Performance and comfort in one frame.... It is of course a blend of each but LOOK has done an excellent job in blending these to characteristic. I have now ridden my LOOK 566 thousands of miles and I just keep getting more impressed with it every day. I am able to sprint UP a one third of a mile hill at over 30 miles and hour average (earning a top ten strava finish for a guy over 50!!) and still roll smoothly along on the flats in a group at 23 mph without a problem. I arrive not beat up, and ready to jump on it and go for more... As far as climbing, sitting it is excellent... standing, well the uphill sprint covers that.

There are only three areas here: weight with the Rival or 105 components and stock Askium or Folcrum 7 wheels (you can get lighter wheels and that takes care of majority of the issue), the geometry allows the bike to transfer lateral lean quicker than a lot of other bikes in a sprint or standing to climb, but once you are use to its characteristic it is a joy, and lastly the hump... the function of the top tube and chain and seat stays is fantastic and in this case, the form follows the function.

I have owned this bike for about 2 years and have ridden thousands of miles. It is truly a job to ride! I looked at Colnago-CLX, Bianchi Infinito, Cannondale Synapse and Specialized roubaix. The Specialized felt too insulated from any feedback, as the synapse tended to have the same feel although less so. The CLX was the harshest so to me it came down to the Infinito and LOOK 566... I went with the value and got the 566 and love love love this bike. I swapped the wheels out as that is the best way to spice up any bike.

Similar Products Used:

Colnago CLX
Bianchi Infinito
Cannondale synapse
specialzed roubaix

ride comfort, good handling and descending, in saddle performance, looks great.

a little mushy for racing.

I bought this bike as an upgrade to my FeltF45 and have zero complaints about the ride characteristics of the Look when just "riding." I've done centuries, hard group rides, long solo hammerfests, long climbs and have raced crits on it. Where it falls down is as a crit racer. It's just too flexy. I can actually easily flex the frame with my hands. Now, the upside of this is that this bike never beats you up. After 6 hours, you're still fresh and that's nothing I would ever have said about my Felt. The most noticeable affect of the frame flex is when you're out of the saddle. It just doesn't accelerate like you would like in a race. So, I'm keeping this bike as my swanky training and long distance bike and picking up either a CAAD10 or a Cervelo S1 as my Crit racer. I wouldn't want to throw a leg over either of those steeds for more than 2 or 3 hours, but the Look I can ride for 4 hours every day. It's by far the best long distance bike I've ever owned.

Similar Products Used:

Felt F45, Pinarello FP3, CAAD9

Acceleration; long distance comfort; it's just a bit different.

Possibly climbing; just not as good as I'd hoped.

A great bike in most respects. Instant transmission from the pedals:no issues dashing to the front of the club rides. Used on a couple of very long sportifs and certainly paid dividends despite some severe climbing I remained relatively fresh. I live in a very hilly area and I have to agree that I don't consider it to be a marked improvement in the climbing stakes on my old Bianchi SL3 -however, on the flat or on rolling terrain it really does come in to its own. The other good thing is that here in Yorkshire, I've yet to see another 566!

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Bianchi SL3, Surosa audax,

Ride quality, unique look, competitive price point. It gets compliments wherever it goes...

Love it or hate it hump on the top tube...

This bike has a forgiving ride without feeling sluggish. The longer I ride it, the more I like it. It also descends very well. It straddles the line between a race bike and a comfort bike.

Similar Products Used:

2006 Fuji Team RC

Comfort over performance, ideal for longer rides.

Not exactly light or stiff.

The ride. As expected it's a smooth, predictable ride but not as smooth as described. It's still a race bike. On some longer rides I did feel the forgiveness of the rear triangle pay dividends but for the most part it reminded me of older steel bikes I have owned. Every year bikes have become lighter and stiffer which is great for the serious rider but it seems like Look have bucked this trend with the 566 and considered overall ride characteristics before the obvious performance measures.

I quickly felt at home on the 566 and looked forward to every test ride. I tried to imagine where it would fit into my stable and could not find it a home. It's a little to swanky for a training bike and not exactly the bike I would want to be racing any crits on. But could handsomely cover all the bases if it was an only child. If 5+ hour centuries were the goal this would be the perfect bike.

Out of the saddle it feels a little fishy. Yes as in fish tail. But it keeps it's line very well when driving in the saddle, corners well and it's a above average descender. The 27.2mm seatpost extended far out on my size medium. I am 5'10" this adds to the ride comfort but takes away from the overall handling.

The build. Shimano Ultegra 6700 is a perfect match for the Look 566, both frame and group seem to have similar characteristics. The FSA bars, stem, seatpost are a nice touch and the Fizik Arione is just gravy on top. The bike is well finished with Look brand bar tape and color co-ordinated Jagwire housing. Nothing on this bike needs to be upgraded. It's ready to go as is and includes Look Keo Classic pedals. The Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels are solid performers but an upgrade to some race wheels really takes the 566 into another league. I rode a few weeks with some Ritchey Carbon Super Logic Clinchers and got to appreciate the 566 even more. The wheels with tires and tubes cost almost as mush as the bike.

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Orbea Opal, Fuji Team, BMC Roadracer.

Fast, stiff, comfortable for 100+ mile rides, quick acceleratiosn, no problem with training rides with cat 2 and riders, very stable descender. I increased my descending speed by so much on this bike, at 35mph, I feel I can take my hands off the bars!

None found.

It's been a year now on the bike. It has lived up to my expectation and more. I have the SRAM version and love it.

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I test road scott cr1, giant defy, SPecialized rubaix etc. I came from a cannondale CAAD5

light, stiff, comfy and bling. Really takes off when you power down and decends superbly.

if you break it, it stays broke!

changes people perceptions of what a road bike can do! We have a demo bike set up which various staff havve used, and is my current ride of choice.

It lives up to all the hype will appeal to riders who may not usually ride a road race bike.

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trek madone, condor legero, scott cr1, colnago c50, bmc etc.

Supple yet lively carbon ride. Rigid front end and bottom bracket. Climbs well.

Front end a bit twitchy.

My first full carbon bike after years on full aluminum and aluminum/carbon blends. Full carbon frames have always felt inert and wooden to me, but the technology and engineering seems to have finally caught up to the hype. This is the best all around bike frame I've ever ridden.

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Cannondale Six13

Looks, smooth, solid.

The stock Ultegra bike is a little heavy for the price

I have owned a 555 and now a 585. Before I got the 585, I demoed the 566 quite a bit. Now a friend of mine owns one, and we trade off on group rides sometimes.
The 566 is a good blend of the 555 and the 585. It's not as immediate as the 585, but it's more smooth and solid feeling over the road than my 555 was.
I'm at a loss why the previous review thinks it to be a poor climber when every "professional review" says there-in lies it's strength. Here's a quote from Bicycling Mag. "the bike held its speed well on rolling terrain, and at times seemed to almost be moving forward of its own accord. It proved to be a gifted climber, especially on steep, out-of-the-saddle ascents, where it surged ahead with every turn of the pedals."

Similar Products Used:

Look 555, Look 585