# History of Look



## booth1234

I have been searching for some history on Look and unfortunately have come up with nothing (nothing really on their website that I can see). I am considering buying 595 but want to learn as much about the company before I buy. 

If someone could point me to a website or maybe some of you more knowledgeable members could post some information I would be most obliged 

Thanks for any help

Ryan


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## Mapei

Others will probably correct me, but I remember Look as being the same company that helped invent the modern quick-release ski binding. They then turned their attention to bicycle pedals, and then to other bicycle components, including frames. They are a long-established company. They have a history of innovation.


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## chas

booth1234 said:


> I have been searching for some history on Look and unfortunately have come up with nothing (nothing really on their website that I can see). I am considering buying 595 but want to learn as much about the company before I buy.
> 
> If someone could point me to a website or maybe some of you more knowledgeable members could post some information I would be most obliged
> 
> Thanks for any help
> 
> Ryan



Hi Ryan,

Here's a link to our info page: http://www.lookcycle.com/infos/?lang=en

If you have any specific questions, just let me know and I'll do my best to answer them :thumbsup: .

*[email protected]*


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## Dave Hickey

What he said...and they started making carbon bikes around 1986...Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault used carbon tubed/aluminum lugged LOOKs in the 1986 Tour De France mountain stages..


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## booth1234

Thanks guys!! 

I am looking for their "history of innovation", their racing history and how they started and progressed as a company.

Chas,

This is a great link for what they are doing and the immediate past but I am having a hard time finding anything beyond that. I am trying to dig a little deeper. Or maybe I am looking in the wrong place.:mad2: 

I really don't have specific questions because I know so little  

Any Information that you feel would help, I would be very much happy to hear.

Again thanks for all the help and your time!!!

Ryan


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## Dave Hickey

Ryan, all of the below teams used LOOK frames at one time

La Vie Clarie- they were the first to ride LOOK frames. 
ONCE
Credit Agricol(spelling)
BigMat
CSC

Bernard Hinault, Greg Lemond, Laurent Jalabert were all top riders


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## samh

*old look frames*



Dave Hickey said:


> What he said...and they started making carbon bikes around 1986...Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault used carbon tubed/aluminum lugged LOOKs in the 1986 Tour De France mountain stages..


how are the new frames different from old? stiffer? lighter?


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## jhamlin38

this is the perfect reason to call the Look rep that handles your territory directly. I met one today in NJ, and he was friendly, articulate, and informative. I too am a rep of premium/luxury products, so I'm immediatly fond of reps. But I can tell you that most reps LOVE talking about their products, and often know the history, and minute details of all aspects of the brand and the products.


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## edk

Dave Hickey said:


> Ryan, all of the below teams used LOOK frames at one time
> 
> La Vie Clarie- they were the first to ride LOOK frames.
> ONCE
> Credit Agricol(spelling)
> BigMat
> CSC
> 
> Bernard Hinault, Greg Lemond, Laurent Jalabert were all top riders


and...

Kelme
RAGT-semences 

Alex Zulle, Thor Hushovd


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## booth1234

jhamlin38 said:


> this is the perfect reason to call the Look rep that handles your territory directly. I met one today in NJ, and he was friendly, articulate, and informative. I too am a rep of premium/luxury products, so I'm immediatly fond of reps. But I can tell you that most reps LOVE talking about their products, and often know the history, and minute details of all aspects of the brand and the products.


Good advice I will give it a go 

And thanks to all for their replies:thumbsup:


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## Mapei

If you google "look ski bindings," you will find a brief Wikipedia entry on the company's history. (You won't find that history, BTW if you google Look bicycles.) Anyway, the company started in 1951 in the ski-binding business. It's gone through several ownership changes over the years. In the process, they dropped the ski-binding side of the business to focus on bicycles. During that time they got into frame-building. They've always been based in France.


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## chas

booth1234 said:


> Good advice I will give it a go
> 
> And thanks to all for their replies:thumbsup:


Hi booth1234,

I've been meaning to post a good history for you, but this week has been really crazy so I haven't had time to get all the info together. I should have some time this weekend though, so check back soon.

