Once again, VeloVert has grabbed a sneak peak of the 2012 Look 920 full suspension mountain bike. We saw what must have been a prototype earlier with a Fox fork and American Classic wheels. We asked Look’s U.S. guys for the scoop and they said nothing’s getting released until Eurobike. Obviously, there’s some Frenchy collusion going on…
We’ll grab some up close detail photos from the show at the end of the month. In the meantime, here’s the details from our rough translation: Travel is 120mm front and rear, aiming it at the marathon crowd, based on a single pivot/rocker arm design. The front triangle, swingarm and rocker link are carbon fiber on most models, with a base model reportedly getting some parts from aluminum. Various stainless steel and alloy parts protect vulnerable areas of the downtube and cable channels…something we’ll need to get more specifics on at the show.
Looks like they’re using thru-axles front (15mm) and rear (12mm). The shock ratio is a standard 2.36, which VV says should allow just about any 190×50 shock to be subbed in for the stock DT Swiss unit.
More pics, weights and details after the break, along with the very, very sexy new 986 hardtail…
The most striking feature of the new Look mountain bikes is the machined aluminum A-stem. Full integrated into the bike’s swooping lines, it has elastomer steering stops placed out of view to prevent frame damage during a wreck. Several stem length options will be available with reversible brackets that +/- 10mm length and 5mm or 15mm height depending on size.
Visually, the 920’s suspension design is quite similar to old Trek Fuels, even more so because they’ve designed it without a pivot near the rear axle. The carbon fiber seat stays have several degrees of flex built into it. On the surface, it sounds identical to Trek’s pre-ABP designs.
Looks like two models will be offered. This red/black one is the lower end spec with Mavic Crossride, Shimano SLX and alloy cockpit with lo-rise handlebars (€3990). The higher end version at the top of the post has a full carbon cockpit with flat bars, SRAM XX, Mavic Crossmax SLR and Look’s Quartz pedals. Claimed weight is 10kg for €7,369. (22.05lbs)
The frames and complete bikes will have two options: Full carbon (2,350g for carbon shock, seatpost and linkage) or alloy frame kit (2,500g standard shock, alloy bar and linkage). Both should be available in September. Frame only prices are €2,999 to 3,499.
The 2012 Look 920 hardtail bike gets the same beautiful stem integration and new geometry that lets it work with 100mm forks. It gets the same thin steel film on the downtube to protect it from flying rocks and, actually, the same exact front triangle construction. It’ll be available with both the ISP E-Post shown and a regular seatpost. Frame weight is claimed at 1200g for the ISP and 1,300g without. More details on Look’s ISP design here. It also gets BB30 and post-mount rear brakes, like the 920. This one’s not available until January.
Check VeloVert’s post for more photos of the frame.
