1990 Look KG96

[gridno27]

Besides the former LaVie Clair Team called Toshiba the Spanish ONCE Group changed in 89 to LOOK KG 96 but they used French MAVIC compoments instead of Shimano - ONCE became the most important team of LOOK when in 1992 to 1994 used the KG 176, first in burgundy-red later in silver and in 1995 ONCE with the yellow LOOK LDS KG 171 with Shimano Dura ACE will dominate the Pro-Peleton

btw. there was also a special limited edition in 1996 for Tour de France ...

and also Festina switched for Tour de France 1994 for a blue LDS LOOK KG 171 instead of Peugeot

 

[Obi-Juan]

A mí también me gustan mucho estos primeros cuadros de carbono. Creo que tienes razón en que esto no necesita (ni quiere) retocarse. Está un poco deteriorado en algunos lugares, pero estoy de acuerdo en que es poco más que un poco de pátina y que el acabado distraerá la atención de su originalidad.

I’ve had a soft spot for French carbon frames since their inception. TVT were the first to master the concept, and then Look continued where TVT dwindled their interest. TVT were unique in their construction, using a knitted sock like a stockinette for their carbon tubes, that was fed onto a mandrel. This gave a seamless finish which was stronger than the competition’s tubes. They enjoyed plenty of success with their frames on the pro circuit, where several other manufacturers even saw TVT frames being painted up as their own, because the riders wanted to reap the benefits of a carbon frame over their sponsor’s steel offerings! TVT’s success in the big Tours were shared with the likes of big names such as Delgado, Lemond, and Indurain (among many others of course). Back in the late 80’s it was fairly obvious that this new material was set for a strong future with the sport. Look (famed for their clipless pedals) wanted in on the action, and their first attempt at building frames wasn’t a great success, so they had to go back and employ TVT’s know-how to put them right. The Look KG86 was Look’s first branded frame, but they were actually built by TVT, which is quite evident when you look at them in detail. They were even using TVT branded chainstays. Sharing the knowledge that TVT had built up, they assisted Look in building their own ‘Look built’ frames, and these would be the KG96. TVT’s future in the sport was coming to an end as they pursued other areas of their business, which was a fantastic opportunity for Look to take over as the innovator.
The KG96 was available in one colour scheme only, and they were mostly marketed with versions of Shimano’s Dura Ace 7400 spanning the ‘89 to ‘91 groupsets. This new frameset gave Look a strong foothold in the future story of carbon bike frames, and something they would build on very quickly, ultimately leading them to be one of the most reputable carbon frame builders of the 21st century.
I bought this one many years ago, and have had it stored whilst other projects took priority. It was clean enough, free from any structural damage, but superficially a little tired here and there. My plan was to strip it and start again with the lugs receiving fresh paint, a new set of decals to replace the tired ones, and then a lovely deep gloss lacquer over the top. However, as time has passed I’m less in favour of sterilising it, and would rather clean it up just a little, retaining its patina. It’s only original paint once, and it’s good enough to leave alone. The groupset I have built up for it isn’t mint either, but shows evidence of light use. I’ll clean up the group’s components and ensure their finish is consistent with each other and the rest of the bike, so it fits together in a convincing sort of way.
I don’t normally ‘do’ catalogue spec bikes, but this one will be very close to the picture shared below. The bar choice and which rims to pick are still undecided, but I’m leaning towards 3TTT and some Wolber TX Profil clinchers.

Here’s a close up from Look’s catalogue, clearly showing the Badger’s endorsement! And yes, I have the Look branded Rolls saddle, albeit rather more tired looking than this one.

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The KG 96 carbon/kevlar with ceramic fiber reinforcement.
The Look range that year was made up of 4 frames, the last being the KG 56 Generation 4, a curious carbon frame with 40% fiberglass. This model, designed to be able to access the somewhat cheaper Look range, did not have great results.
But the truth is that Look was always very innovative, even mixing fiberglass and carbon. In '88 they had already released the first carbon cranks and in '90 a power meter (yes, the current big rage). It was a simple system based on the torque of the rear hub axle, which was threaded and not cassette and therefore made it easier to measure the bending that occurred in the axle.
In France there was really a great passion for the development of carbon frames, from the efficient TVT 92 to the beautiful and flexible Vitus CK9. Tradition that continued Corima, Time, etc.
Along the way they left us gems like the Vitus ZX1
By the way, Time continued to use the "sock" type fiber braiding system and very effectively.
It is a nice project that brings back great memories for me. I was in love with steel, at that time I had a red label 531 and I dreamed of a 753. The only non-steel frame that would suit me was the KG 96 and I knew it by heart...but I never had it
Continue with the Reynolds, the Genius, the Max and finally Nemo. There came my first big surprise and one of the best paintings I have ever had: the Pinarello Paris. But that is another story
To clean the grease well, the most classic and effective is diesel. Then you can remove the diesel with gasoline and finally clean with soap, although today many good degreasing products have been released, I still use diesel, since it is also a heavy oil and does not attack the steel.
The rear hub is great. The bike is beautiful

