New road and time trial bikes use 25 per cent high-modulus carbon fibre

By Stan Portus

Published: Wednesday, 21 June 2023 at 12:00 am

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Look has announced the release of two new bikes, the 795 Blade RS road bike and 796 Monoblade RS time trial bike.

Launched at Eurobike 2023, the two bikes are said to have “UCI WorldTour DNA” and were tested through the 2022 and 2023 seasons with Team Cofidis.

Look says both bikes are natural progressions of their predecessors. However, they’ve been updated with feedback from professional riders and technology, and construction techniques borrowed from the Look T20 track bike.

As a result, the bikes are said to reduce weight while increasing stiffness.

Pricing for the Look 795 Blade RS starts from £8,490/$9,000/€8,490 for complete bikes.

The Look 796 Monoblade RS is available as a frameset, costing £6,990/$7,800/€6,990.

Look 795 Blade RS

Look claims the new 795 Blade RS is 7 per cent stiffer and 10 per cent more aerodynamic than the outgoing 795 RS.

The increase in stiffness is due to the use of Look’s Ultra High Modulus Carbon in 25 per cent of the frame.

This carbon fibre, which is also used on the T20 track bike, leads to a lightweight bike.

The 795 Blade RS frame weighs a claimed 890g and the fork weighs a claimed 435g, in a size small.

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This leads to the complete bike weighing a claimed 7kg in a size medium, with a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset, power meter pedals and the new Corima MCC Evo 32 wheelset.

Look says it has refined sections of the frame to increase aerodynamics.

It says it has incorporated aerodynamic seatstays, seatpost, seatpost clamp, top tube and fork.

Look says the horizontal top tube is more aerodynamic than a sloped top tube.

The bottle cage mounts are located low in the bike’s front triangle to further aid aerodynamics.

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The bike has an aerodynamic cockpit with a two-piece handlebar and stem design that is fully integrated.

Look says this choice of cockpit enables riders to make easy adjustments to the bike. This should make it easy to switch out components and make adjustments to bar width and stem length.

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At Look’s Eurobike presentation, the brand said the cockpit design saves 5 watts.

Jean-Marc Hillairet, Look’s research and development frame expert, said this is the “first time to get this [level of] aerodynamics at this weight [for Look].”

The geometry is said to be race-oriented, but Look says the bike can accommodate different riders’ sizes and preferences without compromising performance.

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Look 796 Monoblade RS

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Look says the 796 Mononblade RS prioritises “pure speed and aerodynamics”, echoing the sentiment behind many – if not all – time trial bikes.

The bike uses the same Ultra High Modulus Carbon as the 795 Blade RS in 25 per cent of the frame.

Look says the new TT bike is lighter and stiffer than its predecessor.

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The frameset weighs a claimed 1,745g in a size small.

Benjamin Thomas, pro rider at Team Cofidis, who has already won a time trial using the bike, says: “This bike is exceptionally lightweight and fast for a time trial bike.”

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“What excited me the most was its rigidity, responsiveness in accelerations, and meticulously developed aerodynamics for high-speed riding.”

Look has updated the seatpost and the cockpit of the 796 Monoblade RS.

The bike features the new Look Aeropost seatpost with a reversible sliding head and integrated sliding clamp.

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The new time trial base bar is 400mm wide and features internal cable routing.

There are new Look Aero time trial aero bars, too, which provide 0-20 degrees of adjustment.

The bike now uses a T47 bottom bracket standard.

It is disc-brake specific and compatible with electronic groupsets only.

 

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