Staff Bikes: Can Dave's Lauf Úthald make a monster 600km ride good fun?

How far would you ride for fun? road.cc co-founder Dave Atkinson appears to have forgotten the amount of fun he had last time at the 600km Bryan Chapman Memorial audax across Wales and back, and is attempting it again in 2024. This year he’s opted to do it on the new Lauf Úthald endurance road bike, which he recently reviewed on the site and really rated. Let’s have a look around the bike and the kit he’ll be using on the ride.

The bike: Lauf Úthald Weekend Warrior Wireless

This is the lowest spec model in the Úthald range, and Dave’s bike comes in the rather stunning Borealis iridescent matte finish. The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that it’s not the red bike he reviewed, so why the swap? Well, a couple of reasons.

“When I reviewed the bike I really wanted to ride it on the BCM, and I was playing with the fit at the front, making it a bit longer and taller”, explains Dave.

“Then I realised I was basically just making the large test bike into an XL. At 189cm I’m exactly between sizes, and the XL bike is the one I’d choose for longer riding. It’s a bit more of an upright position for me, and it’s perfect for smashing out the miles.

"Since I was swapping the bike I also went for the lower-spec build rather than the Race Wireless that I reviewed, as it comes as stock with a shallower wheelset and I just prefer that on long rides.”

The bike itself is designed as a fast-but-comfortable bike – Úthald is Icelandic for “Endurance” – and it has an interesting geometry that’s quite short at the back, but paired with a more relaxed head angle at the front.

When he reviewed it, Dave praised the Úthald as a “fast, comfortable and well-specced road bike with a relaxed and assured ride”. It also made it into our road.cc Recommends section. 

It’s designed for comfort, with lowered seat stays at the back to allow the seatpost and seat tube to flex. Lauf’s Smoothie bars at the front have glass-fibre inserts that flex more than carbon to take the sting out of harsh surfaces.

You might be surprised to see that not many components have been switched out from the stock build: “I’m running the bike almost completely stock”, says Dave.

“The only thing I’ve changed is the Fizik Aliante saddle, which is fine but not a favourite of mine. I’ve swapped it for the Kranx Base 145 that I reviewed, which is cheap as chips but I really get on with it."

Groupset: SRAM Rival AXS

All of Lauf’s bikes are designed to be wireless-only, and the Rival AXS wireless groupset was the lowest tier until recently, when the excellent Apex AXS arrived on the scene. That’s currently only available as a 1x groupset though; here you’re getting a 48/35 crankset at the front and a 10-36 cassette, for a low gear that’s just under 1:1.

Low enough for 40 hours around Wales? Probably, thinks Dave.

“SRAM also does a 46/33 option, and if it was up to me I’d probably have that, as I’m much more likely to run out of gears going slowly than to spin out going quick, but I’m sure it’ll be fine."

Famous last words?

SRAM Rival comes with a power meter as standard, a single-sided one as opposed to the double-sided one on the higher-tier Úthald models. It’s great to see power meters coming as standard equipment this far down bike ranges, but is it something that Dave will actually use?

It turns out he will:

"I find it really useful", says Dave.

"I have my Hammerhead set to auto-lap every hour, and then I have lap average power as one of the fields on my second data screen. That gives me some idea of how hard I’ve been going. 

"Hopefully, with that information available I won’t go much too hard at the start and then blow up halfway through, like last time.”

Although, that would probably make for a pretty interesting video…

Wheels and tyres: DT Swiss/Maxxis

We’ve already touched on the fact that Dave’s opted for the cheaper build with shallower wheels, which are DT Swiss E1800s that should be solid and dependable.

The Maxxis High Road 32mm tyres offer good levels of grip in the wet and the dry, and the big air chamber means you can run them pretty soft for extra comfort without them feeling vague.

“I’ve only got about 45psi in the front and 48psi in the rear, and I’m a big lad”, says Dave.

“That’s enough for them to roll efficiently but take the sting out of the very varied surfaces we get round here.”

Pedals: Shimano PD-M520

Since we made the video, Dave has relented and fitted a newer pair of pedals to the bike that aren’t all rusty, but they’re the same ones: Shimano’s lowest-spec double-sided SPD pedals.

Why not something flashier?

“The PD-M520 is unbeatable as an Audax pedal: it’s easy to get into and basically indestructible”, says Dave.

“You can save a bit of weight going further up the range, but it’s not really worth the extra spend for me.

"I have PD-M520s that are 20 years old and still going strong. I don’t miss the extra platform of a road pedal, especially using Shimano XC5 shoes which are more or less the perfect balance of stiffness for pedalling, comfort and off-bike walkability. That’s been my go-to setup for some time now.”