*[email protected]*


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## toonraid

Started with ski bindings
- Made the first Automatique Pedal (clipless) which hinault rode to victory in 84 after a bad fall
- First Carbon bike rode to Tdf victory by Hinault (rebagged VTT) in 85
- First Carbon bike built by Look rode to Tdf Victory by Lemond after a famous chase by Hinault (his team mate)
- First Carbon fork (not sure about the year)
Famous cyclists are 
- Hinault
- Lemond
- Jalabert 
- Thor Hushovd

Famous frames are the early Carbon/alu lugged Mondrians of the late 80's as ridden by Hinault & Lemond as well as the mid to late 90's models ridden by Jaja such as the 171's 381 SL and of course the 496 track frame that got 9 medals at the Athens Olympics.

Unfortunately there is very little info out there or on Look's site which seems on par with the rest of the industry, it seems none of the manufacturers know what was made at any time or don't want to tell anyone about it!


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## booth1234

Thanks guys for all the help:thumbsup:


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## chas

toonraid said:


> Started with ski bindings
> - Made the first Automatique Pedal (clipless) which hinault rode to victory in 84 after a bad fall
> - First Carbon bike rode to Tdf victory by Hinault (rebagged VTT) in 85
> - First Carbon bike built by Look rode to Tdf Victory by Lemond after a famous chase by Hinault (his team mate)
> - First Carbon fork (not sure about the year)
> Famous cyclists are
> - Hinault
> - Lemond
> - Jalabert
> - Thor Hushovd
> 
> Famous frames are the early Carbon/alu lugged Mondrians of the late 80's as ridden by Hinault & Lemond as well as the mid to late 90's models ridden by Jaja such as the 171's 381 SL and of course the 496 track frame that got 9 medals at the Athens Olympics.
> 
> Unfortunately there is very little info out there or on Look's site which seems on par with the rest of the industry, it seems none of the manufacturers know what was made at any time or don't want to tell anyone about it!


Other famous cyclists who have ridden LOOK frames over the years:
Tyler Hamilton (CSC)
Oscar Sevilla (Kelme)
Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole)
Chris Boardman (Credit Agricole)
Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole)
Jens Voigt (Credit Agricole)

On the pedal side there are too many to list, but nearly every top rider you can think of has ridden LOOK pedals at some point in their career. We currently sponsor Credit Agricole, Astana, Silence Lotto, Caisse d'Epargne, Lampre, Liquigas, and Quickstep.

As for the lack of history on our website, I think this will be updated when we launch the new site in August. LOOK is very proud of our past, as it shows a pretty successful history of innovation.

In addition to the products listed by toonraid, some of the other forward thinking products we've developed over the years:
- Power meter (1990) I'm not sure why this wasn't popular back then, but I'm guessing it was pretty expensive. It had a handlebar display and took the power reading from the rear hub, similar to a Powertap.

- KG196 frameset (mid 90's) - This was a monocoque frameset developed for track, TT, and triathlon use. One of the cool things about this one is the bladed fork/headtube design. Now, ten years later, you are starting to see some other companies adopting this design. This frameset was laid the groundwork for the 296, 396 and 496, and the gold medals mentioned by toonraid above. 









Here's Giddeon Massie last weekend on his 496. We'll find out next week if he made the US Olympic team. This frame was originally introduced at the 2004 Olympics. 









- 381 and 481 framesets (early 2000's) - These frames were carbon tube/aluminum lugged, with very specifically shaped tubes and wall thicknesses to optimize ride and performance. The techniques learned in this frame led to the development of the 585 frameset in 2005.

- 585 frameset (2005) - This was our first full carbon road frame. It uses carbon lugs and tubes that although round externally are shaped internally to optimize stiffness and comfort. This was also our first sub-1000g frame. In 2007 we added an "Ultra" version of this frameset that is ~15% stiffer than the original 585. 

- HSC 5 fork (2005) - This was developed to compliment the 585, and is the first full monocoque fork (steerer, crownrace and crown, blades and dropouts are all one mold). It weighs 300g (uncut) and is one of the stiffest forks in the industry.

