Air sprung /Remote lockout /Unique dropouts / 85 and 100mm options / Weight: 2.2kg/4lb
Contact: Magura 01530 414142

Moving up a notch from April’s review of the 100mm Laurin, the 130mm is the true all-mountain version and as such will appeal to those with bigger, burlier bikes and full-sussers. The manufacture is identical through the three-fork range — 85mm is the third travel option — and all feature magnesium lowers with the DAD (double-arch design) braces and Magura’s signature stainless steel inserts in the IS disc mounts and the dropouts. The crown is made of 6082 T6 aluminium and incorporates a guide for the remote handlebar lockout lever. There is a neat little cable tidy to avoid rubbing the paint away — pertinent if you opt for a custom colour option. Also signature are the Firm Tech mounts. You can have a cantilever/disc mount or a Firm Tech/disc mount, but we can’t imagine you using them. Most riders running a 130mm fork will be running disc brakes, no?
The air spring is accessed via the left leg and the right leg houses the Albert Select platform compression damping. Rebound adjustment is at the foot of the same leg. The first hiccup we had with the Albert Select was with the manual, and its instructions on how to fit the remote lever, and where exactly the position of the locating pin should be. Something may have been lost in translation. Secondly, we had to go out and buy an odd-size Allen key to fit the remote cable and collar. Minor niggles aside, once fitted to the bike the rigidity from the DAD arches could be appreciated when charging root fields and chattery corners. With that extra 30mm of travel we could set up the fork to offer plushness through the stroke and it definitely felt more ‘bottomless’ than its shorter-travel sibling. Keeping it on the nifty side we dialled between two and four clicks in on the rebound damper. There is no need for more. And there is no need for a long wait for any seal break-in period. This fork did feel smooth out of the box. Compression damping took longer to fathom out, however, but a quick call to suspension guru Tony Barton at Magura UK confirmed that we weren’t doing it properly!
“The platform only activates when the cable is pulled fully clockwise,” he said. “Then the threshold dial pops up to allow compression adjustment — but there is still some sag to follow the contours. The platform only works when the lever is locked down.” So the key is to ensure the cable is fitted correctly into the locating slot on the blue dial so that the remote lever throw pulls enough cable.
Magura’s new forks are a significant step forward. The DAD feature provides excellent steering and tracking. You can buy them in a colour to match (or clash with) your steed. The Laurin we have rides better than the 100mm version we tested in April and is the fork we would plump for, for our brand of riding, which doesn’t include much competition and where precision and ruggedness takes priority over weight.

MBR RATING: 8/10