anyone have a LOOK 381i???

[Todd Owen]

I am looking at a closeout of the Look 381i frame and wondered if anyone had any thoughts. My LBS has a 55 cm and I usually ride a 56cm and would have to use a slightly rising stem to make it work. The top tubes of the 55 or 56 are the same ...the head tubes are 1 cm apart.I owned a 361 and loved the ride but wanted any other feedback. thanks

[Climb01742]

todd, i own a kg281. i believe dave n. owns a 481. so we've got your surrounded but can't answer your question directly. at first, i liked the ride of my look, but over time i found the ride to be too dead, the classic wooden feel. so my suggestion would be to see if they'll let you take it for a few days, and put as many miles as you can on it. i know that others have said that look's carbon technology hasn't kept pace with other carbon frame builders. but that's second hand "knowledge".

[bigjohn54]

I was riding an Hand Made Italian aluminum frame with a carbon front fork. It was a very harsh ride. I was used to a steel bike before this one. So I decided to try a full carbon frame based on lots of feedback from other riders. I did quite a bit of evaluating different manufacturers but I decided on a Look frame. I bought my Look Team 381i last year and I love it. I weight 255lbs and havent had a problem yet. I highly recommend this frame.

[kelmeboyAZ]

I have a 2002 KG 381 Team Kelme Edition that I put 7500 miles on before buying my custom Ottrott ST. It is now my backup bike. I loved this frame (D/A, Look post, Ksyrium). It replaced a Trek 5500, and was vastly superior - bright, responsive feel, comfy, fast, good descender, beautiful paint. It just didn't fit me that well. Hence, the Ottrott.

Can highly recommend this frame which I ride while the Ottrott is in the shop for tuneups and on vacations.

[dnovo]

Dnovo does indeed have a Look 481. An outstanding update (but not a radical change, just a small and subtle improvement) on the 381, which was in turn a long-lived iteration of the earlier 281. Buy that 381. The 381/481 is a mature design, well thought out, well built (Look has been doing this basic frame for a long time) with a great ride and no bad habits at all. Workmanship is without fault. Dave N.

[chrisroph]

I have a 281 which is my racing bike. Its excellent for that purpose, stiff light, stable, great in the corners, a fine descender, great in the sprints, well constructed, and it was cheap.

[slowgoing]

I bought one on closeout a few months back but still haven't built it up! DOH! I'm having too much fun on my Atlanta to swap the parts out to give the 381 a try.