Lauf has launched the eElja, an e-bike version of its Elja trail bike, pairing the same LSP suspension layout with a TQ HPR60 motor and a claimed weight that puts it at the lighter end of the mid-travel e-MTB category.
- Brand: Lauf
- Product: eElja
- Price: from $6,990 (UK pricing currently TBC)
- From: Lauf Cycles
- Tested by: Mark for 2 days
The new eElja, is very much based on the same platform as the excellent Lauf Elja but with a TQ HPR60 motor, a 360Wh battery and a little more travel.
For anyone already familiar with the non-assisted Elja, this looks like Lauf applying the same slightly different thinking to an e-bike rather than starting from scratch and heading straight for full-fat bulk.
Key details
The numbers are fairly straightforward: 140mm travel up front, 130mm at the rear, 29in wheels, clearance for tyres up to 3.0in, and a claimed weight starting at 16.6kg for a size medium in tubeless form.
Power comes from the TQ HPR60 system, delivering 60Nm torque and 350W output. The standard battery is 360Wh, with an optional 160Wh range extender available for longer rides.
Like the non-assisted Elja, the eElja uses Lauf’s LSP suspension layout. The frame is full carbon, using what Lauf calls IRM, or Impact Resistant Modulus, and the bike is built around a simplified suspension design rather than a more conventional multi-link arrangement.
Lauf has also gone fully wireless on the controls, with shifting, dropper and motor modes all handled through SRAM AXS pods. Tyres are 2.6in Goodyear Escape Max Trail Light as standard.
There are two builds. The ‘Weekend Warrior’ gets alloy wheels and cranks, SRAM GX AXS, a RockShox Pike Select fork and Deluxe Select shock, and is priced at $6,990 (UK pricing currently TBC). ‘The Race’ build gets carbon cranks and rims, an eThirteen Sidekick rear hub, SRAM X0 AXS, and higher-spec RockShox suspension, for $8,490.
Colour options are Sóley Yellow, Basalt Black, Geysir Gray and Borealis, and Lauf is selling the bike direct through its own website.
Lauf eElja geometry
| Small | Medium | Large | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rider Height | 156–166 cm / 5’1″–5’5.3″ | 167–178 cm / 5’5.7″–5’10.1″ | 179–190 cm 5’10.5″–6’2.8″ | 191–200 cm / 6’3.2″–6’6.7″ |
| Stem | Ø35mm, 35mm, 6° | Ø35mm, 50mm, 6° | Ø35mm, 50mm, 6° | Ø35mm, 50mm, 6° |
| (A) Frame reach | 416 | 446 | 475 | 502 |
| (B) Frame stack | 609 | 619 | 630 | 640 |
| (C) Head angle | 65.1° | 65.1° | 65.1° | 65.1° |
| (D) Seattube angle | 76.8° | 76.3° | 75.7° | 75.3° |
| (E) Seattube length | 423 | 443 | 453 | 463 |
| (F) Chainstay length | 448 | 448 | 448 | 448 |
| (G) BB drop | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 |
| (H) Headtube length | 104 | 115 | 126 | 137 |
| (I) Wheelbase | 1178 | 1213 | 1248 | 1280 |
All measurements in mm unless otherwise stated. Angles in degrees.
My first impressions
I flew north to Iceland and then north again to the resort of Akureryri on Iceland’s northern coast in August last year. Lauf hosted us close to the mountain bike park resort, where we got to ride the eElja on a mixture of icelandic natural and bike park trails.
As a place for first impressions it was definitely up to the job.
I’m not a fan of what we have come to know as full fat eBikes. My riding preference is very much that the handling of the bike comes top of my list. I want help to get up the climbs but I still want to be challenged by them. The eElja fits that criteria very well. It looks like the acoustic (no apologies for that terminology) model and Lauf have been clever and I think wise to ensure that the Elja ‘vibe’ is present across both platforms.
Weight is impressively low and that matters to me a great deal. I’m not a weight weeney by any stretch but I want my bikes to feel like bikes on the descents. I want to hop them over stuff rather than plough through and that’s hard to do with my weedy power output on a full fat, high torque machine. The eElja didn’t feel like that at all. I felt assisted on the climbs (we did a lot of laps in the park and the lifts were closed) and then completely forgot about the motor on the descents.
It IS heavier than the acoustic Elja and that does make it ride differently, but there’s no getting away from the fact they are both bikes cut from the same design principal. I guess if I have a reservation it is around the fact the spec is purposely lightweight. This is a pedelec version of an XC bike. My problem with that is when you add a motor and feel like you can climb anything, you then hammer the descents pretty hard. In short, and this is a me problem, I forgot it was an XC bike and went a bit full on. It meant I had to reign things in a bit more to allow the lightweight fork to do it’s intended job. But, like I say, that’s a me problem not an Lauf one.
The TQ Motor
The TQ motor is one of my favourites. It’s one of the smallest and quietest and it doesn’t try and be a powerhouse. At 60nm of torque it gives just the right amount of assist that helps you to stay out on the trails for longer while not completely removing the need for your actual trail skills.
I’m a fan of this bike. It suits what I want from an eMTB. It’s not a powerlifter. It’s a range extender and a fun enhancer.
Final thoughts
For now, the eElja looks like Lauf has taken the slightly leftfield character of the Elja and added a light-assist motor without turning it into a bloated mini-motorbike. Which, for plenty of riders, may be the whole point.
