'We did not design it to win a comparison table' - Look's new race bike blends aero with real-world performance

Look has launched its latest top-tier road bike today, the 795 Blade RS 3.

The Blade RS has been the French brand's premier model for several years now, and we tested the outgoing 795 RS back in 2024. The RS 3 represents the third generation of the 795 family.

Top-tier race bikes usually come with aero claims these days, and the Look is no different. The brand claims it's faster than the previous machine by a healthy chunk of watts, but an emphasis has also been placed on the quality of the ride experience and real-world speed and usability, not just numbers on a test result or spec sheet.

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Cyclingnews attended a pre-launch call with the bike's engineers and designers, all of whom emphasised this point: a bike has to be great in the real world, as well as on a spec sheet. Surely that's a point we can all get behind?

It also turns out the Blade RS 3 has actually been used right under our noses by team Cofidis for several months, even taking victories at Itzulia Basque Country in April and at the Tour of Belgium in June.

We have new tube profiles, new aero claims, and a new handlebar.

Let's get into it and see how the Blade RS 3 might stack up against the best road bikes right now.

Look Blade 795 RS 3 - what's new?

Looks claims the RS 3 saves 15 watts at 50km/h over its predecessor and drops 160 grams from the frameset weight too.

The Look team members' design philosophy and conviction were clear to see in the presentation we joined. The brand argues the project has leaned on two engineering principles. These are 'prioritising the essential connection between the rider and the bike' and ensuring engineering advancements are 'based on repeatable gains validated in real-world testing'.

On this design philosophy, Look CEO Federico Musi said, "We did not design it to win a comparison table. We designed it to win on the road and to stand as the ultimate long-term partner for our riders."

Development and testing took the form of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations, which apparently specifically focused on high yaw (wind) angles. The bike was also tested on the road and in the velodrome alongside wind tunnel testing.

Overall, it appears Look prioritised the bike being competitive with a rider; bikes, after all, do not pedal themselves.

The brand makes the point in its white paper that the wind rarely blows at 0 degrees in the real world and is not controlled; indeed, the brand's testing on a test course shows more time spent riding between -6 and -12 degree yaw angles.

Look says it 'identified aerodynamic enhancements that remain effective across different body types, varying speeds, and diverse drafting positions.' The idea here is that due to the bike's geo and fit configurations, most riders can find an aero position that they can hold for longer.

Specs and technical details

Frame weight is claimed to be 890 grams +/-5% for a size medium in 'Pro Team Black'. Claimed fork weight is 340 grams, a 50-gram saving over the previous unit.

Lots of tube shapes are new, and Look says the frame uses a new UD UHM carbon fibre. The frame is also Universal Derailleur Hanger friendly and carries a lifetime warranty upon frame registration.

Look also mentions ISO and safety testing, not included with every brand's PR material. The bike complies with ISO 4210 pertaining to safety standards for bicycles. Fatigue and Look's own internal testing are also carried out.

Tyre clearance is set at 34mm front and rear, giving plenty of options for various tyre sizes.

Total bike weights start from 6.9kg for a size medium without pedals, a highly competitive weight.

Look also makes a frame stiffness claim, saying the bike is 10% stiffer than the WorldTour average at the bottom bracket and front end. The attached white paper shows a testing comparison, but it doesn't state which competitor bikes were tested, which doesn't provide much insight.

Sizes from XXZ to XL are offered, and the brand says six dedicated geometries with three size-specific fork offsets cater to riders from 155 to 200cm in height.

Look claims that the Blade 795 RS 3 would return an "estimated Normalised aero drag" of 205w using the Tour Magazine testing protocol, where the benchmark for the very best aero bikes is around the 198-200w mark.

This protocol uses a pedalling-leg, leg-only dummy at the GST wind tunnel on the Airbus site in Immenstaad. But importantly, this is only an estimation and Look hasn't explained its workings here.

You can see how the previous bike performed in our own wind tunnel tests at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub in our superbike wind tunnel test. We hope to test the new one later this year.

Look also worked out some real-world time savings between the outgoing model and the current one. For the Liège-Bastogne-Liège sportive challenge, the brand claims it would provide a 7-watt saving when riding the course at a 31kph average. For a pro riding stage 19 of the Tour de France this year, it would provide a claimed 2 minutes 27 saving over the 795 Blade RS 'at pro race pace.'

A brand new handlebar

Look has also produced a new integrated handlebar for the bike in the form of the Aero Carbon RS 3 BAR.

Look says the bar is engineered for three racing scenarios: maintaining an aero position for longer, i.e., hunkered down on the hoods, maximising stiffness when sprinting in the drops and opening the chest when climbing by way of a 'tailored sweep and flare'.

Available in 380, 400 and 420mm widths and with 80 - 140mm stem lengths, the sizing options tie into Look's claimed '350 configurations' principle. In theory meaning the maximum number of riders can find comfort and speed on the bike.

Customisable options include seven stem lengths, two seatpost offset configurations from the new Aeropost 5 seatpost, three handlebar widths and the ability to run 0-50mm of headset spacers.

Pricing and build options

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The Blade RS 3 will be available in several guises, and in four finishes: Silver Red, Pro Team Black, Iconic Prisme and Orange Shift.

A frameset retails at €4,990 or with a Look cockpit for €5,780.

Complete bikes start at €8,490 for the Pro Team Black version, built with Shimano Ultegra Di2 and LOOK R45S wheels.

Other wheel options include Mavic Comete 50, Fulcrum Speed 57 and Scope Artech 6.A wheels.

Prices then rise upto €13,190 for the model with Campagnolo Super Record and Scope Artech 6.A wheels.

Other builds include bikes with Dura-Ace Di2 and SRAM Force E1 AXS groupsets.

There's also an even more exclusive limited edition build that's limited to 50 units worldwide. With a price tag of €13,990, the 'Prisme replica' features the exact Team Cofidis Tour de France spec of Campagnolo Super Record wireless, Bora WTO 60 Ultra Team wheels.

Builds can also be custom-specced using the 'Your Look à la Carte' web configurator. Customers can choose between stock build groupset and wheel options to mix and match.