In 2017 Lauf, probably best known for its leaf-sprung suspension forks, launched its first bike, the True Grit gravel bike. We had a brief ride on one at Grinduro last year, and had a blast. It’s almost a little unfair that so much attention is given to the fork, because the rest of the bike was superb. As it is only available as a full build, or frame/fork package, anyone not fully bought into the idea of a bit of bounce up front would most likely have shopped elsewhere.
The Anywhere
Enter a new bike… the Anywhere has the same frame at its heart as the True Grit. The frame is paired to Lauf’s new carbon rigid fork, the JAF (Just A Fork). In many ways, there’s little “wow” about this, but the Icelandic company has made sure to add anything cage bolts to each leg.
A new fork
The JAF also brings the front end down slightly – creating a more road-oriented, aerodynamic position. Lauf says that because the frame is the same, it’s easy to swap between a JAF and Grit SL fork, depending on what you are doing.
And bars
Not happy with designing a new rigid fork, Lauf has also brought out the Smoothie “comfort” drop bar, because it “believes speed and comfort can go together in perfect harmony – like shark and brennivín”. We had to Google this. Apparently brennivín is Iceland’s signature distilled beverage. Presumably it complements shark in the same as speed complements comfort? Yeah, we are a bit lost too.
Anyway, Lauf says that the Smoothie is not just a drop bar with a new shape and more positions (we’ll be honest, we’ve squinted a lot and can’t really see any new positions versus regular flared drops, but we’ll look forward to trying it out and being surprised. The structure is made of carbon and Lauf’s high-end S2 fibreglass, which has enabled it to design flex into the bar where needed the most.
More details
The full bike options of the Anywhere ship with Maxxis Velocity AR semi-slick all-round tyres, but there’s clearance for 700c x 45mm knobblies should you want to take the Anywhere, er anywhere.
The Anywhere comes in three builds at launch, starting from $2690 in the Core level specified with Apex 1 drivetrain. All models and pricing can be seen at Lauf Cycling.
