Made by a company called Lauf (don’t laugh, it means ‘leaf’ in Icelandic) these leaf-sprung forks are the result an innovative attempt to do away with heavy shock absorbers.

They’re “designed for cross country and marathon riding, where having something lightweight is very important,” according to tester Helgi Berg Fridtjofsson.

We tried them and they’re actually surprisingly effective. The only thing that isn’t in fact, is their marketing.

Until recently they were apparently sold under the slogan: “Shocking Technology, Shocking Performance.” We think something might have been lost in translation there…