- KeO Carbon pedals (2005) - This pedal is smaller and lighter than all of the previous LOOK pedals, while creating a larger cleat/platform contact patch than ever before. 

More to follow shortly...

*[email protected]*


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## chas

The stuff I posted above was just off the top of my head, but here's a good timeline of the company history:

1983 – The first clipless pedal makes its debut

1985 – Bernard Hinault wins his record tying fifth Tour de France on his LOOK clipless pedals

1986 – Greg LeMond wins his first Tour de France on his LOOK clipless pedals and carbon frame

1989 – The LOOK Arc pedal is developed, offering multiple float options for the rider

1992 – Laurent Jalabert wins the Tour de France points jersey on his LOOK KG96

1994 – Laurent Jalabert wins his second points jersey at the Tour on his LOOK KG96

1994 – LOOK carbon track frames take the Olympics by storm, taking x medals overall

1995 – Laurent Jalabert wins the Tour of Spain on board his LOOK171

1998 – The LOOK KG171 wins bike of the year in France

1999 – LOOK develops the LOOK KG281 and promptly wins bike of the year for the second consecutive year in France

2001 – Laurent Jalabert wins his first climber’s jersey on board his LOOK KG281

2002 – Laurent Jalabert wins his second consecutive climber’s jersey on board his LOOK KG 381

2002 – The LOOK KG281 wins another bike of the year honor in France

2003 – LOOK wins the Design Oscar in France for the KG486

2004 – LOOK unveils the KeO Carbon pedal and it quickly becomes the new standard in the industry

2004 – LOOK launches the 585, a revolutionary all carbon road frameset

2006 – LOOK launches the 595, their first nanotube infused, integrated E Post designed all carbon frame

2007 – LOOK launches the 586, built with new proprietary techniques in monocoque frame forming

2008 – The LOOK 586 wins bike of the year in France

2009 - ??? Stay tuned for some cool stuff...

*[email protected]*


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## booth1234

Great information!!

Thanks chas:thumbsup:


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## LOOKFTW

Hey Chas,

Just wondering where the LOOK 595 Frames are manufactured? 

Cheers


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## edk

Manufactured in Tunesia, painted in France!


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## chas

chas said:


> 2009 - ??? Stay tuned for some cool stuff...


Introducing the 2009 596 Tri.









*[email protected]*


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## thien

chas said:


> Introducing the 2009 596 Tri.


Nice, so is this replacing the 496 or just another option for tri's?

Also, a lil more information about the cranks please?


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## chas

thien said:


> Nice, so is this replacing the 496 or just another option for tri's?


Just another option for Tris/TT's.



thien said:


> Also, a lil more information about the cranks please?


All in due time my dear thien...  

*[email protected]*


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## bradford

Wow - looks pretty slippery! 

Question for Chas - any reason Look doesn't use horizontal rear dropouts to tighten up the gap between the rear wheel and the seat tube?

We're awaiting the rest of the 2009 line!


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## chas

bradford said:


> Wow - looks pretty slippery!
> 
> Question for Chas - any reason Look doesn't use horizontal rear dropouts to tighten up the gap between the rear wheel and the seat tube?
> 
> We're awaiting the rest of the 2009 line!


Hi Bradford,

The vertical dropouts were specifically requested by the professional teams and individuals we sponsor to make wheel swaps easier and keep a constant chainstay length. The gap between the rear wheel and seat tube is by design. Our designers spent a lot of time in the wind tunnel with this bike, and experimented with multiple variations of the rear end, including one with very tight clearance between the rear wheel and seat tube. 

The 596 pictured above uses the fastest rear end that we tested for this bike. We found that our design gives the turbulence created by the spinning rear tire/wheel and the turbulence created by the seat tube room to pass one another instead of getting trapped between the tire and seat tube, creating even more turbulence. 

We're holding a media day on July 22nd, so I suspect that there will be more information available on the the entire 2009 lineup, including the 596, very soon.

*[email protected]*


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## toonraid

Arggg ... I can't see the picture of the new 596, our server must be blocking it - can anyone email it to me!


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