BOTW: Full Circle with LOOK

BOTW: Full Circle with LOOK

LOOK 795 Blade RS - KG EDITION

I rarely get that excited about stock or off-the-shelf bikes.  Not that they are bad or perform poorly (actually, it’s quite the opposite), but it’s that these bikes tend to bore me a bit.  It's a never-ending quest for what’s next.  You buy the latest whatever and next year it’s out of fashion, and generally looks dated, fast. 

But then there is this bike, the LOOK 795 Blade RS.  The model name means nothing to me but there’s just something about the look of certain bikes that make me really want one.  This is of course a personal thing, but as we’ve always said, aesthetics mean a lot to us. 

There are two reasons this bike stands out to me.  First is an emotional reason.  My first real bike, and second race bike, was a very used LOOK KG86.  I bought it as a junior in high school for $500 if I remember correctly.  It was a 58cm (I ride a 52cm now) and had a hodge podge build. This made sense since I bought it from a triathlete. Sorry to all triathletes out there, but if you know what that sport was like in the late 80’s you know what I’m talking about.  It had SRAM grip shift shifters at the ends of the bars and the most hideous Profile tri bars you can imagine.  But, it was carbon.  And in 1989 that was still big. 

Anyhow, due to the Vitus aluminum fork, it rode like shit.  Anything over 25 miles an hour the bike would move in any direction other than the one you actually wanted it to move in.  But I didn’t care, Greg LeMond won a tour on this bike in ‘86 and it just looked sick. 

^ Mondrian colours on Greg Lemond's 1986 Tour de France bike

Fast forward to the beginning of this year and Above Category didn’t carry LOOK, nor was it even something that I was even thinking about.  But then I saw the 795 Blade RS that we took a first look at here and I had to have one.  While I like the look of the frame, short headtube, flattish top tube, skinny fork and badass stance, it was the model's Mondrian paint scheme that did it for me.  LOOK nailed the thing that makes me WANT to buy a bike. Art, emotion, history and an overriding amount of plain and simple aesthetic. 

^ LOOK at the front of the house. 

The art part is covered by painting the frame in their long used Mondrian scheme and colors.  The emotion goes back to this being my first real bike, history the reason's I just described and the aesthetic is now having a great platform to use to build an amazing overall bike.  There are a lot of companies that have all of this, but not many lean into it to this degree or honestly, have as cool a thing to actually lean into.  This is going to be one of the very few, if any, stock bikes that I plan to hang onto for a long time. 

Now LOOK just did it again. 

They just hit me hard with the emotion and history part with their new graphics package for the 795 Blade RS.  This is the same finish that was on my first LOOK all those years ago. Presented even better on this new frame, at least to my eyes.  

When we build a bike for someone, we try to match the parts to the overall aesthetic and lines.  In this case,  the one part that fit that mold was the new Wove Mags saddle that we’re testing and very much liking.  We have them in stock so drop us a line if you want to hear our thoughts. For now, I’ll just say that the only reason I’m using the saddle is that I thought it would look perfect on this bike.  Maybe not as classy as the leather Rolls on the original, but horses for courses and all that.

Finish aside, I love, love, love the bars on the new 795.  Super shallow and short but with some drop to the levers that your hand just fits in.  They are stiff and feel good in the drops and on the tops.  But mainly, LOOK did a great job of making all the parts work so well in accentuating the lines of the frame (just stay away from the zero setback seat post).  The wheel choice was easy. The finish on the Shimano Dura-Ace wheels are a perfect match.  

I do think that LOOK has made a modern yet classy looking frameset, something that I and a lot of people that I know, feel will stand the test of time and we’ll be as happy riding in ten years as we are today.

A little more detail on the cockpit.  Even at 90mm the stem looks good. Again, nothing mind-blowing or super cutting edge here, just a well-working, solid and great-looking package.

So, we are a LOOK dealer and will be long as they keep doing things like this.  Shoot, they don’t even have to come up with a new frame; keep doing this one and adding a different Mondrian or throwback finish from time to time and I’ll be happy.  This particular frame is the LOOK KG Replica. 

We’ve already had one come through AC, but are now taking orders for more. 

If this resonates with you, drop us a line , and we’ll get one going. I promise that you will not be disappointed.  

- Chad