By Paul.D

A few months back, I was recording the podcast and you might have heard this: “Hey, by the way, shout out to this automotive designer I know who owns several Cannondale tracks!” Well, I got the chance to enter his man cave to take a few shots of two really special bikes in his collection. So today isn’t really a proper bike check, but more of a “vibe check”. A vibe-check of someone I enjoy talking with and who has a few treasures worth sharing with all of you readers.

But without any transition, here they are. A Look 296 and 396, both coming straight out of the revolutionary era of cycling. A time where engineers were trying their best (or at least what they could) at carbon monocoque and aero solutions.

Just before we start I think it’s important to remind everyone of something. You’re probably constantly hearing me saying that bikes are meant to be ridden and keeping them on a wall is a shame for most of them. First, Clément rides his bikes. Where? Well on the velodrome! Exactly where that kind of thirty years old carbon beam is meant to be ridden. On a second note, and you’ll have to give him credit for that, Clément is the breed of person that is involved in the preservation of cycling history. So yes, it can be fun to take that monocoque nonsense on the street and do some crazy stuff. But if it’s in good condition, you might as well find the right balance between trashing a piece of history and ending its life by putting it into a museum with deflated tubes. Look at it as an old Porsche. Track missiles that have been modified to the extreme look nice in their own way, but an original one that has been preserved through time is always a beautiful sight.

With this out of the way, let’s start with the 296. With its production starting in 1996, it’s the little brother of the now mythical look KG 196, Look’s first attempt at a monocoque carbon frame. There are some interesting details on that bike like the curve on the down tube that is completely off compared to the one defined by the wheel and tire, the “shark fin” under the bottom bracket that looks more like a little belly than a proper aero feature, or the bond between the seat stays and the seat tubes. So massive, it’s creating sort of a “step”, wide enough you could maybe sit on it. Finally, that beautiful yet, not fully functional, proprietary fork system using needle bearing that Look is gonna perfect in the next 20 years. For the build, I can definitely see the Japanese vibe that Clément likes so much. Fun fact, the first time we met was in Japan, while I was working at W-base. He came in to take a look around and buy some stickers. We had a quick conversation, but I never thought I'd see him again a few years later in Paris. Funny how things work sometimes. Aside from the Frame and its proprietary stem, and seatpost, almost everything here is like I said before, “Japanese”. Dura-Ace crank paired with a beautiful Shimano Olympic chainring, classic MKS pedal setup, a Kashimax BMX saddle, and finally, a pair of Dura-Ace hubs, laced to Mavic Open Pros (gotta keep some French parts around I guess).

But let’s get into the real deal, shall we? The 196 and 296 were a good start. On the other hand, the 496 and R96 are a bit too recent for my liking. So what’s left? You guessed it, the 396 is my personal vintage Look of choice and I’m not gonna lie, Clemen’s one is a sexy ride! Here you’ll find a stunning pair of the recently re-edited Suzue Pro carbon hubs laced to some classic Mavic Open Pros. All of that lightweight delight is gently wrapped into some even lighter Veloflex, perfect for the track in their 23c variant. We’re getting a second taste of the Shimano Olympic stuff but rather as a joke more than anything else this time. Because putting a gigantic Shimano decal on a Miche crank is actually kinda hilarious and he is definitely not the only one doing it. Spinning a 3.33 ratio with some Keo Blades pedals means serious business and fast boy material around the track. Better get out of the way when you’ll hear that yellow bird coming behind you. Finally, you’ll be sitting on carbon and carbon only today with this Look Aeropost attached to a sweet Flite Evolution, one of the few who still survived to this day. No stickers here! It’s the clean aesthetic that primes over everything else. And I get it, why would you hide that beautiful corn yellow paint?

Through the years, there have been a few variations of colors, from the traditional yellow to a German white version, an all-black raw carbon one, heck, I even saw a “stars and stripes” themed one day. (found it) But I guess that off-tone yellow will always get me. I have to be honest here. If there is even a slight chance for me to get one at a decent price one day, it’ll be a hard one to pass.

So you get it, It’s a beautiful bike that looks really fast, functional, and not completely over the top at the same time. Seeing that kind of beauty reminds me how grateful I am to be able to meet people with awesome and interesting collections. It’s always an immense pleasure for me to just see new bikes, and take a few pictures and that’s the exact reason I started this blog. If you have a bike you’d like to show me (or a collection perhaps) don’t hesitate to contact me and we’ll figure something out. If you want to see Clément’s work or some of his bikes you can head over to his Instagram here → @clementporee
Finally here are a few detailed shots of his 396 and a quite moody picture of his 396 and 296 together. I personally quite like this one….