Look unveils lightened 795 Blade RS road bike and disc brake-equipped 796 Monoblade RS time trial bike

Look Cycle has announced two new bikes: the 795 Blade RS road bike that’s been redesigned “to balance aerodynamics, stiffness and low weight", and the 796 Monoblade RS time trial bike which is now compatible with disc brakes. Look says that both bikes have been designed with input from Team Cofidis. 

“Look’s Research and Development team worked closely with Team Cofidis during training camps and throughout the WorldTour season to fine-tune the geometry and responsiveness of the bikes, as well as to optimise the design for the durability and maintenance requirements of a demanding race environment,” says Look.

“Team Cofidis’ ongoing feedback ensures that Look’s latest bikes not only perform at the highest level of racing but offer unmatched practicality and long-term reliability.  

“The new iterations of Look’s 795 Blade RS and 796 Monoblade RS are natural progressions of each previous model. Both bikes feature significant upgrades in the areas of carbon layup and incorporate the tried and tested construction and techniques and technology deployed by Look’s Olympic-medal-winning T20 track bike. 

> Look unveils new T20 track bike for 2020 Tokyo Olympics 

“Many years at the forefront of carbon technology have allowed Look to position ultra high modulus carbon in specific layups and orientations to reduce weight while increasing rigidity across key points of the frames.”

Let’s look at the two bikes in turn.

Look 795 Blade RS

The Look 795 Blade RS is the road bike that we first spotted on social media back in January and has been used by Team Cofidis in numerous races since then. It has hardly been the best kept secret over the past few months.

> LOOK what we've spotted! Check out the new Team Cofidis Look road bike 

Look says that the 795 Blade RS is an all-new carbon composition using 25% ultra high modulus carbon.

The frame is a very different shape from previously. Although certain features remain, such as the integrated fork crown, the frame now uses shallower tubes, dropped seat stays… Well, it’s a major redesign.

Look says that specific areas of the frame – such as the slim seatstays and seatpost, seat post clamp, top tube and fork – have been developed for optimised aerodynamics. 

“These developments allow the new 795 Blade RS to be 7% stiffer and 10% more aerodynamic than the previous model,” says Look, although it doesn’t elaborate on how these figures were derived. Still, it wouldn’t be a bike launch without a couple of hard-to-disprove stats.

As you’d expect, the geometry is race orientated. The medium-sized model, for example, comes with a 549.2mm stack height and a 391.2mm reach, giving a stack/reach of 1.40.

“The 795 Blade RS has been designed for easy adjustments to accommodate different rider sizes or preferences without compromising racing performance,” says Look. “[Our] aero cockpit has been developed for versatility and ergonomics, allowing for different stem and handlebar sizes to be easily interchanged and customised to suit individual rider needs.”

The stem and handlebar are separate components (they’re not integrated) with fully internal cable routing.  

Look claims a frame weight of 905g (size small) and 425g for the fork, and says that a complete bike weight of 7kg (size medium) is possible when built up with a Shimano Dura Ace Di2 groupset, power meter pedals, bottle cages and Corima MCC EVO 32 tubular wheels.

The previous Look 795 Blade RS had a claimed frame weight of just over 1kg so that’s a significant reduction, in percentage terms, at least. Reducing the weight of aero bikes has been a huge theme of launches over the past two or three years with brands no longer forcing punters to choose between aerodynamics and a light weight.

Complete bikes start at £8,490 with the frame only coming in at £5,390. 

Check out the entire range here.  

Look 796 Monoblade RS

As a time trial bike, the Look 796 Monoblade RS is all about speed rather than balancing other attributes.

“Lighter and stiffer than the previous model, the new 796 Monoblade RS frameset includes mounts for disc brakes and new cable routing as well as updated aerodynamic sections, including seatstays and a base bar with integrated cable routing,” says Look.

The previous Look 796 Monoblade RS was available only for rim brakes whereas the new version is exclusively for disc brakes and electronic groupsets.

Look says that, like the 795 Blade RS road bike (above), the 796 Monoblade RS uses 25% ultra high modulus carbon.

The new Look Aeropost seatpost comes with a reversible sliding head and the Aeroflat 400mm base bar has integrated cable routing. Look uses a T47 85.5mm bottom bracket standard.

Look claims that the Look 796 Monoblade RS frame (size small) is 1,320g and that the fork is 425g. The frameset is priced at £6,990.

Get more info on both bikes over at Look’s website.