the link. The reviewer really missed an opportunity by not having equal air pressure during his testing. Dirty Kanza conditions are what I'm riding on till the road graders get back out there, so that takeaway goes in the plus column.