Look bikes are among the very few non-custom, widely available bikes actually made by the company that sells them. I also like the fact they come standard with a bottom bracket that while not a threaded bottom bracket certainly addresses the issues with press fit bottom brackets. They are also really sharp bikes.

Anyone have one or know someone with one?

I think Giant makes their own bikes. Unfortunately they are mostly still press fit as well. A friend had a 565 for a couple of years but sold it and bought Ti. I rode it a few times and it felt harsh compared to my steel and Ti. Another friend has a newer Look and likes it so much he bought a spare frame, just in case. Just another choice.

Not sure why I would care whether a company makes its own frames, or has them manufactured by another company (which probably reaps greater economies of scale, which means I get more for my money). Giant, for example, makes frames for itself and for several other big companies - and they do it very, very well.

And when more brands are going back to threaded BBs, I can't see any reason to choose one (Look) which is basically a weird, proprietary press-fit that will be harder to source at replacement time. If I'm going to buy a pf BB, it'll be something that will definitely be around in 15 years.

I know someone with one... so what's your point?

I have a Look 585. this is a climbing bike similar to my Trek Emonda with no attempt to make aero section tubes. It is EXTREMELY light. With an older 10 speed Campy Record group on it and the Record Ultra Torque cranks in a size XL it weighs only 16 lbs. It rides surprisingly soft and so takes a bit of getting used to. I did a 26 mile 1850 ft ride on Sunday and it rode perfect, even though it was horrible roads and I'm 76 years old which means that every punk on another bike has to pass you even if it kills him. I love having these guys fly by me on the climbs and then when I get to the top they are leaning over the guard rail puking. So I just roll past and leave them behind. I may be slow but I haven't stopped. Yet.

It's a niche brand here in the US, I think you'll struggle to find man opinions from people who own them. While I haven't ridden them, I like some of Look's offerings. The current 795 Blade is a beautiful bike, IMO.

I think Look makes all of their frames in-house, which is a bit unusual. For what it's worth (who knows?), BB expert Hambini thinks that they have the best press fit BBs available. Look hasn't quite gone as crazy with integration and proprietary nonsense as some other makers, which is likely another plus.

Look uses the Token Ninja 386 bottom bracket which threads through and is torqued, thus keeping alignment and also strengthening the BB. Focus also uses this BB.

A couple of guys I know ride Look frames and are happy with them, and they do look rather striking.

My next bike some years down the line might be one of theirs, the geometry looks good to me, the frames aren't horrendously expensive, and they do pressfit properly, which is my preference on a CF bike.
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Did Look give up on the Zed cranks? Seemed like a pretty innovative design but a bit too one-off for me.

scott s.
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I owned a Look 566 Rival several years back.

Look bicycles are quite striking and what drew me to it in the first place. I ended up selling it and in favor of a Cannondale SuperSix Evo. It was an excellent bike but I wasn't quite interested in that frame's more relaxed geometry at the time.

Semi-innovative as I believe they are really just an improvement upon old and cheap one-piece cranksets (being all CF and huge spindle) but a shame they require the proprietary 65mm bb shell to fit the NDS crank arm through. Have not used them so can't comment on them supposedly being far stiffer than more common cranks.

Yep, have an 875 madison track that I used last year for racing. I like the more classic design with rounder tubes compared to other nice track frames. This had a BSA bb because its a track bike so no idea on the bb for road frames but hambini seems to like them almost as much as Time.
Anyways, the quality is very very high, the paint (blue is really nice and consistent and looks awesome in the light.
The steerer tube I feel is pretty indicative of what the frame looks like underneath the paint and that was, at least from a non-carbon-expert perspective; the best I'd ever seen. It was so purdy that I kept what I cut off... and comparing it to the off-cut from my tarmac... its considerably better, the tarmac one has bubbles (voids? not sure) and stuff. Oh yea and stiff af but its a track frame so can't really compare it to road bikes.

Hope this helps

Pics wouldn't make this thread any more worthwhile for general discussion except for the tiny niche of bicyclists who seem to be obsessed with bicycling exotica.

picked up the look kg 131 carbon frame (1995) early this year and transferred over components and a wheelset from a cracked aluminum/carbon frame (due to being hit from behind by an suv). been pretty happy with it so far and it rides smoothly. haven’t put any really nice tires on it yet but will spring for some conti gp5000’s or michelin pro 4 endurance (or whatever they’re called now) prob by march.

Very cool classic!

I'd be happy to have one of the steel bikes.

There's one of those up in Davis CA for $900. It's a La Vie Claire replica, very nice:







https://sacramento.craigslist.org/bi...222820069.html

I've owned older kg381 and kg461 frames and two 585 models. They are very well made. I tried buying the newer 785 Huez or 785 Huez RS, but couldn't get a deal that I was happy with. The 785 is only sold as a complete bike with shimano, so it's not cost effective to buy the bike, strip it and sell the parts. The RS is sold as a frame only and retails for around $4,000. I'm too old to need a frame priced that high, but 13-14 years ago, I did pay $3,000 for a special edition 585 frame.

My latest acquisition is a Cinelli superstar disc frame for just over $1000 from nashbar. It's got an excellent paint job and weighs about the same as a 585 or the standard 785. It will build up to be a well priced complete bike.

Look designs all of their bikes in-house as well as the cuts of the carbon cloth and how to paste them together but they are put together in Malaysia. Nevertheless they have flawless construction. I expect that Look has a very strong quality control. I had one of the original Look 295's and rode it for years without any problems. This 485 is better in all aspects whether it be ride or weight.

The only bare frame I would recommend over the Look is the Time. The construction technique they use includes the use of Kevlar making the tearing of carbon fiber virtually impossible. However, very often you have to use fatter than normal tires on the Time (28's) to soften the ride since the frames are so damn ridged. But with these tires the bike is nearly perfect. And you never have to worry about any carbon fiber failures.

They are actually made in Look’s factory in Tunisia. They are finished in France.

As for Time bikes, they ran out of time.🤣 If you want a Time bike there may be some frames around but doubtful about new ones.

There's Allied https://alliedcycleworks.com/ who make their frames in Arkansas. Proper threaded bottom bracket!

Super nice bikes I have seen a few in person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YLDDrc91GA

Have you actually looked at any of Look's frames in recent years? Half of them use proprietary stems that cost $500 a piece. And if you don't want to run their crankset, you have to buy a $200 adapter from them. And their integrated seatposts are a nightmare.