Review of new Seigla after first race -
I raced Rule of 3 (117 mile course) on the Seigla yesterday in Bentonville. The race is an ideal test for any bike since it mixes lots of single track, smooth gravel, chunky loose gravel, and road. My setup was conti race king 2.2’s on 303 FC’s, SRAM transmission and 42t chainring. Profile design aero bars. Lauf suspension fork and Ergon suspension seat post (same seat post Canyon uses on some of their gravel bikes). I did the same race on my Gen2 checkpoint running 47 pathfinder pros last year with a redshift suspension stem, so that’s my primary point of comparison. My main reason for switching bikes was to get more tire clearance, but I also liked the idea of proper suspension (vs. the redshift stem I’ve been running).
On the road sections, I feel the 2.2’s dragging a bit, but there wasn’t that much road. In every other situation, the Seigla felt faster. Maybe just a little faster on the smooth gravel, but dramatically faster on chunky gravel and noticeably faster (or at least less scary and fatiguing) on the single track. For anyone who hasn’t raced around Bentonville, it has a bunch of really chunky/loose/fast gravel descents, often with corners at the bottom. Mostly in tree canopy with spotty lighting and heavy dust when in a pack. Super dangerous and I’ve always seen high speed wrecks when I’ve raced out there (big sugar and rule of 3). This is where the larger tire volume really shined compared to normal gravel tires. Not as stable as when I raced my full suspension XC bike at Big Sugar last year, but still much better than skinny tires. I’m not sure how much the Lauf fork was contributing to the descending stability, but the overall setup was night and day better than my Checkpoint on the fast/loose descents.
I think the place the fork really shines is on the flatter heavy gravel when pushing hard. There is a bunch of that around bentonville and I was riding people off my wheel whenever we hit the gravel. Some of that I attribute to the aerobars on the smoother sections, but the bike really allowed me to put down power while soaking up all the chatter and bumps. The rougher it got, the quicker I was dropping people (even when not in the aerobars). I think this is primarily a tire volume story, but I also think the fork and seat post are keeping the bike planted and stable when pushing power. The fork didn’t surprise me, it’s basically soaking up bumps the same way a bigger tire would. The big surprise is the rear end of the bike with the Ergon seat post. I’m still getting used to it, but it’s got a crazy amount of compliance when it gets rough. I can’t tell if it’s maybe too compliant, it is a weird sensation but I don’t feel like I’m losing power. Anyway, the bike gets an A++ on pushing hard/fast over rough gravel without beating up the driver. When I’m less beat up, I tend to push more power for a lot longer.
As far as handling, I’m not too picky on that and it really only mattered on the single track at rule of 3. I’m not great navigating singletrack on my gravel bike, but the Seigla certainly inspired more confidence compared to my checkpoint. And more confident = more relaxed = less fatigue. I felt way, way better at the end this year. I think that’s almost all in the bigger tires. The fork might have contributed a little on the singletrack, but for me it’s mostly about the extra tire volume for cornering confidence, the smoother ride isn’t as critical there. A few spots where the bigger tires also helped with climbing traction on loose terrain.
Anyways, I’m super happy I decided on the last minute swap to the Seigla before Unbound. I’m hoping to have this bike on the podium if I can hold up my end of the deal. The North course has a lot of chunky gravel and that’s where the Seigla w/2.2’s really seems to shine. If anyone has any questions on the Seigla, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m a bit of a Lauf fanboy at the moment, TBD how much of that is new bike placebo or if it’s as big of an improvement as I perceived yesterday. Drinking the big tire coolaid by the gallon right now…