Aero bars: a Deda/Oval mash-up

Aero extensions are increasingly common on longer-distance bikes. Obviously, if you’re racing at the pointy end of the Transcontinental Race then an aero position could save you hours and hours, but that’s not really the reason many audaxers fit them, says Dave.

“They’re not really there for the aero benefit, although I’m sure there will be times when I’ll be glad of them when punching into a headwind for hours at a stretch.

"Mostly it’s just another hand position: you tend to get numb hands after a while on an audax and the aero bars allow you to take the weight off your hands completely and give them a rest. They’re great for that.

"I’ve added some risers to make the position less aggressive and easier to hold. It’s less aero that way but I’m likely to use it more.”

That sticker is just there to remind Dave to do things when he stops (he's getting on a bit). 

Mudguards: SKS Raceblade Pro XL

“The Úthald is such a versatile bike that it’s a shame it can’t take full mudguards, but the Raceblade Pro XLs are the next best thing”, says Dave.

“They’re about the longest quick-release mudguards you can get. The back could be longer, I’ve added a longer flap to get it below the axle which you want when riding in the rain, it’s a bit of a hack though so I might invest in a proper one.

"Hopefully, the weather will be banging and I won’t need them anyway, in which case it’s super easy to remove them.”

Bags: Ortlieb QR seatpack and Zéfal frame bag

On a 600km ride, you obviously need to carry some stuff, although the Bryan Chapman has a drop-bag system so you can get a change of clothes and anything else you want ferried out to the sleep stop. Dave has opted for a frame bag and a backpacking-style seatpack for enough luggage capacity on the ride.

“Mostly it’s just spares, tools, food and the odd bit of clothing”, says Dave.

“I tend to take an insulated jacket to wear off the bike, and a down jacket if it’s going to be dry as it packs up smaller. Then there’s extra layers, or more likely space for them as I’ll be wearing most of my kit at 6am when I set off!

"I carry a full toolkit, and although I run the tyres tubeless, I carry two inner tubes and a puncture repair kit as well as a Dart tool to fix tubeless holes. That way I know I can always patch up and keep going. I carry a lightweight spare tyre too, just in case.”

The Ortlieb bag is a bikepacking-style affair, but with a significant difference: it attaches to the saddle rails with a quick-release plate, which makes it easy to get on and off and also means that it doesn’t sway like some seatpacks do.

“I really like it”, says Dave.

“It’s a bit heavier than some but I’ll take that hit for the performance and the convenience of getting it on and off. Often I’ll use a Tailfin on long rides, but I don’t really need the capacity on this one because of the drop bag”.

The Zéfal frame bag is a bit of a surprise: Didn’t you give it a less-than-glowing review last year, Dave?

“I did, but that was specifically because it had a pretty major design flaw where the exposed edges at the top of the bag rubbed your legs raw after a while.

“It’s easily fixed though, just a bit of insulating tape along the seam and it’s fine. Once you’ve done that it’s a great bag, but you shouldn’t really need to hack stuff out of the box to make it work.

"I use the frame bag mostly for snacks and electronics. I’m filming the ride so my DJI Osmo Action 4 will be in there as well as my OneOdio over-the-ear headphones that’ll definitely be coming out later in the ride to take my mind off all the bits that are hurting."

Lights: Ravemen/Magene/Lezyne

Dave’s sporting three lights, two at the back and one at the front. The main rear light is a Lezyne Zecto Drive which is attached to the seatpack: “It’s a really great light. It’s nice and bright and it runs for ages". says Dave. 

"On an audax, and especially after dark, it’s courtesy to use a static light rather than a blinking one, and the Zecto Drive has a static mode that’ll run for about a day, so easily enough to get through the night. I’ve got a set, with the front light too, and I’ll take that as well.

"It’s mainly going to be as a light to film with after dark but also I know I have a spare if my main front light dies for some reason.”

Talking of the front light, that’s a Ravemen LR1600, which Dave reviewed back in 2022 and has been using ever since.

“Hands down this is my favourite front light right now”, he says.

“It’s small, it runs for ages, and it’s well built. The beam is a nice squared-off shape that puts most of the light on the road but there’s also enough spill for lighting up road signs after dark. Also, it’s symmetrical so you can flip it and run it under the bars. And if it does run out of juice (it won’t on the BCM, guaranteed) you can run it from an external battery pack. It’s great."

The other light is a Magene L508 radar. “I like running a radar, especially on a long ride like the BCM where I’m likely to be listening to music for big stretches”, says Dave.

“It doesn’t replace looking over your shoulder but for a lot of riding it’s a big help, and it picks up cars often before you’ve either heard or seen them.”

Let us know what you think of Dave's BCM bike choice in the comments section below, or if you're feeling really nice then wish him some luck. He'll need it!

Find out more about the Lauf Úthald endurance road bike here