Competitive Cyclist

LOOK 595 ULTRA

Appreciate our quandary for a moment. The Look 595 Ultra looks the same as the 595 Origin, it has the same exact tube shapes, it has the same exact geometry, it uses the same exact materials, it weighs only 10g more, yet it is 15% laterally stiffer. For real -- 15%. Put aluminum bolts in the water bottle mounts on the Ultra, steel on the Origin and the frames should weigh the same. On the 595 Origin, the rear triangle starts to deflect with 70 Newton-meters of force; on the 595 Ultra, it's 80Nm. At the bottom bracket, it's 170Nm vs. 185Nm. At the head tube, it's 100Nm, vs. 120Nm. Same frame shape, same material, almost the same weight.

The difficulty is explaining how Look increases the stiffness without increasing the weight or changing the shape. The difference is that the 595 Ultra has both a layer of unidirectional carbon fiber atop the tubes, and aligns the layers of carbon fiber cloth differently. Think of how an I-beam can be aligned differently to be either rigid or flexible. Think of how plywood has the plies running in different directions. Change the orientation of the plies and the bike responds to force inputs differently. In addition, Look uses three different carbon-fiber cloths, high resistance (HR), high modulus (HM), and very high modulus (VHM) to tune the ride.

With this in mind, the 595 Ultra has a less compliant ride (less plush in the parlance of the knobby world) than the 595 Origin, but the upside is that it feels much more responsive. The Ultra is especially ideal for bigger riders and riders who ride shorter distances. If you're looking for the stiffest frame Look offers, this is it.

The 595 Ultra is otherwise identical to the 595 Origin. The 595 Ultra is mostly built via tube-and-lug construction. The exception is the monocoque rear triangle, where the carbon fiber is continuous from the bottom bracket shell through the dropouts to the seat stays. The lugs are made from carbon nanotube-enhanced resin to create the strongest joint possible. The frame has the same geometry as the previous occupant of Look's top slot, the 585. The secret, as they say, is the sauce. Some of the ways they tuned the design are obvious, like the larger, boxier top and down tubes that resist lateral forces better. Further, the HSC6 fork has a 1 1/4" lower race, the same fork as the 586, which makes it a bit stiffer.

For all the stiffness of the 595 Ultra, one of the places where Look designers give the rider the ability to tune the compliance of the ride is with the E-Post. The Look E-Post has 3cm of vertical adjustment built in, so you can fine-tune and adjust for different saddles. The setback of the seat clamp is adjustable as well, from 15mm back to 45mm. The shape is not round, but oval-ish, so you can't put the saddle on wrong. And then, to really separate their work from the rest, Look offers three different durometer elastomers to fine-tune the road vibrations felt (or not) coming from the frame to the saddle. The whole assembly is made of carbon and weighs 213g.

Since Look manufactures both the frame and the fork, they also have a unique way to set the fork in the frame. The fork has a short stack of threads on an aluminum collar locked into the steerer tube via a pin that the threaded cap screws into. The cap is adjusted via a bottom bracket tool. This removes the weight (40g) and the stress of an expander plug inside the steerer tube and the vagaries of human error when adjusting the headset and/or replacing the stem. Here you can see they are saving both weight and reducing the chances of human error and mechanical failure. The cap itself is designed to fail before the fork does. There is a top cap that is designed to fit atop the cut steerer tube.

The fork, the HSC6, is a monocoque fork designed to work with the Look 586 and 595 frames only. It weighs a svelte 350g uncut. The steerer tube tapers from 1 1/8" diameter at the top to 1 1/4" at the bottom for light weight and greater stiffness. The bearings for the headset are from FSA. The fork tips and the rear dropouts are highly compressed carbon, made at the same time as the frame and are designed for both greater strength and light weight.

The rear dropout has a replaceable derailleur hanger. The same thinking goes into the front derailleur "braze-on." The mount is actually riveted and replaceable; it is there so people can't over-torque their front derailleur clamp and crack the seat tube, it also saves weight, can be repaired in case of disaster, and allows frame designers more flexibility when designing frame shapes.

The Look 595 Ultra comes with the Look E-Post Ti, including spacers and three sets of elastomer blocks. Also included are matching cable housings, in-line cable adjusters, and a black bike cover. The internal cable guides are pre-threaded, so installation is a snap. Look warranties the frame for five years; the paint and finish have a one-year warranty. The bottom bracket is English threaded. Claimed frame weight of the Look 595 Ultra is 1050g for a size S with an uncut seat mast.

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2010 Look 595 Ultra Pricing

2010 Look 595 Ultra Geometry

Size	Seat Tube c-c	Seat Tube c-t	Actual Top Tube	Effective Top Tube	Head Tube	Seat Angle	Head Tube Angle
49	44.0	49.0	50.6	52.0	11.2	74.5	71.5
51	45.0	51.0	51.7	53.0	12.5	74.5	72.0
53	49.0	53.0	53.2	54.5	14.8	73.75	73.0
55	50.0	55.0	54.9	56.0	15.6	73.75	73.0
57	54.0	57.0	56.4	57.5	18.2	73.0	73.0
59	55.0	59.0	58.0	59.0	19.8	73.0	73.0