Lauf Grit SL Gravel Fork Review

I bought this a few weeks ago and just got it set up yesterday.  I’ve been intrigued by these since they came out, but the price put me off….   But recently the arthritis in my hands and wrists has pushed me to look for solutions and this one came up for sale at a “reasonable” price.  It was new and uncut.

First, let’s get one thing out of the way.  I would NOT call this a Suspension Fork.  That term evokes mental images of semi-limitless, plush travel.   That is not this.  I would call this a Vibration Dampening Fork…   much like the rear triangle on my Warbird.  No one would call that suspension though.

What it does well…    It knocks the buzz and hum off of chip seal, broken pavement, rock-over-hard gravel, tractor tracks in dried clay.

What it does NOT do well…   absorb big hits.  It takes the edge off the initial impact, but you still know you hit something big, and you need to plan accordingly ahead of time.

I tested this today on a loop that throws every kind of off-road experience at you shy of gnarly singletrack.  Rock over hard, hardpack with exposed glacial till, loose sand with rock, mud with rocks, tractor tracks, washboard…

The first thing I noticed was that a lot of the normal road buzz was gone.  It was kinda like going from a Conti GP5000 32c at 80psi to a Vittoria Torreno Dry 38c at 40psi.  That big of a difference.  The second thing I noticed is that I really was not paying as much attention to my line choice.  The Warbird fork is not particularly forgiving and the LB 50mm deep wheels don’t help.  But today, with the exception of nasty potholes which I steered around, I just rode the road and didn’t give it a lot of thought.  This is a big change.

A nasty section of hardpack descent, that is rutted out and has exposed glacial till was not nearly as frightening and I actually had vision and could stay off the brakes…   so despite my comment about not absorbing big hits, it definitely takes the edge off and make them more manageable.

Everything on gravel of all types was more manageable.  I really did not find a downside to it, other than 400g weight increase over the stock fork.  It’s lighter than the alternatives, but it is not light.  I stood for some of the climbing and it didn’t really bob…  in fact, I noticed that more when climbing some 14% at 60 rpm and really getting into it.  My upper body was moving and I could tell that the fork was moving with it, but I wouldn’t say it was a negative.  BTW…  I am 210 kitted and it felt about perfect for me.  It might be a bit stiff for lighter riders.  I did notice that standing on the pedals on descents negates a lot of the value of the fork, because most of the weight is on the pedals and not the hands...

Overall, I would say my bike is faster on gravel because of the Lauf fork.  It rolls over small rocks with MUCH less input into the bike, and I can’t help but think this is like lower pressures in tires being faster over rough terrain.  The bike felt faster on just about everything.  Not enough to really measure in power/speed after the ride in Strava, but definitely noticeable in the moment when riding.  And certainly less fatiguing.

Overall, I would say that Lauf has hit on a good middle ground between rigid and one of the true suspension gravel forks.  I am not disappointed.