Look debuted their new top-end 695 road bike at the Tour de France under Pro Tour Team Cofidis.
The new bike uses a Monobloc carbon frame with integrated features touching virtually every aspect. For example, the headtube juts up just slightly above the top tube to house the integrated Head Fit 3 headset. The cranks are Look’s Monobloc, one-piece ZED 2 carbon crankset with both 130mm and 110mm compact chainring mounts that slips through a BB65 bottom bracket hole. The end of the cranks have Look’s Trilob technology that lets you adjust to either 170, 172.5 or 175mm lengths by simply rotating a triangular pedal spindle mount, and it’s now compatible with any pedal.
The C-Stem is adjustable from -9º to +13º and the frame uses a integrated seatmast called the E-Post. Wrapping up the package is internal cable routing and an all-new HSC7 fork.
Dive on in for photos and details…
The 695 frame weighs in at 900g, about 9% lighter than their 595, and it moves completely away from the lugged construction of it’s other high end models. Two frame options will be available, the 695 and 695 SR (Super Rigid) for racers looking to maximize efficiency. Racing a stiffer than normal bike isn’t new, BTW, Specialized has said they build up stiffer models of their bikes for the Pro Tour teams not only to increase efficiency but to add weight where it actually helps in order to hit the UCI’s minimum limit. The regular 695 uses the same mold but is about 15% more compliant.
The 695’s frame uses continuous fibers running through the downtube, seat tube and chainstays, around the bottom bracket, to create a very stiff structure.
The Cofidis had 695’s dressed up in team colors for the Tour.
On the front, the 695 uses their C-Stem designed specifically for this bike. It was shaped to match the style of the frame and uses a patented tightening system to adjust it’s angle. This allows the bike to run without spacers, which can decrease rigidity, and a crescent shaped shim at the front of the stem allows for 10mm adjustment of reach by moving the handlebar closer or farther from the steerer tube. It weighs in at just 140g and will be available in five sizes: 80-90mm / 90-100mm / 100-110mm / 110-120mm / 120-130mm.
The new HSC7 fork is made from a single piece of carbon fiber and claims to be 15% more rigid and at just 295g is 16% lighter than the HSC6. It uses a tapered 1-1/8″ to 1.5″ steerer tube that’s reinforced where it meets the headset. The Head Fit 3 headset gets its own trick engineering with a carbon ring that threads around to adjust stem height without having to readjust the headset. Look says this eliminates the need to a top screw to tighten the fork into the frame, too.
The integrated seatmast, called the E-Post has a top section that retains 3cm of adjustment and avoids direct contact with the frame via vibration damping elastomer inserts, and each frame will come with three sets so you can fine tune the amount of damping you want.
The ZED 2 cranks are one-piece, hollow cranksets made from a single piece of carbon fiber. By one piece, we mean the cranks, spindle/axle and gear mounts are all molded as a single unit. The inner holes are for compact rings, the outer are for normal rings.
The 2011 Look 695 will carry an MSRP of $5,500 for the frame, fork, crankset/BB, stem, headset, seat post and pedals. It will be available in September together with complete bikes that has SRAM Red or Force, or Shimano Dura-Ace or Di2 build kits. The frame will come with Keo Blade pedals with carbon blade retention spring and chromoly spindles. From there, you can upgrade to their ti-spindled version or their forthcoming carbon-bodied Keo Blade Aero.
