# This is for you, Dave H....my new 555



## funknuggets (Feb 4, 2004)

After the tragic passing of my friend and trusted steed, my 03 CSC 381i.... Veltec held true to their warranty, and despite not making the 381i, and not importing the 481i to the states for 06 (so they say), they offered me this sucker. Most of the parts came over, but many did not fit (thus the sale of the Look HSC4 and Look Ergopost if any of yall are interested over in classifieds).

Nonetheless, here is my new ride. She will go on her maiden voyage tomorrow on the big dog ride, unfortunately I'll probably ride like a pup, but thats okay tis the season for slow riding.

This is for you Dave Hickey, my trusted source for all things Look. Thanks for your help.


----------



## peterpen (May 5, 2004)

Nice bike.
Shame about the Ksyriums, though.
just kidding  
have fun on yer maiden voyage - I'll be taking my 585 on a lil' 80 mile, 6000' roll around the Sonoma wine country, testing out my new set of wheels replacing the K's. Would've stuck with the K's, but you can't build them up w/a PowerTap!


----------



## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

funknuggets said:


> After the tragic passing of my friend and trusted steed, my 03 CSC 381i.... Veltec held true to their warranty, and despite not making the 381i, and not importing the 481i to the states for 06 (so they say), they offered me this sucker. Most of the parts came over, but many did not fit (thus the sale of the Look HSC4 and Look Ergopost if any of yall are interested over in classifieds).
> 
> Nonetheless, here is my new ride. She will go on her maiden voyage tomorrow on the big dog ride, unfortunately I'll probably ride like a pup, but thats okay tis the season for slow riding.
> 
> This is for you Dave Hickey, my trusted source for all things Look. Thanks for your help.


very sweet......I hope you have nothing but tailwinds......


----------



## BugMan (Feb 16, 2004)

*Nice looking ride, Funk...*

...too bad you had to "jump on the Ksryium bandwagon"  (we're gonna have so much fun w/ this now!).

I'll be interested to hear what you think of the ride you get some miles under your belt.


----------



## Bubba (Oct 6, 2004)

*Ride report*

Give it up Funk- how was the ride? What size is the frame?


----------



## funknuggets (Feb 4, 2004)

*Ok...*

Thanks yall for the props, and to the ride report.

First of all, I slapped the sucker together in about 2 hours while watching ultimate fighter, so Im amazed that it shifted or stopped at all. The setup was almost dead on, oddly enough. I hadn't even sat on it and showed up at the ride. I did have to stop twice to get my seat adjusted, I moved it about a cm up, and also my handlebars were about 1-2 degrees off center, so I could ride just fine, I just couldnt look down, it bugs me. So to the ride. For a 51, I found the bike to be somewhat stiffer than the 03 381i. I think the wishbone rear as opposed to the standard rear and the wider diameter downtube and the external lugged bb made for a pretty stout feel. I didnt measure and I may look into it, but I think this bike has a bit more aggressive seat tube angle, I felt a little more forward on the bike than I did on the 51 381i. To compensate, I may have to get a longer stem. I had to pitch the ergopost, which I loved due to the larger seatpost diameter, and the only one that I had was this XT seatpost that I sanded and painted and just shoved in there. It has only the standard fore/aft, so I might have to mess with the saddle/post and stem combination, however it felt closer than I expected.

Im out of shape for the group I was with, so I was really thankful for the slightly lighter frame. It was a short but peppy ride, ended with 38 miles, but the average speed was over twenty and in the wind we were in, I didn't have a whole lot of time to really dissect the ride qualities, but the fact that nothing was outwardly obvious is a good thing. Despite getting yoyoed a few times at the end... I made the selection, and actually caught the two breakaways near the end of the ride, so it was a nice maiden voyage for the sucker, but the true test is gonna be on more structured training sessions, like intervals, or repeats.. .and on the longer rides.

I do think that the HSC5 is a super nice fork. I didn't get to really test it, but the front end seemed to have zero front end buzz or overpowering stiffness that you might associate with bikes with larger tubing. It could be that the 555 has the internal carbon lugs in the headtube instead of the aluminum lugs in the 381. Unsure, but Im running everything else the same in the frontend, EC 90 stem and bars. So, the difference must be in the fork and headtube.

I would like to drop some weight in the wheels, to everyones liking... I will still train like the devil on the ksys, but I think Im gonna try out some of these Neuvation R28 SLs or the Aeros... haven't decided.


----------



## Bubba (Oct 6, 2004)

*Ride On*

Glad to hear the maiden voyage went well. I seem to always take half my tool box when I go on the initial ride. Quick question:

How tall are you and whats your cycling inseam? I'm hoping to test ride a 53cm over Tday holiday and then pull the trigger on an 06.


