Ashton Lambie is the fastest man in the world over four kilometers. He set the world record of 3:59.93 in August, and won the world championship in the individual pursuit in October. So what does he ride for gravel? This year, it’s Lauf’s new Seigla gravel bike that has clearance for massive 2.25in tires. Oh, and the Seigla has a rainbow-stripe motif, too, because world champion.
Lambie came to Colorado this past weekend for Wild Horse Gravel, where he placed eighth. Lambie said he went hard for the first portion, riding in the front group, then “I shut it down when I realized I was doing 500 watts on these rollers and I wasn’t having much fun.”
After dedicating a few years to setting a world record and winning a world championship, Lambie shifted gears this year to do a gravel and mountain bike program with Jukebox Cycling and his own collection of sponsors, including Lauf, SRAM, and Zipp.
Lambie is part of the gravel and mountain bike Life Time Grand Prix series this year, with Unbound Gravel the next stop.
Take a closer look at Lambie’s Seigla below.
Ashton Lambie riding at The High Lonesome Ranch, home of Wild Horse Gravel in western Colorado.
Lambie has a Lauf Seigla, the new heavy-duty gravel bike from the Icelandic brand that first made a splash with its leaf-sprung fork. Among other notable characteristics, the Seigla can take up to 2.25in tires, which is exactly what Lambie raced in Wild Horse Gravel.
Those tires are how big? Six-time Leadville champion Dave Wiens checks out Lambie’s Vittoria tires after the Wild Horse finish, as the two of them chat with Bobby Julich (in Outside kit) and John Breznicky (in red).
Vittoria makes its Terreno Dry tire in a wide range of widths. A 2.25in tire is 57.15m — well beyond what the vast majority of gravel bikes can handle. To be clear, this is a 29in/700c wheel with a 2.25in tire, not a 650B model.
Lauf’s third generation Grit fork also has wider tire clearance than before, plus beefed-up lateral stiffness. While you can’t adjust the fork like you can with hydraulic or air suspension models, Lauf does tune the forks for each frame size.
The old fork could handle up to 45mm tires. This one goes to 2.25in/57.15mm, and at the same weight. Travel is 30mm. The fork weighs 850g. For context, SRAM’s new RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR fork comes in 30mm and 40mm options, and weighs 1,230g with clearance for up to 50mm tires.
Lambie has had a relationship with Zipp for a few years, and he’s racing that company’s new 101 XPLR wheels, which the company claims to have ‘ankle compliance,’ meaning the rim pivots — slightly — on the spokes.
Instead of dropping, elevating or extending the stays to get extra tire clearance, Lauf ran them straight, and then used a solid, 6mm-thick block of solid carbon at the spot between the chainring and the tire. The driveside stay also has this built-in protector.
The Seigla is built for 1x only. The stock bikes come with 40t chainrings; Lambie runs a 48. Complete bikes start at $3,640, with a SRAM Rival AXS XPLR build that has a power meter.
Lauf didn’t skimp on frame construction. C-Bear provides the ceramic-bearing bottom bracket. (Lauf stock bikes come with SRAM BBs.)
You can take the boy out of the velodrome, but you can’t take the velodrome out of the boy.
ISM saddles are common in triathlon and not uncommon in track. On the road, you can spot them occasionally in the peloton. But on gravel bikes? Chalk another one up for the Sub4 Club.
While Lambie still enjoys going fast, he’s also enjoying branching out a bit, gear-wise: “I always used to run 36cm bars. Now I’m doing 40cm.”
Zipp also provides his cockpit components.
Apidura’s top tube bag has a magnetic closure for easy access.
No arguments here.
Lauf does sell two complete bikes with SRAM Red AXS XPLR and a Quarq power meter like Lambie has, but the stock models come with e*thirteen wheels and a different cockpit.
A 48t ring is likely on the tall side for most riders, especially at Wild Horse Gravel where a 22-percent climb takes racers to the course’s high point at 8,200 feet.
SRAM’s XPLR cassette has a wide, 10-44 range.
Lauf was an early developer of gravel bikes that offer road-like positioning and more mountain-bike-like handling.
A Silca Tattico mini pump, just in case.
Wild Horse Gravel is part of Outside, the same parent company as VeloNews. We gave Ashton the #1 number plate because, hey, world champion.
Lambie was also showing off a new set of casual and cycling clothing from CHPT 3, David Millar’s high-end brand. The logo reads ‘SUB4 Club’ — which of course is a club consisting of exactly one single person.
Lambie said he was happy to have big, fat tires on a rough course that saw many a rider flat, drop a chain, or even break a wheel.