Gravel Suspension fork
Grit SL
The Lauf Grit SL is the perfect addition to any gravel bike - or to “gravel-up” the CX bike. It makes the bike more capable and more comfortable.View Specs
Grit SL
Super light. Lightning fast.
The Grit SL is the perfect addition to any gravel bike - or to “gravel-up” the CX bike. It makes the bike more capable and more comfortable. Make your next adventure the most fun one yet!
Features
The Grit SL is packed with features that make a world of difference on gravel. Become smoother, faster and get more traction - all in a super lightweight package.
Zero Maintenance
The design of the Grit SL is based around eliminating all “moving parts”, and therefore, friction and maintenance. The monocoque carbon fiber structure delivers incredible strength, and the test-fork we have in our lab has already been “shocked” over 1 million times, without showing any signs of wear and tear. That equals more grinding than you’ll manage to cram into at least 5 years of action!
S2 Springs
The springs on the Grit SL are made of super strong S2 glassfiber that is extremely tough on hits and flexible in the direction of the travel. The springs have been “shocked” in our test lab over 1.500.000 times reaching 22mm amplitude every time.
Small Bump Performance
The Grit SL is designed to maintain the lightness and reliability of rigid forks, while offering absorption and traction in small bumps that conventional suspension forks can’t match. The stiction and high unsprung weight of conventional suspension forks make them unable to keep up with high-speed input as brilliantly as the Lauf Grit SL.
Progressive Spring Rate
The Grit SL has 30mm of travel with progressive spring rate. This means that the further the fork compresses the springs become stiffer. This helps keeping the fork from bottoming without sacrificing small bump compliance.
All Weather
The Grit SL works flawlessly in all weather conditions. Whether you find yourself in the freezing Antarctica or the scorching Sahara - it also loves salt and sand. Grab your rig and just ride!
Cargo Mounts
We do not have cargo mounts on our forks but there are 3rd party solutions that can be used. For instance the Twofish Unlimited Quick Cage adapters that can be used with a broad variety of cages.
Specs
Wheels
700c and 27.5"
We recommend 700c for less rolling resistance.
Max Tire Width
700x45mm or 27.5x2.1"
The Grit SL forks can take up a whole lot of rubber, which can save your day when things get dirty.
Travel
30mm / 1.18"
This is the sweet spot for our forks. Since the travel is fairly short and progressive, we don’t need damping. That makes the fork a lot simpler and maintenance free.
Weight
850 g / 1.87 lbs
The Grit SL is super light and the perfect addition to gravel bikes - or to "gravel-up" cyclocross bikes. Weight measured with 210mm steerer and Lauf axle.
Unsprung Weight
250g
The low unsprung weight is one of the design elements that makes this fork extremely good at tracking small bumps and chatter which gives you great traction and isolates you from vibration.
Axle
12mm or 15mm thru-axle
All forks are supplied with our own Lauf axle. A lightweight low profile axle, which requires a 6mm allen key. If you prefer a lever, you can replace the 15mm Grit SL with e.g. the RockShox Maxle.
Hub Spacing
100mm
Rake
47mm
The rake on the Grit SL is made to fit the slightly longer axle to crown then on on most gravel forks, while maintaining steering characteristics of 45mm rake rigid fork.
Axle to Crown
411mm (including 6mm sag)
The axle to crown on the Grit SL is slightly longer then on most rigid gravel forks, which is necessary to incorporate the 30mm travel. Combined with the 47mm rake the Grit maintains the steering characteristics of a rigid fork with 45mm rake and 395mm axle to crown.
Steerer
Tapered 1 1/8" - 1 1/2"
The Grit SL has an integrated crown race with 45° angle. It comes with a bearing that fits most headsets (45° upper and lower) but please check if the bearing fits your current headset. Uncut steerer is 300mm.
Minimum Rotor Size
160mm
The Grit SL is made for flat mount brakes. Spacers can be used to fit a 180mm rotor. If you'd like to use post mount brakes you should use this adapter for 160mm rotor: SM-MA-F140PDA.
Rider Weight Limit
120 kg / 265 lbs
This is your weight including gear.
Short FAQ
Does the fork fit my bike?
In most cases the fork will fit your bike if it's new-ish. There are a few key parameters that need to be checked to quickly assess if the fork fits - you may need to confirm the fit with your bike manufacturer.
- Headtube needs to be tapered: 1 1/8" to 1 1/2"
- If you have an oversized (44mm/1 ⅛) headtube you can use a cup.
- Front hub needs to take 12mm or 15mm thru-axle. Depending on the fork you want.
- The hub needs to 100mm wide.
- Brakes should be flat-mount (unless you have an adapter fro post-mount).
- The head set bearings to go with the fork need to have a 45° angle, top and bottom.
- Rotors should be 160mm.Can I lock out the fork?
No, you can't. But please read further.
On a conventional XC suspension fork you definitely need lockout. You need it because there is a substantial energy loss in the suspension movement (i.e. friction and damping mechanism), therefore you want to block all suspension when you don’t desperately need it. Hence, high end conventional XC suspension forks should be lockable. This however puts you in the position of constantly evaluating if you should prefer suspension or energy efficiency. In many cases you end up carrying a hugely overweight “rigid fork” over the majority of a race. This is particularly true for most XC-Marathon races. A Lauf fork on the other hand doesn’t have friction or a damping mechanism. Making it energy efficient by the nature of its design, so it shouldn’t be lockable. This way it can filter out all those small bumps you frequently encounter, without wasting your energy! To keep the suspension from feeling bouncy we set the spring rate of Lauf forks fairly high (hence only 60mm of travel are needed) so in most cases you won’t even notice that it’s moving at all. You’ll just notice how the road smoothens.What maintenance is required on the fork?
We highly recommend giving your fork a hot bath from time to time and gently get rid of all grime. It's so much more fun heading out on a clean fork - plus we've heard that clean bikes are fast bikes and clean forks are happy forks.
What is the difference between the Grit and Grit SL?
The difference is small, but huge. The biggest change you'll see is the appearance. The Grit SL looks more straight.
Other stuff the Grit SL has over the Grit:
- 50g lighter.
- Laterally stiffer structure.
- Stiffer structure fore/aft.
- Nn integrated crownrace.Can I swap out the included thru-axle?
Yes you can. Just make sure you purchase an axle with the correct measurements.
Full length 148mm (for hub width 100mm) with 12mm or 15mm diameter axle depending on the model you have. Thread pitch 1.5mm
Support
Installing the Lauf Grit SL is a breeze. If in doubt, please check out the guides below. If you're still in need, please contact us through the chat.
