Looking for a new TT frame and have had the Look 496 Tri highly recommend but I will not have a fit opportunity and am quite concerned that the top tube on the Med(the largest size) is a lot shorter than I am use to. Does anybody out there who is 6"3" or thereabouts actually have one of these and is satisfied with the fit??? Does anybody even have and ride one of these frames?
The largest 496 has a very similar stack and reach to the 54cm P2c - unlikely to work for you. I’m afraid that Look do not make a tri bike for the larger gentleman currently.
Cyclenutz-do you have actual experience with one of these frames or are you doing the same as I am and looking at the frame specs and judging from there?? Wiggins rode one in’05 and he is 6’2"ish and Thor Husvold rides one this year and he is 6’0" -at least this is the story I was told-leaves me pretty confused!
I am 6 foot and ride a medium. There is plenty of room to extend the stem farther forward on the bike. You will be in a low position up front. As far as the bike goes, it is one hell of a ride. Solid with out the flex in the bottom bracket like most carbon bikes. If you ride one you will enjoy the ride. Good Luck on your choice.
No experience with one - why would I buy a frame that I had to bodge to make it fit? I wouldnt get a 54cm/Med frame from any other brand.
Comparing to my 58 cannondale I would lose 5cm of front centre (=less stability), gain 40mm of spacers (compared to current 5mm) and 20mm of stem. The seat angle could also prove problematic.
Hushovd rides right on the tip of the saddle and has a pro cyclists position, if you can handle that then it could be a great bike for you, I just dont think it was designed with triathletes in mind.
No experience with one - why would I buy a frame that I had to bodge to make it fit? I wouldnt get a 54cm/Med frame from any other brand.
Comparing to my 58 cannondale I would lose 5cm of front centre (=less stability), gain 40mm of spacers (compared to current 5mm) and 20mm of stem. The seat angle could also prove problematic.
Hushovd rides right on the tip of the saddle and has a pro cyclists position, if you can handle that then it could be a great bike for you, I just dont think it was designed with triathletes in mind.
It wasn’t designed with triathletes in mind. One thing to consider is that the geometry on it, is very strange. Also the ST goes up to 67.5Cm, everyone that I know that rides a 54 bike of any other brand, has their seat at 65cm or below, meaning it would be impossible for them to ride the “54” Look tri 496. Anyways, it’s a much bigger bike than it seems on paper.
6’3" should be no problem, as long as you are flexable, etc. Sitting on the tip of the saddle would make the TT shorter, not longer.
then those people shouldnt be on 54s - that saddle height would tend to indicate a 48cm frame. A more accurate generalistion (if there can be such a thing) would be 54cm frame with a 72-76cm saddle height.
He sits on the tip so that he can get low in front without closing his hip angle too much and stay within the UCI rules. It’s not about the TT.
THe look is actually smaller than it looks on paper - the 131mm headtube is deceptive as the 50mm BB Drop knocks 20mm out of that so it is really 110ish compared to most other brands. Notice that slowman said in his latest article that he is going to produce charts comparing all the tri bikes using the same measures - I’ve already done that and the Look does not stack up well.
Choosing the right bike is not just about being able to achieve your position - factors like Front Centre do make a difference.
then those people shouldnt be on 54s - that saddle height would tend to indicate a 48cm frame. A more accurate generalistion (if there can be such a thing) would be 54cm frame with a 72-76cm saddle height.
Yeah, they should. Sorry, but not everyone is built the same, different bikes fit different people differently, at the same height. Long torso, short legs, short torso, long legs, etc etc.
Yea, he does, but the bike is obviously big enough for him, look has a capability to make him a custom one, if they saw fit, infact the track version is custom.
I was talking about it having a 111mm HT, the higher the saddle, the longer the effective distance between the saddle and the bars are. I prefer my bicycles with large amounts of drop, I have very long arms, so to get low, I need large amounts of drop, there are no hard and fast rules to bike fit.
Choosing the right bike is about achiving your position comfortably enough for you to hold it for the duration of the ride.
http://www.calfeedesign.com/frontendterms.htm
There is no rule of thumb about proper front center. Weight distribution is the key measurement. Some people worry about toe overlap. Front center is a handy measurement to see if a bike will have toe overlap when comparing to a known bike.
As calfee states, front center is usefull as a toe overlap measurement, it’s weight distrobution that matters, and I agree. Toe overlap dosen’t matter, unless all you do is ride around in a parkinglot.
We’re actually arguing from nearly the same perspective (and assuming lack of knowledge on each others part). The difference is that you like the Look because it works for you and I think it’s a waste of space. So we might halt the fitting discussion there… how I about I bring up the “made in China” aspect now 
Given that they’ve had to do custom road bikes for him it would be no surprise if the tt bike were too.
so in summary only irnman actually has a Look 496 TRi and he says it will fit and the rest of the contributors are just doing, just as I am, speculating, based on published frame dimensions and how they perceive the bike might fit a big guy. Unfortunately speculation is not what I was hoping for. I had hoped at least a few riders my size might have actually ridden a Look 496 Tri and I would hear from them. Regardless, gentleman, thank you for your thoughts.
