The Look 795 Blade’s name refers to its ability to cut through the air – but there’s more to the Blade than its ability to cheat the wind. According to Look, this is “the fastest, smoothest and most versatile bike Look has ever made”.
The French manufacturer believes that the era when aero-road bikes focused only on aerodynamics is long gone. This Blade “is all about speed, with its design focusing on stiffness and aerodynamics yet without a huge sacrifice in overall comfort”. Not only does the Blade major on aero, but Look says it also has an unmatched stiffness-to-weight ratio for an aero road bike, while maintaining “traction where other bikes fail, thanks to an innovative rear triangle and large tyre clearance”.
The rear-end innovation is that in the absence of a brake bridge and with their slightly arched profile the Blade’s seatstays are designed to bend under compression for greater power transfer, increased grip and control. A veritable win-win-win.
The lowest-priced disc-braked Blade costs £4300 with Shimano Ultegra and Shimano’s RS370 wheels, or £3100 as a frameset with Look’s ADS stem – complete with integrated cable routing – and its Aeropost 2 carbon seatpost; a rim-braked frameset is also available.
The stunning bike shown was built to a customer’s specifications using high-end kit from Look’s UK distributor ZyroFisher. This includes SRAM’s top-line wireless 12-speed Red eTap AXS groupset with hydraulic disc brakes. Look believes the BB386 bottom bracket shell is the best press-fit option, and here it’s supplied with an aluminium sleeve and a Token Products Ninja threaded bottom bracket for noise-free running and maximum reliability.
In SRAM’s typical mould-breaking style the gearing consists of a radical 48/35 chainset with a 10-33 cassette. At first glance, this combo may look limiting but with 12 speeds it delivers small jumps and a wider gear range than the more familiar 50/34, 11-32 – the same 28-inch bottom gear but at 126 inches the 48x10 top gear is six inches higher than 50x11. The wheels also live up to a bike at this level, pairing Zipp’s 404 Firecrest Disc clinchers with 28mm Vittoria Corsa Graphene Control tyres. A Zipp carbon aero bar and Selle San Marco saddle finish the kit line-up.
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