Look is showing where it thinks cyclocross bikes are headed with their prototype 2013 X85 disc Cyclocross bike. It’s their first ever ‘cross bike, and they’re not wasting anytime.
Rear axle spacing is 135, built here with Easton EC90XC 29er wheels, which illustrates why most of the bikes we’ve seen are using 135 rear spacing: You can pick any of the massive options of lightweight 29er wheels and get started right away. Of course, there are likely to be plenty of tubeless ready, disc-only wheels coming down the pipe, but this gives consumers a lot of choice to build something up anyway they want from the get go. And that’s good, because this will only launch as a frameset, no compete builds planned for launch.
See when you can get your hands on it and the Keo Power pedal system after the break…
Still in prototype stage, hence the lack of cable bosses for the disc cables/hoses.
27.2 seatpost, but massive stays that are heavily shaped. Should give a good mix of comfort and performance. Headtube is straight 1-1/8″ for now, but could possibly go tapered by production time. Fork will get some sort of cable management, too.
Full monocoque carbon frame with alloy dropouts and standard bottom bracket. Looking at a March release. Retail will be $3,499 for frame, fork and headset.
Speaking of using 29er wheels, you can start looking for 29er versions of their sleek new 920 and 986 mountain bikes for 2013. That’s not official, but heavily suggested by their reps. We’ve got weights and photos of those coming…
After being shown for more than a year, Look’s Keo Power pedal system is finally getting ready for primetime. Should be available in October in the U.S. and Europe and by January for most other markets.
The computer displays each pedal’s power output directly on the screen in real time.
Pricing will be $2,200 for the pedals and transmitters. $2,500 with the Polar CS600. Also compatible with the CS500 and RCX5 watch, so if you already have those units, you can just update them to work with the pedals. As mentioned previously, these work with Polar’s proprietary transmission language, not ANT+, which could limit their appeal to those already running Polar computers and HR monitors that simply want to add power. For everyone else, Garmin’s ANT+ based system, which just happens to run Keo-compatible pedals, likely makes more sense…and gives you GPS.