I will say trust cyclenutz’s advice, he knows his stuff when it comes to fit and geometry.
You are unlikely to hear from many guys of our size riding 496s as they will be rare beasts.
I’m not exactly speculating on fit. If you tell me what your current bike is, the stem specs and spacer height I can tell you what would be required to replicate that bar position on the look. Assuming that you have a position you like currently.
I happen to agree with cyclenutz, he gave me some useful information for my new bike purchase. I happened to go with the Planet X Stealth Carbon Pro, which was sort of against his recommendation. Yesterday, I got the bike partially put together and FIST fitted. The fitter wasn’t particular thrilled about the bike geometry and felt it would be an ackward fit. They put me on the Serrotta bike fitter and worked things out.
In the end, it looks like I’m going to have five spacers on the headtube. Is this bad? I don’t think so. Besides after some time, I may be able to take a few out. I was riding a Softride which sort of messed up my pedal stroke causing me to misfire the hamstrings and have inproper hip rotation on the seat.
Fitting is an art. This is my second FIST fitting and I’m not fully convinced that its omnipotent. Numbers/science play a role but I feel responsible for personally fine tuning my machine.
PS To the best of my knowledge, Luke Bell rides a large Look 496 and he’s 6’2’’
I happen to agree with cyclenutz, he gave me some useful information for my new bike purchase. I happened to go with the Planet X Stealth Carbon Pro, which was sort of against his recommendation. Yesterday, I got the bike partially put together and FIST fitted. The fitter wasn’t particular thrilled about the bike geometry and felt it would be an ackward fit. They put me on the Serrotta bike fitter and worked things out.
In the end, it looks like I’m going to have five spacers on the headtube. Is this bad? I don’t think so. Besides after some time, I may be able to take a few out. I was riding a Softride which sort of messed up my pedal stroke causing me to misfire the hamstrings and have inproper hip rotation on the seat.
Fitting is an art. This is my second FIST fitting and I’m not fully convinced that its omnipotent. Numbers/science play a role but I feel responsible for personally fine tuning my machine.
PS To the best of my knowledge, Luke Bell rides a large Look 496 and he’s 6’2’’
Compared to your 61cm P2SL you would lose 62mm of stack and 34 mm of reach. THe ergo stem can do it but it wont look good or be that great for it. You would lose around 75mm of front centre and wheelbase (chainstays are same) so weight distribution would be drastically different.
You probably dont have a super low setup given that you’re on a 61 rather than the 58 so the look is really not sounding like the right bike for you. No need for a fitter to have handled the bike - numbers dont lie (unless the person making the numbers lied but they usually do that with weights rather than the geometry charts)
I’m 6’4" and ride a 61cm Kilo. It fits great and is very comfortable. I’m looking for something with similar geometry for next year but in carbon. Look bikes are sweet. Hold out for a large.
Note to oldman. Not sure if you’re still interested in the Look but here are a few comments on its sizing.
My son, who is 6’ 2", has been using a large Look track bike this year. He loves it. Our LBS had a Look 496 tri bike and since his TT bike was destroyed at worlds, we decided to check out the Look. The largest size is apparently medium.
I got on the 496 (I’m 6’ 1 1/2") and it felt good. My son tried it as well and thinks it will fit him (he’s not completely mobile because of his injuries from worlds). He says that in pursuit/kilo form, he had the ergostem drawn fully back on his large and it appears as though the medium is actually a better fit. We’ve been using ergostems on track bikes for years now and they give you virtually infinite adjustability. All the talk about stack height is just not relevant due to the Look’s unusual system.
For reference, my son rode a 58 cm P3SL this year. By the end of the season, we had decided that it was probably too big for him, even though his position looked pretty good and he never finished worse than second on it in local and national competition.
I rode the 496 Tri during interbike this year and loved it. The guys in the Look booth actually thought the medium would be too large for me (6’ tall, normally ride a 58cm bike) but I felt great on the bike with only adjusting the seat height.
I went into Interbike planning on loving the new Cdale Slice, waited at the booth until all the press was done drooling over the slice, took it for a spin and fell out of love. Didn’t work for me even though I have ridden Cannondales for 20 years.
Walked down the hill and rode the Look, now I’m saving my pennies…
I have a med Look 496 and it fits perfect. I am 6’ and ride a custom road bike that is a 58.4. Don’t know if this helps. The only way to know is to be fitted on it. There are to many factors in fitting to figure it out over the internet.
As someone mentioned here earlier Luke Bell rides one and does it quite well.
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