Our Story

Our CEO, Benedikt Skulason, sat down with Tyler Benedict to delve into the remarkable journey of Lauf Cycles.

In their conversation, which spans eight insightful episodes, they explored the evolution of the company from its humble beginnings to its current standing as an innovator in the cycling industry.

Join us as we look back at the milestones, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped Lauf Cycles into what it is today.

Lauf Cycles as you know it today didn’t just spring from a desire to make gravel bikes. Our origin story begins with composite prosthetics and a notion that telescoping forks weren’t necessarily the best option for lightweight XC bikes.

In this video, we talk about how the S2 leaf springs came to be, why the material is perfect for short travel forks, and the wildly terrifying early prototypes we used to prove the concept!

Our catalog may have changed from those early days, but our spirit of innovation hasn't! Here's how Lauf started with the idea of making something wildly different, and what it took to get things off the ground.

XC racing in Iceland is just… different. So we needed a different fork, and the Lauf Trail Racer was born and bred to tame the volcanic rock fields and wild sheep and horse trails (not to mention an amazing network of lava black gravel roads!) crisscrossing our island nation.

Winter sees riders switching to fat bikes to float over the snow and ice, and plenty of us ride fat bikes year round for backcountry exploration, bikepacking, and fun. These are our roots, so naturally we started out with our unique leaf spring forks for these categories.

What we learned on the trails started showing promise for gravel, and the next phase of Lauf was about to begin…

When "gravel" was still a twinkle in most bike brands' eyes, Lauf saw an opportunity. Most bikes maxed out at 35mm to 40mm tires, with geometry that wasn't quite there yet. But with the right fork to smooth the road and soak up vibrations, we knew we could take gravel riding to the next level.

Some quick prototyping proved the concept, and a few early brands saw the potential, and the Lauf Grit fork quickly became our top seller as the US gravel scene exploded.

As bikes continued to improve and more riders starting seeing the benefit, we knew our standalone fork was the beginning of something big for Lauf.

With success on some of the biggest gravel races in North America, we knew we were onto something. But a wide variety of bike geometries and designs made it hard to offer customers the optimal experience we knew our leaf spring technology could deliver.

We needed our own bike.

In this episode, we share how that decision was made, the internal debates shaped our future, and the development process that led to the True Grit and turned Lauf Forks into Lauf Cycles.

Compared to building a dealer network, launching a bike is easy.

From road tripping across the US in U-Hauls to partying with media at Interbike and Sea Otter, building a brand meant taking turns spending weeks away from our families in Iceland, visiting hundreds of bike shops, and setting up demos at all the races, big and small.

Here's how Lauf made its name through years of blood, sweat, and gears, then seemingly overnight switched to a consumer direct business model that changed the trajectory of our business forever.

As gravel racing and rider expectations continued to evolve, Lauf's bike needed to evolve with it.

What did we learn from the True Grit? What needed to change? What stayed the same? And why? Here's how we took everything good about our first complete bike and made it even better.

We also talk about the things we didn't do, in spite of trends, to make the Seigla a purpose built race machine designed to tame every course, from the champagne gravel of Nebraska to the mud and ruts of Unbound to the wildly unpredictable Belgian Waffle Rides!

An Icelandic brand with a headquarters in Harrisonburg, Virginia?

Here's the story behind the search for US-based headquarters, why we moved our assembly and shipping operations here, and how it's become an integral part of Lauf's growth strategy.

Still with us? Great, because it's time to party!

Lauf launches have become famous (or perhaps notorious) for pushing the media and our key dealers to the limits. From epic rides to death-defying weather, it's our opportunity to show our mettle and the extreme conditions our forks and bikes are made to handle.

If you think you've ridden in some wild conditions, give these stories a listen and you'll be wanting to up your game. If they don't scare you off, we highly recommend putting The Rift gravel race on your bucket list…