# Just got my '08 Look 555 Complete



## wArden

Hi,

First time posting on this forum (been lurking for a few weeks now) as I just got my 2008 Look 555 Complete bike.
I've been mountain biking for almost 20 years now and the last couple of months I've been thinking about getting a new road bike. I've had an older aluminum GT for a few years now but decided I needed something new to motivate to get out and do some actual road miles.

Long story short, based on a recommendation from a friend and reading reviews, I decided on and just got the Look 555.

I know there are some unanswered questions here and on other forums wrt to the complete bike (I know because I have done a lot of reading) so I figured I'd give some info as I have it now.

The picture that I attached is of the bike that I quickly bolted together so I can transport it in one piece. I still have to go to the shop to get everything setup and fitted.

The frame is a 53cm and it looks beautiful!

On the Look site the 555 is spec'ed to come with a HSC5 fork rather than the HSC4 which mine came with and what came on the 2007 models. I've read that bikes that are coming to North America (I live just west of Toronto) will come with the older fork. I will be contacting my dealer about it to get more information. I will post when I find out.

The 555 is also suppose to come with pedals as well, which mine did not. This will also be something that I will be asking about.

Questions have been asked about the seatpost size. The frame is spec'ed for a 31.6 on the Look site. People have been asking if this is correct and on the Look forum a sales rep. in Europe stated that the actual size is 27.2. I asked my sales rep. as well and he said 27.2 also.
When I opened the box and low and behold, it's a 31.6!
That's right. The Look 555 uses a *31.6 diameter seatpost.*

All of the Shimano components are Ultegra (not Ultegra SL) with exception to the crankset and brakes which are 105.

Wheels are *Mavic Aksium Race*.
Bar and stem are aluminum *VO2*.
Seatpost is a *Woodman* and the saddle a *Selle Italia Trans Am*.

The bike weighs *18.12 pounds* without pedals.

I already started changing a few things over to lose a bit of weight. I replaced the Mavic wheelset (which are up for sale, pm me if interested  ) with a used set of Dura Ace/Mavic Open Pro. I replaced the seatpost with a Thomson Elite (thanks to the 31.6 dia) and the saddle with a San Marco.

The bike now weighs 17.2 without pedals.

That's all for now. I'll post any new updates or when I get some info on the above mentioned.


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## nrspeed

What a beautiful bike! Congrats and enjoy it.


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## chas

wArden said:


> Hi,
> 
> First time posting on this forum (been lurking for a few weeks now) as I just got my 2008 Look 555 Complete bike.
> I've been mountain biking for almost 20 years now and the last couple of months I've been thinking about getting a new road bike. I've had an older aluminum GT for a few years now but decided I needed something new to motivate to get out and do some actual road miles.
> 
> Long story short, based on a recommendation from a friend and reading reviews, I decided on and just got the Look 555.
> 
> I know there are some unanswered questions here and on other forums wrt to the complete bike (I know because I have done a lot of reading) so I figured I'd give some info as I have it now.
> 
> The picture that I attached is of the bike that I quickly bolted together so I can transport it in one piece. I still have to go to the shop to get everything setup and fitted.
> 
> The frame is a 53cm and it looks beautiful!
> 
> On the Look site the 555 is spec'ed to come with a HSC5 fork rather than the HSC4 which mine came with and what came on the 2007 models. I've read that bikes that are coming to North America (I live just west of Toronto) will come with the older fork. I will be contacting my dealer about it to get more information. I will post when I find out.
> 
> The 555 is also suppose to come with pedals as well, which mine did not. This will also be something that I will be asking about.
> 
> Questions have been asked about the seatpost size. The frame is spec'ed for a 31.6 on the Look site. People have been asking if this is correct and on the Look forum a sales rep. in Europe stated that the actual size is 27.2. I asked my sales rep. as well and he said 27.2 also.
> When I opened the box and low and behold, it's a 31.6!
> That's right. The Look 555 uses a *31.6 diameter seatpost.*
> 
> All of the Shimano components are Ultegra (not Ultegra SL) with exception to the crankset and brakes which are 105.
> 
> Wheels are *Mavic Aksium Race*.
> Bar and stem are aluminum *VO2*.
> Seatpost is a *Woodman* and the saddle a *Selle Italia Trans Am*.
> 
> The bike weighs *18.12 pounds* without pedals.
> 
> I already started changing a few things over to lose a bit of weight. I replaced the Mavic wheelset (which are up for sale, pm me if interested  ) with a used set of Dura Ace/Mavic Open Pro. I replaced the seatpost with a Thomson Elite (thanks to the 31.6 dia) and the saddle with a San Marco.
> 
> The bike now weighs 17.2 without pedals.
> 
> That's all for now. I'll post any new updates or when I get some info on the above mentioned.


Hi wArden,

Nice looking bike; the new 555 frames ride great, and I imagine with the diet you've put it on you'll have a blast once you have a chance to get out on the road. 

Regarding the spec of your bike, there are a couple of explanations for the discrepancies you mentioned. The HSC5/HSC4 issue is our mistake - the catalog listed an HSC5 but it should have said HSC4. The main difference between the two is that the 5 is full monocoque and the 4 is monocoque with bonded dropouts. The seatpost has always been spec'd at 31.6mm, so I'm not sure why a LOOK rep told you otherwise, but I apologize for the mis-information.

The other issues you mention sound like changes your dealer made. I'm not sure where you purchased your bike from, but since the 555 frame is available separately, some dealers have been building complete bikes with their own specifications in order to sell them for less that LOOK's official MSRP. All complete 555's that come from LOOK have a complete Ultegra SL grouppo including cranks and brakes. They also include KeO Sprint pedals.

