Look

Founded by Jean Beyl in 1951, Look has become one of the most iconic cycling brands of all time.

History

Look was founded in 1951 in Nevers, France, where, alongside bicycle frames and components, they manufacture ball bladders. The founder Jean Beyl was an avid skier and would take to the slopes whenever he could. This passion for skiing would become an integral part of the design process later down the line for Look’s most successful product.

In 1983, Look was bought by the Bernard TAPIE sport group with the aim of revitalising the brand. Part of the plan to do this was to enter the top tier of road racing with the now famous team La Vie Claire headed up by Bernard Hinault.

The year 1984 saw the biggest change to pedal technology the sport has seen, with Look releasing the PP65 pedal system that pulls massively from the brand's experience with ski bindings. Until the release of the PP65 the main way riders secured their feet to the pedals with toe straps. Using a clipless system now allowed the riders the security of toe straps but with the ease of being able to release from the pedal with just a twisting motion, no longer needed to reach down to adjust the straps.

Bernard Hinault took the PP65 pedals to their first Tour de France the following year. At the conclusion of stage 14 Hinault was involved in a crash that left him bloodied and wounded, and he publicly praised the new pedals for lessening the severity of the crash as he could detach himself from his bike. He would continue to ride the 1985 Tour de France, ultimately taking overall victory.

Ahead of the trends at the time, Look developed a new road bike frame, named the KG 86, looking to be lighter and stiffer than any of the current generation of steel or alloy bicycles. The design engineers at Look released the KG 86 in 1986 as the first carbon fibre road bike. Much like the PP65 pedals, upon its first lap of France it took Greg LeMond to his first yellow jersey.

In 1998 the company was bought out by a mix of employees as well as Dominique Bergin, Thierry Fournier and Jean Claude Chretien. This marked the start of a new chapter for Look as it continued to develop and evolve its product catalogue.

In 2004 the brand released a revised version of the clipless pedal named the Keo, using carbon fibre technologies to weigh in at 95 grams. In 2014 came the striking 795 aerolight road bike, which saw the introduction of integrated technology such as the integrated front brake in the fork, as well as the integrated stem and seatpost. Look continued its adoption of technological trends in 2019 with its first electric motor assisted road bike.

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Pro cycling

Current sponsorships: Team Cofidis, French cycling Federation Track team, Team USA sprint team, Rockrider racing team, Lapierre Mavic Unity

Highlights:

• 1994 saw a new frame the KG171 revealed, pushing the limits of material technology using tubular carbon fibre silhouette combined with Ergostem and Ergoseatpost that was ridden to a plethora of victories including Milan san Remo and Paris Nice. The KG171 earnt the accolade of bike of the year in 1998.
• The London 2012 Olympic Games saw the L96 track bike raced in the velodrome to 13 medals across all events making it one of the most successful bikes of the Games.
• Entering in to the new era of cycling of marginal gains and aerodynamics, the Keo blade pedal was released in 2013, the most aerodynamic platform the brand has created, with a 75% larger platform as well as being the lightest platform Look offers.