Crazy fork...

[Bicycle808]

Obviously, this has little Ratrod appeal, due to the tapered steerer, 15mm thru axle, and expensive price tag, but the design looks awesome. Maybe someone could steal and adapt this concept for a home-built RRB application...
http://www.laufforks.com/TheLaufTrailRacer.aspx

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

A new MTB fork....Hmmmmmm.....Being a rabid MTB-er, I feel compelled to say that this fork is nothing new...No compression or rebound damping. Just a simple linkage fork with a tapered steer tube made of carbon fiber. This type of steer tube(originally designed for downhillers with flexy long-travel forks) is meaningless really. The inherent flex from the fork design renders the tapered steer tube useless on this fork. The bike "industry" is constantly changing Head Tube/Bottom Bracket/rear dropout specs to eliminate the possibility of using or swapping old, high-quality parts from frame to frame. This almost ensures that you cannot upgrade to a better frame using your high-end expensive parts. Ratting old bike frames is great because of the relative standardization the Head Tubes, Bottom Brackets and dropout spacing specs. In my opinion, all this new stuff coming down the pipe has only one outstanding positive feature...
Materials Technology. Maybe some day we will see a full carbon fiber
replica of a favorite ballooner frame like a prewar Schwinn Straightbar.

 

[Bicycle808]

I will say that the Lauf is "new" in that it uses leaf springs, which is old-tech but not seen in the mtb world anytime recently. The ultra-short travel (what was it? 65mm?) seems novel, too, given that it's been decades since we've seen anything like that....

I agree that the new "standards" are almost always just exercises in planned obsolescence, which is why i favor Shimano's BB92 bottom bracket "standard", as it will allow us to use the new cranks in old frames using hollowtechII bb sets. Sadly, it's losing out to the bb30 "standard", which of course renders everything else obsolete. In terms of the headsets, though, the tapered steerer is rapidly taking over, with tapered steerers dominating quality completes, and quickly gobbling up after-market offerings. A sad situation, indeed.

As for the carbon fibre craze: i despise the stuff, but it's been going strong for what? Almost 30 years now. It's no fad; it's here to stay. I just continue to buy stuff in aluminum and steel, and hope that demand for these products will ensure their continued availability.

But i just posted the link to the Lauf b/c i think it'd be rad if someone built a similar fork with a rocker/leaf design for a cruiser. DIY stuff.

 

[baldwooky]

More new bike stuff. Meh to me. 60mm travel is pretty low now, that's comfort cruiser level, not MTB. I agree with silverking pc, the "industry" right now is just changing stuff around, so that they can pawn off all the new tech that can only be used with other new stuff. That's a pretty pricey fork. At least it supposedly lasts along time, whereas some of these new Fox forks I've seen them require $300 maintenance every few hundred miles. Seems to be rather commonplace in the MTBR world of infinite money and bike techno lust.

For example, this whole 650b they are cramming down everyones throat, not a mere 5 years after 29'er was the best thing since sliced bread. It kind of disgusts and saddens me that they are basically making bikes into high priced, and highly depreciated status symbols. I much prefer the inter-compatibility that all the older stuff has.

I don't think I'll need to upgrade my MTB ever. I'm perfectly fine running a titanium bike made 5 years ago. Bikes aren't a status symbol, they are a tool and a toy, I don't need to compare to anyone else.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

I totally agree with you guys....I will say though that every aluminum MTB frame I have purchased new (many brands) has failed in less that one year of riding. I am 200lbs(disclaimer) and ride aggressively. These constant failures forced me to re-think the carbon fiber thing because I ride so much. Constantly going to my old steel hardtail backup bike while I waited weeks & months for warranty replacements was exasperating. That said, I finally bought an Ibis Mojo SL frame(pre-PF30/thruaxles/tapered steertubes) and built it up with all my old parts. 3000 miles and three seasons later and not one peep out of the frame....I am now sold on Carbon Fiber frames(Ibis at least) but not necessarily other key parts, where I try to stick with good ol' 7075 alu. or straight-gauge ti. A good example of this is seat-posts and handlebars. My old Syncros 7075 post is indestructible, like the bontrager ti bars I still ride on. Frames though are another story under my weighty butt.

 

[Bicycle808]

To be fair, I ride full rigid mtbs, and probably always will, so i see 65mm of travel as a welcome change from the big-travel bouncy forks that have dominated the market. And, if you're going to make a high-buck fork, you gotta make it with a tapered steerer; can't blame 1 manufacturer for following these trends.... that's the mtb industry's fault.

