The LOOK 695 SR is one of the most striking bikes in the pro peloton. This machine belongs to Cofidis rider Edwig Cammaerts.
LOOK is a quintessentially French company so it’s only right the Bourgogne-based manufacturer is bike sponsor of one of the sport’s long-standing teams, with financial services firm Cofidis supporting the squad since its inception in 1996.
The LOOK 695 is available in two versions, the 695 SR (which stands for Super Rigid), as ridden by the Cofidis team, is designed to meet the demands of the pro peloton and is, well, super stiff, while also offering a sufficiently smooth road – attributes which saw it voted RoadCyclingUK’s Bike of the Year in 2012. The regular 695, on the other hand, is designed to be more compliant still, while the trade off of a 15 reduction in stiffness.
LOOK are not afraid of innovation, having developed the first clipless pedal in 1984 and the first carbon fibre frame two years later, and the most striking aspect of the 695 is it’s level of integration.
The LOOK 695 SR i-Pack is an integrated chassis which comprises of frame, fork, stem, seatpost and cranks. Cofidis, however, are also sponsored by FSA, so it’s the Italian firm’s chainrings and cranks on the Cofidis, instead of the one-piece Zed 2 crankset. You can read about that in our review of the LOOK 695 SR.
The stem, on the other hand, takes pride of place on the front of the team issue bike. Dubbed the C-Stem by LOOK, it’s a one-piece, all carbon offering designed specifically for the 695. LOOK, therefore, say the proprietary stem has been designed to work in harmony with the frame. It fixes independently of headset bearings, so can be adjusted or removed without having to reset LOOK’s HeadFit 3 headset, while the stem can be adjusted from -9˚ to +13˚ without the need for a stack of spacers, which LOOK say improves front-end stiffness. A moon-shaped spacer allows the rider to adjust the reach of the stem by 10mm.
Out back, the E-Post is an integrated seatpost, and another proprietary LOOK design. Integrated seatposts offer, by their very nature, limited, if any, adjustment but LOOK have built in 30mm of adjustment, while the post also contains elastomers to help dampen road buzz, which goes some way to explaining the smooth ride.
Let’s take a closer inspection of Cammaerts’ machine.
The proprietary C-Stem is the most striking feature of the LOOK 659 SR, improving front-end stiffness while still offering a good level of adjustment. Cammaerts uses an aluminium 3T Rotundo Pro handlebar
Cofidis are also sponsored by FSA for 2013, so the Italian firm’s chainrings and cranks replace the LOOK-designed Zed 2 cranks found on last year’s team bike. An SRM power meter provides the vital statistics
Mavic are another new sponsor, replacing American Classic, and Cammaerts’ machine is pictured here with the French company’s 40mm-deep Cosmic Carbone Ultimate wheels, which weigh a paltry 1,185g thanks to a full carbon construction
The hoops are part of a Mavic wheel and tyre system, paired here with Mavic Yksion Grip Link tubs
Two versions of the LOOK 695 are available with the SR (Super Rigid) option used by the team designed to offer maximum power transfer, helped in part by these huge chainstays
Cofidis riders use Polar bike computers which, in a world where GPS is king, still use a wheel magnet and fork sensor
LOOK provide the pedals, of course, with Cammaerts using the super-light and top-of-the-range Keo Blade Carbon model
Belgian Cammaerts, 25, joined ProContinental team Cofidis at the start of 2012
Rubber-stamped by the UCI