Regards,
*[email protected]*


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## PJ352

The LOOK website specs the HSC 5 SL also.


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## chas

PJ352 said:


> The LOOK website specs the HSC 5 SL also.


Indeed it does...I should probably spend a little more time checking out our website before making uninformed comments on the internet.  

The site is hosted in France, so I'll let them know about the discrepancy and we'll see if we can get it straightened out.

Thanks for the tip.

*[email protected]*


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## wArden

Hi Chas,

Thanks for the info.
Here is the thread on the Look forum with regards to the fork and seatpost diameter.

http://www.lookcycle.com/corporate/v2/forum/anglais/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4115

From what I've been told about the difference with the group sets is that they spec their own parts list here in Canada to benefit the buyer in the pocket book.
From my research the weight difference between Ultegra Classic and Ultegra SL is only about 60 grams (if anyone knows otherwise with real numbers please correct me). Not really significant for the extra cost. But the colour looks cool.

The 105 brakes and crankset are also on there to keep the cost down. From what I know the performance of those parts are nearly identical to the Ultegra version so you are not sacrificing anything other than a little bit of weight.
Maybe it's just my mountain biker background but performance and dependability comes before weight (to a certain degree).

However, the money that is saved can be put towards items that I can swap out for things that will significantly drop weight and gain performance (like wheels).

The pedals I am thinking (and hoping) is just an over-sight when the bike was packed.

The biggest selling feature for me is having a great frame that I can build onto and upgrade over time. From what I have been reading Look appears to be one of the best. 

Can't wait to ride it!


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## Forrest Root

Nice macheen.


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## wArden

Thanks! 

I'll post new pictures up when it's ready to roll.


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## j__h

This thread is perfect timing, I just bought a 2007 Look 555 frame as well (NOS). I was searching the internet trying to find out exactly what the seat post dimension were. (there seems to be multiple different sites, listing multiple different answers, so the misinformation on this must be fairly common).


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## wArden

Just got some info wrt to the fork and pedals.

It turns out that it is only in the US that the 555 complete bike comes with Look pedals. Since I am in Canada I did not get any.
Any recommendations? I'm thinking about getting the Look Keo Sprint. A good price to weight ratio.

As for the HSC4/HSC5 fork issue, aparently Look changed the spec's last minute and started supplying the 555 with the HSC4.
I guess they forgot to change the info on their site.


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## unagidon

wArden said:


> Just got some info wrt to the fork and pedals.
> 
> It turns out that it is only in the US that the 555 complete bike comes with Look pedals. Since I am in Canada I did not get any.
> Any recommendations? I'm thinking about getting the Look Keo Sprint. A good price to weight ratio.
> 
> As for the HSC4/HSC5 fork issue, aparently Look changed the spec's last minute and started supplying the 555 with the HSC4.
> I guess they forgot to change the info on their site.


wArden, I suggest going to take a browse at probikekit.com - they have some great prices on Look pedals. However, I don't know if they ship to Canada. I bought some Look Keo Carbon's - around US$ 116 - for my bike. The sprints are around $75 I think. Only reason I bought the higher end one's is because I'm vane, and wanted carbon...


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## toonraid

Ultegra SL is 100 g lighter than standard ultegra and centaur is 100 g lighter than SL, pm if you want the breakdown.

Look ship 555 with both HSC4 & HSC5 forks - there is a price difference of 100 - 150 dollars between the 2, apparently 555-HSC4 models are shipped from their far east plant to Asia, Australia & N America while europe gets the HSC5 version from france.


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## wArden

unagidon said:


> wArden, I suggest going to take a browse at probikekit.com - they have some great prices on Look pedals. However, I don't know if they ship to Canada. I bought some Look Keo Carbon's - around US$ 116 - for my bike. The sprints are around $75 I think. Only reason I bought the higher end one's is because I'm vane, and wanted carbon...



Thanks for the info. According to the Look site the Carbon model is not only a bit lighter but the pedal-to-spindle distance is slightly less than the Sprint so you can get a little bit more efficient power transfer. Something to consider...





toonraid said:


> Ultegra SL is 100 g lighter than standard ultegra and centaur is 100 g lighter than SL, pm if you want the breakdown.
> 
> Look ship 555 with both HSC4 & HSC5 forks - there is a price difference of 100 - 150 dollars between the 2, apparently 555-HSC4 models are shipped from their far east plant to Asia, Australia & N America while europe gets the HSC5 version from france.



Thanks for the correct information on the weight for Ultegra SL.

I was told the same thing about the forks that if I wanted the HSC5 I could have paid an extra $150. Since I am just getting into road riding I don't think bumping up to the HSC5 will make that big of a difference for me. There is nothing wrong with HSC4 considering it is a 100% carbon fork!

This is good information to know for other people looking at getting the bike. :thumbsup:


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## j__h

Well look (no pun intended) what Fedex just delivered.

The seatpost is indeed a 31.6 on the 2007 models as well.


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## Philippe

*Look 555*

I receive my 555, w/o pedales and with the hsc-4 fork.Like most people I was wondering why. Thanks for the explanations.
Also there is a look logo on the down tube instead of the 555 that I see on the web.
Philippe


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## wArden

I forgot about this thread. Thanks for reviving it.

I've been meaning to post pictures of the changes that I did with the overall build.

So far I have been loving the ride. I don't have anything to compare it to as far as the other Look models are concerned but it feels comfortable, quick and stable if that means anything.
I guess the important thing is that I am always looking forward to getting out and riding it.


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