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TECH NEWS

Look updates 795 aero bikes and Keo Blade Carbon pedals

French brand revamps designs in search for improved performance

Look has unveiled two new versions of its 795 aero road bike, the 795 Light RS and the 795 Aerolight RS, along with new top-of-the-range Keo Blade Carbon race pedals which have been restyled. We got the chance to check them all out at last week's Eurobike.

Let’s take a look at the bikes first.

Eurobike 2017 Look 795 Light RS - 2.jpg

Look first introduced the 795 Light and Aerolight in 2014, both designed with aerodynamics in mind. The 795 models are distinctive thanks to a stem that integrates into the head tube and a steeply sloping top tube. The difference between them is that the Aerolight has a front brake integrated into the fork and a rear brake positioned underneath the chainstays whereas the Light has conventional brakes.

Eurobike 2017 Look 795 Aerolight RS - 6.jpg

The new RS models, used by Team Fortuneo-Oscaro during this year’s Tour de France, have several redesigned features.

Check out our review of last year’s Look 795 Aerolight here. 

Eurobike 2017 Look 795 Aerolight RS - 1.jpg

First, the cables from the handlebar do not enter directly into the frame but instead go via a part that pivots with the headset. The advantage is that they turn with the headset, the idea being to avoid any headset tension caused by cable stiffness. 

LOOK 795 LIGHT RS - AEROLIGHT RS-4.jpg

The cables pass through the down tube and exit via a wide ’trapdoor’ in front of the bottom bracket. The rear brake cable is guided under the bottom bracket and the rear derailleur goes through the chainstay. It is no longer necessary to remove the bottom bracket during assembly. Look says that the new cable routing means that the time needed for building up a new frame, as well as maintenance, has been reduced dramatically.

You no longer need to disconnect the front brake if you want to swap the stem because the cable doesn’t pass through it any more. 

The new bottom bracket is made entirely from carbon. Look says that this guarantees stiffness and reliability.

The new E-Post 2 Evo seatpost now has a “tightening area” that allows for stronger retention in the frame and an interior cord has been replaced by a screw that allows for more powerful clamping. 

Eurobike 2017 Look 795 Light RS - 4.jpg

If you run a Shimano Di2 system, the junction box is still hidden away inside the frame but the cover, which sits just behind the stem, has been redesigned to allow the junction box to be clipped directly onto its underside. All the Di2 functions are accessible from the cover’s external face; you don’t need to remove it. 

LOOK 795 LIGHT RS - AEROLIGHT RS-3.jpg

The new ADH2 handlebar incorporates a brake quick release mechanism that allows you to open and close the callipers for repairs, changing wheels or adjusting the pads. 

Look says that the action of this control knob is easier and faster than traditional quick releases that are placed near the housing ferrules, and that it’s perfectly accessible on the fly.

LOOK 795 LIGHT RS - AEROLIGHT RS-2.jpg

Another new feature of the handlebar is additional space on either side of the stem to allow the mounting of aerobars (or a computer or camera mount). 

The tops of the handlebar are still shaped for aerodynamics although that shaping now extends forwards rather than backwards from the clamping point, the idea being to provide more space and make it less likely that you’ll hit your knees when riding out of the saddle.

“To calculate the aerodynamic gain of the 795 Aerolight RS and the 795 Light RS, we performed wind tunnel tests,” says Look. “The results: on a 100km ride on flat terrain with equal power output, the 795 Aerolight RS has a 11.7% aerodynamic gain as compared to a traditional racing bike (Look 695). This represents an improvement of 1m 14s.”

These figures relate to a 70kg rider putting out 300 watts. 

Look says that the 795 Aerolight RS (with integrated brakes) puts in an aero performance that’s 3% better than that of the 795 Light RS (with standard brakes).

The claimed weights are:
Frame 990g 
Fork 340g (with integrated brakes)

A Look 795 Light RS frameset, including stem, is priced at £4,350 while a 795 Aerolight RS frameset, also including stem, is £5,000.

LOOK-KEO-BLADE-CARBON-TI.jpg

Okay, on to the redesigned Keo Blade Carbon pedals… Look first introduced its Blade technology, where a piece of carbon-fibre replaces the traditional metal spring-loaded design, in 2010.   

Eurobike 2017 Look Keo Blade Carbon - 3.jpg

The axle of the new Blade Carbon has been redesigned, the distance between the roller and needle bearings having been increased by 25%. Look says that this provides more rigidity to the entire length of the axle and, as a consequence, improved power transmission.

It also says that weather resistance has been improved thanks to an updated end plug with an o-ring washer and an internal, double-lipped seal.

Eurobike 2017 Look Keo Blade Carbon - 2.jpg

Read our review of the Look Keo 2 Max Blade 12 from a couple of years ago. 

The Keo Blade Carbon pedals with a titanium axle have a claimed weight of 190g (per pair), while the version with a chromoly axle has a claimed weight of 220g (per pair).

Check out our video on how to get started with road clipless pedals. 

Eurobike 2017 Look Keo Blade Carbon - 5.jpg

The version with a composite body and a carbon blade has a claimed weight of 240g.

For more info go to www.lookcycle.com

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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6 comments

Avatar
matthewn5 | 6 years ago
0 likes

That top tube is so steep it has a Strava segment all of its own!
Hideous.

Avatar
Fluffed | 6 years ago
1 like

The prices! I'd take an XR4 over these frankenbikes if I had 4k kicking about.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
0 likes

I don't mind the frame design in itself, the recessed brakes mean you can fit wider tyres too so that's a bonus, it's the cables/bar setup that just looks so messy and unnecessarily so.

Avatar
mcvittees73 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Phew, I don't have to undo the brake cable to swap the stem (because I'm doing that all the time)...but wait a minute, I don't have to do that now...?

300w over 100km and I'll save 1m 14s. Man, if I could pedal for 100km (2.5hrs?) at 300w I'd give David Brailsford a call!

Fugly and fidly makes this one Marmite bike!

Avatar
Cupov | 6 years ago
0 likes

Should stick to pedals

Avatar
StraelGuy | 6 years ago
2 likes

Nope, still totally and utterly minging .

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