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EURO BIKE 2010: EUROBIKE REPORT, PART 7
Zap
September 18, 2010
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Carbon fiber is of course all the rage these days, but for a handful of
bikes companies, it’s a frame material that is as new to the sport as is
water bottles. Look introduced their first carbon frame back in 1986
(it showed up under some American by the name of Greg LeMond), and
they’ve been pumping them out (and refining them) ever since.
For 2011 Look is playing an aggressive hand with new technology and at
EuroBike they came on strong with an immaculate display of beautiful
bikes and accessories. The highlight had to be the high-end 695 which by
incorporating an impressive (ala Cannondale philosophy) level of system
design which seeks to unify, and maximize, frame and component
performance as a whole package. Also surprising was the introduction of a
new partnership with Polar to introduce a jointly developed pedal/power
meter system.
If Look is famous for one product in particular, it would have to be
long line of road pedals (first introduced in 1985 with Bernard
Hinault). Their new Keo Blade pedal with a carbon “blade” spring is the
pedal of choice for many top riders including Alberto Contador who this
year also used the new Keo Blade Aero that has a carbon fiber fairing on
its underside.
Introduced at the Tour de France this year under the Cofidis team, the
695 is a stunning package of two-wheeled craftsmanship. Whether in
white, red (above), black or the super-stunning 695 Mondrian (possibly the
greatest looking bike of all 2011) found in Look’s Premium Collection,
the runs with Looks full package of component integration with their
C-Stem, Zed 2 crank and E-Post seatpost. The 695 is available in five
sizes and comes complete with either Sram Red, Shimano DuraAce or Di1
drivetrains.
Also designed around the 695, and similarly multi-adjustable as the Zed 2
crank is the carbon C-Stem. What it might lack in outright svelte
shaping it makes up for stiffness and again, adjustability. With its use
of a special “half-moon” spacer in the handlebar clamp, the stem can
adjust with a 10mm longer/shorter variation. Owing to the new age of
rider positioning, the C-Stem has a -9 degree to a +13 degree rise and
so will accommodate the desires of the leaned over racer type and/or the
more upright stance of less than nose-to-the-stem type rider.
As the name implies, the Zed 2 is the second incarnation of the radical
one-piece carbon crank. Available as a non-Look frame retro-fit as well,
the crank is compatible with all double/compact chainrings and thanks
to a novel “three lobe nut” the Zed 2 crank has an integral adjustment
feature that allows the crank alter its length to a 170mm, 172.5mm or
175mm length. Look claims a 320 gram weight for the cranks and chainring
star.
Look is introducing the new 576 that they are trying hard to market as a tri bike. Really? Seems that with it's less than full-on triathlon design (as compared to their Tri-specific 596), yet with a plausibly advantageous aero tube selection that for the sake of a larger market share they would at least chase after the "aero road" market. But then, I guess the 78 degree seat tube kinda rules that out! Either way, the less-than-full-on Tri bike is available in five sizes and with either their integrated E-Post or a traditional seatpost, both which allow reversible saddle positioning. Look claims a 1100gram frame weight.
Look is offering three different track frames for 2011, each radically
beautiful and proven fast. The monocoque 496 was the bike that won seven
medals at the Sydney Olympics and necessitates 50 hours of handiwork to
produce. The 496 is available in three sizes.
Following in the footsteps of the Metrigear/Speedplay system shown at Interbike last year (and not yet since), here's a look at the new Look/Polar pedal/power meter system that is still in prototype form. Similar to the Metrigear design, the Look/Polar unit uses strain gauges in the pedal with a Polar sending unit (mounted on the backside of each crank) to provide power output numbers to a handlebar mounted Polar computer.
For more info on Look bikes, head to Look Cycles.
AS FOR THE CHARGED SET
Electric bikes are ALL the rage over in EuroLand and as all the
American's ponder their meaning and value to American consumers, the
Euro market is expanding with as many different designs and "motor" packages. Here's a brief selection of what I found in the Electric Pavilion.
Your standard electric bike with a downtube mounted battery
Cool mini-commuters with the battery mounted behind the seatpost.
Even in the battery operated market Cannondale is showing a keen eye to the future with some innovative product.
This is their production bike with a under-the-bottom bracket battery designed in cooperation with Bosch. In fact, the Bosch Drive Unit was found on a quite a few different bikes with the power pack located in different areas.
Here's an electric concept bike that Cannondale was non only showing off in their booth, but they also had two runners outside for people to test ride. The Concept E-Bike has a Removable Internal Battery located inside the seattube and combined with the Bosch Drive Unit forms the Power Tower Backbone!! Using their Lefty fork and disc brakes gave the Cannondale a distinctly hi-tech look among some of the more dowdy entries.
The impressive thing about the E-Bike market is that the bikes themselves currently run the gamut of dullsville to distinctive. The artisan quality bikes found in the Electrolyte booth speak to the latter variety.
Europe has some strict rules on E-Bike speed/power limits, this Electrolyte racer had a hidden button in the left side bar end that acted as a "turbo switch" to elicit additional power for the all important downtown drag races! Electro subterfuge at its best! The upstart Electrolyte brand was turning heads with their exquisite craftsmanship.
And with that, RBA's EuroBike coverage is complete. We have a few days now before Americas own Interbike trade show kicks-off in Las Vegas. Word that riders like Jens Voigt, George Hincapie and Alessandro Petacchi among others will be in the house has us road geeks ready with Sharpie in hand. Look for news about a Bob Roll contest here on Monday as we head out to the high dez for more bikes. Vegas here we come!
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