Following the Alchemy at NAHBS with the front suspension bike, 3T just announced they’re shipping a color-matched Lauf fork for the Exploro. That’s great news for owners and those of us, like me, that had seen an Exploro at Interbike with a Lauf attached.
Earlier in the year, I met Lauf in Iceland, and they’re as cool as the fork. It has just enough suspension to take the edge off a rough ride. As the reviews have said, it’s a brilliantly innovative, zero-maintenance suspension fork and it extends Exploro capabilities even more. The Lauf Grit provides 30 mm of travel and you can stuff a 2.1-in tire in it.
For those measuring tire volume, that’s as just as effective as riding a 700c wheels with 42 mm slicks.
When I met Lauf, they weren’t saying anything but had a deal with 3T in their back pocket.
We’ve ridden the Exploro/Lauf build ourselves in Iceland, and love it.
said 3T CEO René Wiertz in the press release.
When the going gets really tough, it gives you a bit more margin to keep you out of trouble. Even relative novices can sustain a high tempo on challenging surfaces — though expert racers on clean gravel and paved roads may still prefer 3T Luteus for outright speed.
The Grit fork locates the front thru-axle on a ‘floating’ subframe suspended on progressive-rate suspension leaves; it works like leave springs on an old Model T. Once the 6 mm sag is accounted for, Lauf’s geometry is very close to the frame’s original values, reducing head angle by less than 1° and increasing trail by around 3 mm. Brakes are flatmount for rotors of 160 mm or larger with a postmount adapter if needed and 12 mm or 15 mm thru axles. The weight is 900 g uncut including 210 mm steerer and Lauf thru-axle.
Read more about the Exploro in our archives and know we’re excited about an even more capable bike.
Lauf Grit Team Edition is available in the 3T Online Store, priced at 790 USD.
Also published on Medium.
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