 

[Obi-Juan]

Besides the former LaVie Clair Team called Toshiba the Spanish ONCE Group changed in 89 to LOOK KG 96 but they used French MAVIC compoments instead of Shimano - ONCE became the most important team of LOOK when in 1992 to 1994 used the KG 176, View attachment 854395View attachment 854396View attachment 854397first in burgundy-red later in silver and in 1995 ONCE with the yellow LOOK LDS KG 171View attachment 854398View attachment 854399View attachment 854400 with Shimano Dura ACE will dominate the Pro-Peleton

btw. there was also a special limited edition in 1996 for Tour de France ...View attachment 854401

and also Festina switched for Tour de France 1994 for a blue LDS LOOK KG 171 instead of PeugeotView attachment 854402

The KG 176 is a real beauty. And it also represents a revolution: In '92 Look abandoned the aesthetic based on Piet Mondrian's colorful grid that had accompanied them since the 80s. With those colors they presented Hinault and Lemond and with those colors their skiers competed.
I don't know why they decided to do it, maybe to give an appearance of seriousness or maturity. But it must be recognized that the green, burgundy, blue and black colors of the time were very elegant and sober.
The assembly with Mavic was a success. It is also mythical. Precious
The first generation PP 196 and 186 pedals were as beautiful as they were problematic: the right pedal came loose, leaving the axle in the crank and the pedal in the shoe...I know well.
They solved the problem by changing the plastic piece that held the shaft and was tightened with a flat wrench with one for a specific extractor.

The fabulous AP 286 shoes also caused problems: the lower Velcro pressed towards the inside of the shoe, causing it to rub against the crank if you pressed it too hard.
In December I had to throw away my old Ap 286 with great regret, but the tires had rotted and were already useless. Even so, I have used them until 2019, not bad for sneakers. In my case I solved the problem of the lower tightness by adding more Velcro and trimming the tongue a little.
Beautiful collection, very well documented.

 

[gridno27]

In my opinion the Look KG 176 and 196 were a Hommage to Parisienne Haute Couture … with its gold and silver lettering … for the.burgndy-red and black version. The later silver version I have to restorate was back to Mondrian style but it was interesting because ONCE had used them in 1993-94 with a combination of MAVIC 8-speed and Shimano Dura Ace ST-7400 levers. For this MAVIC build the rear hub 571/2 which has been kompatible with Shimano Dura Ace 8 speed cassettes.

TIME present its first frame set late in 1995 - first the owner of TIME wants to re-live Vitus but he failed and in 1995 he present the HELIX created from technician of former TVT in Lyon, who works in 1992 on the successor of the TVT92 … the TVT93 which has ovalized tubes and a rear mono-stay …this ideas involved already in Vitus 992 ovid which was created under lTIME ownership …from which the HELIX got the fork headset combination
So we can resume that LOOK and also TIME had their roots in TVT of Lyon - I had a few TVT92 in Villiger, Zullo, RMO Gitane, Team Z, Pinarello and a silver replica of LOOK labeled Carbon 7 which sold in US as Elypse because Look has the rights exclusive for Europe only …I have further an idea for a Panasonic 6000 labeled replica as Fondriest use at WC in Stuttgart, a PDM Concorde labeled and even a Buckler Colnago, such as Steven Rooks used at beginning 90s …TVT frame sets are my passion but I stlll have also French ALTEC and a rare RBE but still looking for an Exxon-Graftek, a Corina Viper, and a Mach 3000 from DURAVIA (..mostly as Gitane labeled) which build together with Canadian iengineer Guichard who responsible later for the Cervelo R5ca

btw. did you know that the LDS Pro fork is the first TVT carbion fork