Look 695 review

[bingo296]

did a search for this, but couldn’t find anything. if i missed it, sorry.

a quick review i wrote after test riding the Look 695, in case you’re interested:

I finally just put an hour into this bike. I like it a lot. I see one in my future. I’m going to compare it to my Denver Time and my Houston Time.

Fit is pretty good. The geometry isn’t too far off from my Times, so getting it set wasn’t too tough. I don’t care for that elbow bend at the front of the top tube, but that’s just me.

Good feel to the bike. Handling was solid, although the front end isn’t quite as stiff as my 6 year old Houston Time. It’s close enough, though, so that’s not a deal killer. And don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying it’s noodly. The front end is quite solid. The only other bike I’ve ridden that was better in the front end is my Time. I really like headtubes that flare down to 1.5 inches at the bottom; i think it makes a bike way more stable. Slightly shorter wheelbase than the Denver Time, but that is a gran fondo bike, made for all day comfort rides, so you would expect that. Wheelbase seemed pretty close to the Houston Time, a racing frame, and after about 2 turns, i didn’t even notice it. Nothing excessive, nothing twitchy, just what you’d expect from a responsive road racing frame that’s not a crit bike.

I was seeing speeds i hit on my Houston Time. i haven’t seen those since i moved to Denver and got the gran fondo bike. That was the biggest deal of all. Man, higher speeds make me happy.

Doesn’t “laterally stiff but vertically compliant” just drive ya nuts? Me, too. But let’s talk about that. I’m not a big strong guy, or a sprinter, so ‘stiff’ in the bottom bracket has never really meant too much to me. Everything is ‘stiff’ enough for me. To be honest, i’ve never really felt anything i thought was ‘stiffer’ than another bike. I’ve felt play in a BB before, but when everything was tightened down, nothing ever felt ‘stiffer’ than something else. But, for the first time, I’ve sensed that in a bike. I don’t know if it’s those proprietary Look cranks, or the oversized BB, or a combination of the two, but for the first time i felt ‘stiff’ in a pedal push, more so than on any other bike. I can’t really describe it, but it was there. It just felt different. Not a big, massive change; a subtle difference, but enough to be noticeable. I kinda liked it. I think it’s one of those things that, after you’ve ridden it 3 times, it just feels like the normal way of doing things. But it was a significant change from my gran fondo bike. So the ‘laterally stiff’ bit is, in fact, correct.

Some road buzz. The Denver Time is really comfy; the Houston Time is a full-on race machine (as this Look is), and while the buzz on the Look doesn’t bother me, it’s significantly more than the Denver bike. It doesn’t bother me because the Look came in somewhere between the two Times. So i guess in six years, since i bought the Houston Time, technology has improved enough that you can build a bike lighter, stiff, and still make it a bit more comfortable. Ain’t technology grand? Funny thing – while i was thinking about this, i looked down at the down tube and noticed the SR label on it. That stands for Super Rigid, BTW. Look says their SR bike is 15% stiffer than the regular 695. Maybe that accounts for how the cranks/BB felt. I just assumed this was a regular bike. And then i realized two things; first, i was on a Fizik, which i don’t like, and i find harsh. And second, this was a test bike that had the seat mast cut off and a regular seat post inserted. Look makes elastomer inserts for their seatmast in varying degrees to provide some cushion from the road, but I didn’t have that. All of which means i found the road feel of the Super Rigid bike to be perfectly fine with none of the cushioning effects yet to come. I’ve read a review of this bike somewhere else, and I remember it saying that the regular bike is so good, why bother with the SR unless you’re a sprinter, or super big, or super strong. But I have to disagree with that; actually, I feel just the opposite. If a small, old, fat-as-the-Stay-Pufft-Marshmallow-Man kinda guy like me can find the SR comfy enough to ride for hours, why not get the stiffer frame and get the benefits of a stiffer bottom bracket? So, for the life of me, i can’t figure why anyone would order the regular bike. The SR was comfy enough that, unless you’re riding Roubaix, I can’t imagine it would be too harsh a ride.

Look admits it’s not the lightest frame out there (although it’s still sub-900 grams, I believe), but with all the proprietary stuff, they claim that the entire package is the lightest bike. Maybe, maybe not, but it sure is light. And it climbs well, 1-1.3 mph faster than the Denver Time, and felt good doing it. This is what I liked best about it; the bike is faster on the flats, but it’s significantly quicker going uphill. And I don’t believe it’s just because of the weight; the Denver Time is only maybe 80-100 grams heavier. I think it climbs better because it’s stiffer. Whatever the reason, I liked going uphill on it. A lot.

Nice handling. Fast. Comfy. I’m thinking a new bike right after Christmas. Now, US or Belgian paint? hmmm…

Topic

[TwoWheelsDC]

Thanks for this. I was looking at the 566 at FreshBikes, but I’m not too familiar with Look’s bikes. It’s a good value, but I wasn’t crazy about the Tiagra/105 mix, especially since the SuperSix 5 is full 105 and costs the same. I’ll probably test ride it though, just to see how it feels compared to the Cervelo R3 and the SuperSix. But the guys at FreshBikes were pretty enthusiastic about Look frames, so I think that says a lot.

[Author]

Replies