----------



## rensho (Aug 5, 2003)

Bubba, FWIW, i'm 5'8", 31.25 riding inseam riding a 53cm(med) 585, 110mm stem on 'flat' bars, 170mm cranks, thomson straight post and saddle rails are dead center. I'm showing 6.25" of seatpost, from clamp to rail. I'm even proportioned.
That is a dead on fit for me, perhaps 1/4-1/2 a hair long in the TT. On the 51cm, i'd need a setback post.

Since the Look has a short TT and a long HT, it does make for less standover than i'm use to. Good thing is not a mtb.

Back to our normal programming.

Nice bike Funk. Sounds like you made out well. The HSC5 fork is awesome. It rides like it should weigh 2x what it weighs.

You ride your brake levers low on the bars. How do you like that?


----------



## Kram (Jan 28, 2004)

Sweet, funk.When my 461 croaks or get tired of her, I'm likin the 555.


----------



## funknuggets (Feb 4, 2004)

*In all honesty...*



Kram59 said:


> Sweet, funk.When my 461 croaks or get tired of her, I'm likin the 555.


I think I would still prefer the longer TT and more standard geometry offered in the 481... but I wasn't offered that one in the warranty replacement. So, I just took what I got and hoped for the best. As the lowest priced bike in their line, I think you get some pretty freaking nifty things with this bike. The internal CARBON HT lugs, the HSC 5 that came on it and its decent weight make for some mighty nice features for their "entry level" frame. Just like the previous reader, this particular Look rides a little shorter in the TT, and I will likely get an ergopost, or one that offers a bit more setback as well as a bit longer stem... but I need to ride it more to make those final decisions. But for a stiff bike with oversized tubing and a stand-in aluminum seatpost, it still rode very nicely, in that it didn't beat me at all. 

Im 5'9" and have a 30.25 inseam, so Im longer torsoed, so I think this bikes TT may at the bottom range of sizes I can ride, but I think another half cm back on saddle, and a cm on the stem will put me perfect. As to my riding the hoods low, I have to say that I find that to be a happy medium. For standard day to day riding and training, riding hoods is my preference, so I just bring them down a bit. For non-crit races, I will often race there as well. I feel better control. Call me lazy, but for me, it works. Even aero-wise, I will, often crouch on top of the hoods, with forearms on the top of the bars as opposed to riding and crouching in the drops. Call me crazy, its just how I roll. Part of it might be psychological, having access to the controls at all times, but it is what it is.

With that being said, I like this bike so far. But I ride pretty hard, so we will see how the bike holds after a season or two of the training on missouri chip seal roads, and the ins and outs of weekly racing in the midwest. It is strange, but I have lot of connections around here and several of them know of several incidents of Looks external lugs (carbon to external aluminum lugs) particularly in the HT, backing out just like mine. Just so you know, it did not fail catestrophically, it just developed a small crack completely around where the TT went into the lug, and it just developed a super noodly feel and a ticking sound overnight, So, perhaps this internal carbon lug might be better in the long run. Proof is in the pudding, and Im enjoying the taste so far. 

Riding a bit longer tomorrow at same pace, so will try and be more cognissant of the ride characteristics.


----------



## Kram (Jan 28, 2004)

My 461 has the same geometry as the 555. I have longer legs and a somewhat shorter torso and (fairly) short arms, so these fit the bill nicely.


----------



## jonesrus (Oct 25, 2005)

*Look 555*



funknuggets said:


> Thanks yall for the props, and to the ride report.
> 
> First of all, I slapped the sucker together in about 2 hours while watching ultimate fighter, so Im amazed that it shifted or stopped at all. The setup was almost dead on, oddly enough. I hadn't even sat on it and showed up at the ride. I did have to stop twice to get my seat adjusted, I moved it about a cm up, and also my handlebars were about 1-2 degrees off center, so I could ride just fine, I just couldnt look down, it bugs me. So to the ride. For a 51, I found the bike to be somewhat stiffer than the 03 381i. I think the wishbone rear as opposed to the standard rear and the wider diameter downtube and the external lugged bb made for a pretty stout feel. I didnt measure and I may look into it, but I think this bike has a bit more aggressive seat tube angle, I felt a little more forward on the bike than I did on the 51 381i. To compensate, I may have to get a longer stem. I had to pitch the ergopost, which I loved due to the larger seatpost diameter, and the only one that I had was this XT seatpost that I sanded and painted and just shoved in there. It has only the standard fore/aft, so I might have to mess with the saddle/post and stem combination, however it felt closer than I expected.
> 
> ...



Nice bike. I have a 2005 Look 555 built with a combination Campagnolo Record/Chorus Groupo (compact carbon crank). It is a fantastic ride. I test rode several carbon framed bikes and found the Look to be, for me, the best of the lot. My other bike is a 1984 Strawberry with Campagnolo Neuvo Record Groupo which for it's day was a fine bike but nothing compaired to my new Look.


----------

