Just curious, if you want a low BB and stability, why not get a diverge?
Are you saying why would you buy the Seigla instead of the Diverge? If so, I’d say the price/components/clearance/weight all favor the Lauf. The Diverge does give you rear suspension though if that’s your priority.
If you’re asking why buy the Crux instead of the Diverge, my answer is the same as my Seigla vs. Crux comment.
Wow, great feedback everyone! I appreciate your thoughts.
Yesterday I rented a Crux DSW Comp from the Specialized Experience Center and took it for a 30 mile ride on gravel roads near Bentonville. The route was a mix of loose rock, powder (its been really dry), climbs, and curves. Here are my thoughts:
Pros: The geometry is very close to my road bike so I felt comfortable right away. It was quick on the climbs and compacted surfaces. Riding on flats was fast and I never felt out of control on the descents. It was light for a aluminum frame bike!
Cons: My biggest issues with this bike have less to do with the bike and more with the tires. The bike had on 38’s which was fine for the flat compacted surfaces, but not for the loose, powdery climbs and corners. I had to take it easy at almost every turn. During my ride I kept thinking that it felt like riding a road bike on a rough road meaning I felt every little bump. I am sure these bumps would have been absorbed better by wider tires and a carbon frame. (Why the Specialized Experience Center didn’t have wider tires on their gravel demo bike is beyond me.)
I didn’t hate the bike but I didn’t fall in love with it either. Again, I think that that riding the Crux with a carbon frame and wide tires would significantly change the feel and fun factor. At least I was able to get a feel for the size and geometry which was all positive.
I am probably going to take advantage of Lauf’s 30 day return policy test the bike out. If i like it then that’s great! If I don’t then I’ll send it back and eat the shipping fees.
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I think the seigla feels more stable than Crux at the large size. The crux gets fairly steep at the 58 frame, which I am not a fan of. That is entirely personal preference, though, as I know many people like that.
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You can also smooth the front end with a suspension stem such as offered by RedShift or Cane Creek, in addition to larger tires.
FWIW, I have a Seigla. When I was making my selection, I ended up narrowing my search down to the Seigla, Giant Revolt, and Fezzari (now Ari Bikes) Shafer. I specifically choose the Seigla because I wanted the grit fork for an even smoother ride. I was intrigued by the leaf-spring design and did not want a suspension system that required maintenance. If I had gone with the Revolt or Shafer I would have gotten a suspension stem.
Most of the gravel I ride has washboard and the fork handles it well. The grit fork suspends more of the rider / bike system than a suspension stem and, from that perspective, should be more effective.
Additionally, the geometry of the bike does not change as the fork compresses. The grit fork is not damped, though, and there are rare reports of speed wobbles, whereas stem systems are damped. There are pros and cons to both.
I also wanted wider tire clearance than what most other gravel bikes offer. I have a set of 2.1 Thunderburts mounted to some climbing wheels but haven’t put them to use yet (need to get into the Blue Ridge Mountains for that), but few gravel bikes can clear tires that wide.
For racing, which seems to be your intended use case, pros seem to be riding 38-45mm. Mid- to front-pack riders seems to be 45-50mm. Both have racy geometries (although I find my Seigla more comfortable than my endurance road bike even though I have them setup to within a few mm of each other) and will serve you well.
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Just to offer a counterpoint, I didn’t feel my Lauf fork made any difference at all on washboard and I felt like it swayed on climbs. Personally, now that I’ve sold the Lauf, I feel that tire width/pressure makes a much bigger difference than the True Grit fork did, so if I was buying a Seigla, I’d probably buy the rigid fork and drop the tire pressure.
That’s not me saying that “you’re wrong”, just that I think it’s a personal thing when it comes to how something “feels”, and it probably depends on where and how you’re riding it too.
Yeah, it is a bit of an apples and oranges comparison there. Especially since you only had 38’s.
Also, I think the geometry on the DSW’s is a tad shorter than the carbon bikes…at least that is what I recall form the Geek Warning podcast after the bikes were announced.
I feel that the Grit fork is faster over medium-to-rough gravel in a race scenario. Like you want/need to be just absolutely plowing into rough terrain with limited ability to choose a line, it works very well to take the edge off and leaves you fresher at the end of a longer effort.
However, for normal riding, training, and/or smoother terrain, the rigid fork with fat tires is preferable to me. The suspension fork feels a bit vague and wobbly, especially out of the saddle, and 50mm+ tires at lower pressure provide a more steady and predictable ride that’s plenty smooth even with the rigid fork. I’ve also done some bike packing with the Grit fork and it’s kind of a liability; adding additional weight to the bars definitely leads to speed wobble, and the bike feels pretty flexy and weird when loaded up. Definitely prefer the JAF as a more versatile option for these reasons, though I may put the Grit on for specific local events that are 100% unpaved and include single track or Moto trails.
Seems like your cons are mostly the tires? I would not factor that in to your decision. Depending on your shop they might even put on 42s for you instead. But if you don’t think bigger tires would fix your Cons try the Lauf!
Since you’re not in love with the crux, doesn’t hurt to try the siegla.
If you liked the geometry of the crux, I think that moving to some tubeless 45’s/47’s and a carbon frame would make the difference you’re looking for.
The siegla is a great value bike, but since you’re competitively racing (even if it’s just against your own 100% efforts), I’d probably lean towards the crux.
I didn’t know you sold your Seigla. Did you replace it with another gravel bike? If so, which one?
I had a True Grit. I replaced it with a Revolt, but decided I’d gone too far toward mtb, so I decided to replace it and my Tarmac both with a Crux.
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I have a 2022 crux that I’ve had for nearly 2 years. I love the bike. It is very light and responsive. I race cross and I’m headed out to the rad in Trinidad next weekend. However, it is fairly rigid. That’s also why it’s responsive. In my opinion it is the opposite of a noodle. I live in New Mexico and the gravel races locally are quite rough and I bought a Trek super caliber, both for racing cross-country and for rougher gravel courses. if you’re going to race a bunch of rough courses lauf probably makes more sense. Two of my buddies I ride with all the time have lauffs and they love them.
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Had settled on the Siegla and had one in my basket but then read that they won’t change the brake configuration whilst in assembly, for the UK market, so that’s my basket emptied))
Looks like it’s a Giant for me.
Your call and your money of course, but swapping brake hoses and re-bleeding should be a 15 minute job for any competent mechanic.
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Bizarre that they won’t do this simple job in factory.
Bike assembly usually doesn’t work like that. They’re not assembling bikes for specific orders, they just build a bunch of each size and then ship them out as needed. Adding customization options adds to complexity of the supply chain and therefore adds to price. Ari is one of the few direct-to-consumer brands that lets you customize your build.
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Not how assembly lines work. Kinda breaks the whole system.
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Aren’t gravel bikes supposed to have 2.2 clearance for 2025?
Tire space, geo and fork suspension capability should probably be the deciding factors.
Everything else spec wise is replaceable/upgradable and will have smaller impact on the ride.
To be honest I am a bit hesitant to buy a bike now. Next year could see some new models with wider tire clearance.