Interesting design…betting on wider tires for XC in the future and a return to a single pivot suspension design.
7 Likes
I like alot of it. Thinking outside the box. Price. The limited bottle carrying capacity makes it an absolute no go for me in the humid midwest. Shame really.
1 Like
I think this single pivot design probably requires electronic suspension to ride properly. It just wouldn’t be practical to use a manual lockout, as you’d be switching it all the time.
On wider tires - I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ll see tires wider than 2.4 for some of the more gnarly XC courses in the future.
For the EC members, there is a Pod about the new bike:
1 Like
Now that is cool and innovative, dare I even say nonconformist with the direction some of the other OE’s are going.
Well done Lauf!
It will be interesting to see the feedback as more ride reports return on it. The water bottle issue is a bit of a limiter, but if you can use a 500ml and 750ml bottle on a Large and above, that’s still pretty good.
It’s cool to see Lauf act as a “disruptor” in the industry. They designed the bike around FA rather than simply added FA to an existing design (like Trek with the Supercaliber). They reopened the door to plus size tires for an XC bike and they under cut the market by thousands of dollars on what a FA equipped XC bike sells for.
It will be interesting to see how much traction it gets, but the industry could use a few more disruptors like Lauf to spur innovation and challenge the pricing that some of the big brands have adopted.
3 Likes
$7000 for a Flight Attendant equipped bike with XO…nice. But holy mother of god that is the ugliest bike I’ve ever seen.
9 Likes
Yeah, the EC article cover photo is like “we’re trying to hide the swingarm behind a tuft of grass so you don’t reflexively ignore this bike…”
Looks are definitely…polarizing.
3 Likes
Ha! I missed that, but you’re so right about that photo…so I guess it worked!
I’m usually pretty conservative when it comes to polarizing bike design, but I actually kind of like the swingarm here. Can’t really explain why, but I do.
Isn‘t 7800$ (international version) quite a lot for a bike? 
(sorry I have no idea, I only ride road and gravel bikes)
I have no idea whether revisiting as wide a tire and single-pivot designs are the right moves, but I really love companies that are not afraid to take risks and project where they think things are going, draw a long line and base their design around this extrapolated end point.
One interesting observation made by the Lauf guys during the podcast is that wide tires were almost exclusively found on hardtails and were meant in lieu of a rear suspension. Open’s (hardtail) mountain bike is an example that comes to mind. Combining larger tires and rear suspension is an intriguing move.
And using a BB for a pivot bearing is just mad and batshirt crazy in all the best ways.
True, and even though the design looks odd to me, it looks weirdly organic, weirdly proportioned and yet striking.
I think you have been frozen in 2018 and just woken up 
In 2024 given what you get, I think the price is relatively cheap.
3 Likes
+1 on this. There’s a lot to like here, particularly the price for what you get. Lack of in-frame storage and the water bottle limitations would make it a no for me, but I hope they sell a bunch of these. Love that they went with wireless only and are including an AXS seat post. At 26.5lbs for the XO build, that’s pretty damn heavy, but that’s also with 2.6 tires. I just would have expected lower with the single pivot. It’s about 2.5lbs heavier than an Epic 8 XO build.
1 Like
Yes. But Flight Attendant usually comes on bikes that are $10k or higher. Like the S-Works or Trek bikes are $14k for Flight Attendant. It’s still a lot of money. But you don’t usually get Flight Attendant at that price, it’s like $4000 retail just for Flight Attendant and the groupset.
3 Likes
Yup. That’s one thing I’d love for both of my bikes to have. I’d put a pump in there, a spare inner tube, multitool. I guess Lauf simply has had different priorities than us.
Since I’d (hypothetically speaking) would get the bike in L, I think I can have three bottles. I don’t like proprietary bottles, but at least they offer a solution for people who dislike hydration bladders.
1 Like
lol, TrainerRoad won’t let me post a “sick” or “throwing up” emoji! TR must be in cahoots with Lauf. Here’s my sick 
emoji and 
PS: that bike is ugly AF!!!
1 Like
Definitely a design only a mother could love
1 Like
In the past, I’ve watched a few interviews with Lauf’s founder/CEO. He definitely comes across as smart and somebody who has a pretty clear vision of what he wants to do and why. He definitely doesn’t come across as somebody who is uncertain.
Obviously that’s doesn’t mean their mtb will be a success but like you, I like a company takes some risks and stir things up.
I already have their seigla and uthald but not really in the mark for a new mtb as I got a new one two years ago and just don’t ride it enough to jusity a new one.
2 Likes
That’s one of those things as a non-engineer who likes engineer-y stuff I always thought makes sense. But it seems too obvious that only I thought of it so there must be a reason why it wasn’t used. I think I read something about BB being designed to rotate as opposed to move through a limited arc, but then that’s all bearing on a bike’s suspension. Just a BB is larger and easy to swap.
1 Like
BB as a swingarm pivot has been done before. Can’t remember the specifics, but it was likely 20-30 years ago when single-pivot was more common.
WRT to intended use, the BB may be about continuous rotation usually, but that is is true for many ball bearing designs. The devil is in the details with things like bearing outside diameter, inside diameter, ball & race sizing that determine the best use and related durability.
I think this use makes great sense really, with wide spacing and large diameters for the most part. Issues could arise from the smaller balls but that leads to more loading spread over many instead of higher loads on larger but fewer balls. Typical engineering compromise stuff.
2 Likes
Weight was always a big part of it…bushings or smaller dedicated bearing were generally lighter.
But as Chad noted, it was done before…but like Chad, I can’t remember which bike, either! 
2 Likes