My only real purpose-built non-klunk mtb these days is a chromoly Kona with the chromoly p2 fork, v-brakes and a 3x9 shimano group on it. Steel frame and fork, basically everything else is aluminum (steel derailer cages, cassette/driver, rubber tires/grips, plasticky WTB saddle) and I keep it that way b/c it doesn't break. Yeah, the bike manufacturers and the mags that shill for them try to convince me that i need bigger wheels, fatbike tires, tapered steerers, weird cranks, hydro brakes, CF, etc. And maybe i would, if i were a competitive mtb racer. I'm not. I'm a fat guy who rides trails. I will choose practicAL, durable, easily-maintained bits every time.

 

[baldwooky]

Yes, most people buying a new MTB today, are getting way more bike than they'll ever need. The tech has gone way up, but the QC has gone way down, just like everything else. Spend less on marketing, to make a better, more reliable product? Heck no, just pump more $ into marketing, so that we can convince you that whatever you had, well that's just nothing compared to this new one! Oh, and buy these here ugly spandex, so you can look like you know how to ride.

That said, there are a few things that have come out that are great to have a bike. Disc brakes for one. I really also like fat tires, I think the move towards having the tires do the dampening on the trails is far superior than having suspension parts. Unless your a hardcore downhiller.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

Xln't discussion.... BB808: Since I ride technical, rough, climby singletrack 95% of the time 5 days a week, and I truly love descending at speed on it, this terrain can be downright dangerous on a hardtail, full rigid, or with an un-damped fork. A "squishy" FS ride makes more sense for me based on the terrain I ride. At around 195lbs, if I wanted to continue to hang with the young, skinny, fast climbers on group rides, I had to up the ante with my 27lb. FS carbon Ibis. They (rigid/SS/hardtail or short travel riders) better get out of my way when it points downhill though, and they do. In terms of the new long-travel "bouncy" forks, they don't "bounce" unless they are not adjusted or maintained properly. The damping technologies in modern forks have pretty much eliminated the "bounce" both up and down. This new leaf fork has no damping, and am sure defines "bouncy". I also don't think that tapered steer tubes are necessary for forks under 6" of travel. Unfortunately, as you know, the manufacturers don't agree with this. Honestly, I feel no significant difference in stiffness between riding a tapered steer tube or straight 1 & 1/8" on the same brand and model fork under 6" of travel. I feel the same about the 15mm screw-in fork axles replacing the standard QR hubs. For me, this fork is dangerous at best for rough, technical riding. Just make sure your insurance policy is up to date. To be fair here, it may have some value to those who ride on smoother less technical stuff and don't care about or need rebound or compression damping.
Now, back to the beginning.....I do agree that it would be cool to see something like this on a rat, but I can get the same functional action with a multitude of old springer forks.

 

[deorman]

Ugly. I could be wrong, but I expect a first gen. oil dampened air bladder RockShox works much better. It definitely looks better. I miss my Mongoose.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

Ha! I definitely diverged from B808's thread start...
He's right! Maybe we should have a tapered head tube
welded to a steel ballooner frame so we can fit the Lauf fork
on it and put it through the paces. B808 may have something
here...

 

[Bicycle808]

Ha! I definitely diverged from B808's thread start...
He's right! Maybe we should have a tapered head tube
welded to a steel ballooner frame so we can fit the Lauf fork
on it and put it through the paces. B808 may have something
here...

I hardly think that'd be anything even slightly good.... but I thought some ambitious fella with some fab skills might have a go at taking an existing fork, making his own rocker/linkage, and some leaf springs. Make a crusty, homebuilt, interesting DIY version.... That guy won't be me; I'm pretty much resolutely anti-suspension, although i DO own a Brooks B33...

As for modern suspension forks/dual-suspension bikes: yeah, they've come a long way in terms of damping (both rebound and compression) and lockouts, but even on late-model mid-to-high end stuff, i've found that if a 250lb guy like myself rides one, and stands on the pedals to climb, they bounce. Unless they're locked out, but then, they don't provide any suspension. They just weigh a lot. And i've already got all the weight i need.... Lucky for me, i live in South Jersey, where there are no hills. I ride some technical trails, to be sure, but there's no real-deal "downhills" to speak of. So, I'm happy to skip the suspension. (I tend to ride trails on singlespeeds...where standing is a must.)

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Kinda reminds me of a modern version of this.....

Just my .02

Cheers,
Dr. T


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[Bicycle808]

WHAT?!?! SO RAD!!! What is that off of?

Kinda reminds me of a modern version of this.....

Just my .02

Cheers,
Dr. T


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[Dr. Tankenstein]

I have no idea, it was filed away in my 'steal this idea someday' folder! Hehehehehehe


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[SILVERKINGPC]

Holy crap! Now that is cool...

 

[VR6GTiGuy]

Kinda reminds me of a modern version of this.....

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Now that is cool!
Probably beyond my skill levels to build one, but that has the gears in my head turning.