{"id":20161,"date":"2015-04-17T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-17T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2015\/04\/17\/on-test-lauf-tr29-fork-r2357\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T11:03:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T11:03:24","slug":"on-test-lauf-tr29-fork-r2357","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/on-test-lauf-tr29-fork-r2357\/","title":{"rendered":"On Test: Lauf TR29 fork"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lauf fork has generated a fair bit of chatter on The Hub. We thought we’d throw ourselves into the conversation and give the Lauf TR29 a ride.<\/p>\n

\"Lauf<\/a><\/p>\n

The Lauf fork looks strange but that’s because it is strange. It boasts 60mm of travel by using the flex of glassfibre springs. Essentially a modern twist on the leaf spring suspension design (Lauf meaning leaf in Icelandic).<\/p>\n

\n
\n\"Lauf<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\n\"Lauf<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So why a Lauf fork?<\/h2>\n

Weighing in at 990g with a 175mm steerer and axle in place, making it at least half a kilogram lighter than most conventional XC forks.<\/p>\n

Considering the low weight and limited travel of the Lauf, it fits comfortably between a conventional lightweight cross-country fork and a carbon rigid fork.<\/p>\n

\"Lauf<\/a><\/p>\n

Another significant advantage is that the Lauf fork has no moving parts, meaning that maintenance is zero. Lauf claim their test forks have under gone 170 thousand hits without showing any sign of fatigue. No need to track your hours before that next costly service and no stanchions to wipe each ride.<\/p>\n

Because the springs are pre-set, Lauf offer two models designed for riders of different weights. The regular fork (the fork we will be riding) caters for riders over 65kg (topping out at 110kg) while the light fork suits riders under 70kg.<\/p>\n

\"Lauf<\/a><\/p>\n

Lauf vs The World<\/h2>\n

The modern air sprung XC fork is a masterpiece with many useful (some would say indispensable) features. Lauf itself is a unique design in cycling, using modern composite materials, it reinvents the old. Lauf claim the springs provide progressive travel, meaning small bump sensitivity while handling bigger hits. But does it perform well enough to earn its place in modern day mountain biking? We’ll let you know in our full review coming soon.<\/p>\n

\"Lauf<\/a><\/p>\n

Bottoming out is dealt with by these rubber stopper.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lauf<\/a><\/p>\n

We’re not big on unboxings but the box the Lauf arrived in did catch our attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, a valuable point often ignored in reviews is a component’s ability to suspend your car in mid-air. Evidently, the Lauf does this well:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0fRd3qzhcJI<\/a><\/p>\n

Technical details<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Wheels<\/span>29\u201d or 27.5\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Travel<\/span>60mm \/ 2.35\u201d travel<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Weight<\/span>sub 990g \/ 2.18lbs (175mm steerer with Lauf axle)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Unsprung weight<\/span>260g unsprung weight<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Spring rate<\/span>Regular (over 65kg riders) and Light (under 70kg riders)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Axle<\/span>15mm Lauf thru axle<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Rake<\/span>48mm (29″) \/ 45mm (27.5″)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Axle to crown<\/span>485mm (29″) \/ 466mm (27.5″)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Steerer<\/span>Tapered 1 1\/8\u201d – 1 1\/2\u201d (uncut length 250mm)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Min rotor size<\/span>180mm<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Max tire width<\/span>2.35\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Rider weight limit<\/span>110kg \/ 243lbs<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Colours<\/span>Carbon red, carbon orange, carbon green, carbon blue, carbon white, full white, full red, naked glossy, naked matte.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \n

    From the manufacturer:<\/h2>\n

    With 60mm \/ 2.35\u201d of travel with progressive spring rate and its sub 990g \/ 2.18lbs weight, the patent pending Lauf Trail Racer is a unique match with today\u2019s lightweight XC mountain bike frames.<\/p>\n

    S2 Springs<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The springs on the Lauf Trail Racer are made of military spec S2 glassfiber that is extremely tough on hits and flexible in the direction of the travel. The springs have been \u201cshocked\u201d in our test lab over 400.000 times reaching 40mm amplitude every time.<\/p>\n

    Progressive<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The Lauf Trail Racer has 60mm of travel with progressive spring rate. This means that the further the fork compresses the springs become stiffer. This helps keeping the fork from bottoming out while staying sensitive to small bumps.<\/p>\n

    Zero Maintenance<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The design of the Lauf Trail Racer is based around eliminating all \u201cmoving parts\u201d, and therefore, friction and maintenance. The monocoque carbon fiber structure delivers incredible strength, and the test-fork we have in our lab has already been \u201cshocked\u201d over 170 thousand times, without showing any signs of wear and tear. That equals more mountain-biking than you\u2019ll manage to cram into at least 5 years of action!<\/p>\n

    Warranty<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The Lauf Fork is warranted for five years from sale date to the original owner of the fork. If your fork is older than five years and something happens, please contact us anyways because we still care about you.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Lauf fork has generated a fair bit of chatter on The Hub. We thought we’d throw ourselves into the conversation and give the Lauf TR29 a ride. The Lauf fork looks strange but that’s because it is strange. It boasts 60mm of travel by using the flex of glassfibre springs. Essentially a modern twist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":48653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1608,3245,4010],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-20161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech","tag-fork","tag-lauf","tag-lauf-tr29"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20161"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=20161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}