Gravel Grinder News: Lauf Introduces The Seigla Gravel Bike – by Guitar Ted
There were several new bike introductions over the past week, but perhaps none more intriguing than the new Lauf Seigla. While others had a new paint scheme or two, or perhaps a new-to-the brand model, none broke conventions like the Lauf Seigla. So, what’s the deal? Let’s take a closer look.
What It Is: So, let’s cut to the chase here. Lauf decided that they wanted to be able to fit a wider tire. (700 X 57mm) So they went with a few choices to get there which are, as a group, quite a bit different than typical gravel bikes out there. The Seigla has no provisions, or even capability, to run a front derailleur, and it utilizes a 73mm wide bottom bracket shell instead of the typical ‘gravel’ standard of 68mm. Lauf claims that their decision to use a 73mm bottom bracket will transform the gravel bike going forward. They said in their press release, “Look at it this way, if BSA 73 was already the norm on gravel bikes, nobody in their right mind would ever suggest making it 5mm narrower!”
These decisions allowed Lauf to design a traditional straight chainstay, with their goal of keeping that distance on that frame member down to 425mm. That bit of the chainstay that runs behind the crankset is solid carbon fiber as well. This, Lauf claims, aids in frame stiffness and durability. That part of the frame is abused often by mud, or perhaps by a dropped chain, as a for instance, which can render hollow frame members totally useless.
Lauf also has tuned their frame and components using what they call “ICED’d” which stands for Integrated Compliance Engineering. With their True Grit v3 fork, which has been made lighter and widened to better accept wider tires, they have added a redesigned rear triangle area. The back end of the top tube has been thinned out, along with the seat stays. Those stays also have been ‘dropped’, meaning that they join the seat tube closer to the bottom bracket and below the seat collar. This along with a slightly sloped back seat tube are supposed to give a lot more relief from bumps and vibrations. The design also is made with the intention that the rider will have more exposed seat post, again with an eye toward rider comfort.
Interestingly, Lauf does not go all in with the fork mounted bottle/luggage mounts, nor with a dropper post route claiming that this is a gravel racing bike and that SRAM informed them during the Seigla’s development that an AXS electronically operated dropper post was forthcoming which alleviated the need for dropper post routing.
Details: The Lauf Seigla will be available in various configurations all using SRAM AXS Xplor or Red AXS components. Model choices have power meters across the range. Prices range from $3700.00 to $6999.00USD. There is one base color, Obsidian Black. For up-charges you can get Glacial White (+$190), Moss Campion (+$390), or Silfra Blue (+$190)
Comments: The Lauf geometry is rather interesting. They have gone with a 70.5° head tube angle across the range with something in the +72° seat tube angle depending upon the size. However, Lauf has not done the “low” bit with the “slack” bit, keeping to a cyclo cross high 65MM bottom bracket drop across its range. In fact, Lauf geometry stands alone in the world of gravel bikes with its unique set of numbers.
Also interesting is that Lauf provides for no fitment of a 650B tire, which would have worked well with their bottom bracket drop here, but the press release states that, “This was never an option for our development of Lauf Seigla.” So, if you are a fan of the smaller diameter wheels you’ll have to look elsewhere.
We like the threaded bottom bracket, but will 73mm BSA really become the standard for gravel bikes? If it does, it will probably spell the end of double crank sets for gravel bikes, but not necessarily. We can remember when mountain bikes utilized 73mm bottom brackets and triple chain sets. But with the current fad for way-huge tires and short chain stays, well, it would seem that 1X is going to be the future, if in fact, Lauf is correct.
Learn more at Lauf’s site here: http://laufcycling.com/
Note: Images and information used in this article were provided by Lauf Cycling
