WorldTour vs. Continental: How 2 Teams at Different Levels Build Their Look Blade 795 RS Bikes

In the latest Team Bike Face Off we check who has the best Look Blade 795 RS. Is it WorldTour team Cofidis or low-level Continental team CIC-U-Nantes? One is super French with a dash of Japanese, and the other a French/ Italian affair. We break down the costs, why one team chooses a specific kit, and more in this latest breakdown.

If you want to check the Campagnolo vid out, then here we go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3avmAs1uo84

I’m getting laughed at here. Oh, the French. Right, welcome back to another tech video. This is going to be episode three and I think a video series we’re calling team versus team. Either way, it is where we look at two teams that are sponsored by the same bike manufacturer, but sit on different sides of the UCI team rankings. We look at a world tour team and we look at either a pro tour team or in this case a continental team to see how their bike setups differ even though they have the same frame manufacturer. And in this case I’m going to look at Coffidis versus CICU N a Continental team. Both are on look but how do their bikes differ? Let’s delve in. All right, let’s crack on. Two teams. One iconic bike brand and a team I can actually say I used to race against. CICU non-Atlantic. That’s a long time ago though when they were division one French team I think. History. Talk about history. Look dating back to 1950 with their ski binding company. Then in the 80s entering the cycling world when Bernal Tappy an iconic man himself took over the company introduced the clipless pedals created the Lavy CLA team another iconic team and then well today we are where we are with the look brand I suppose not as strong as it used to be but definitely coming back. has had a bit of a change up over the past couple of years. Something I’ll get to later. But what are the two teams using? Well, they are both on the Look Blade 795 RS frame set, the latest racing frame set from the company and I got to say it is super light. I had a play on one last year. Well impressed. And talking about last year, CIC are on last year’s colorway. That black with a little bit of uh looks Mandrean inspired paint job on there, but Coffidis go for it. Full tilt with their Mandrean paint scheme. Lovely creamy white frame, big old uh look logo splashed across it. Got to say that’s my favorite. Now, as for how many team bikes each rider gets, apparently over at CIC, they get two bikes for the season and a time trial bike. According to the mechanic I chatted to at the race, as for what coffee are using, well, the mechanics there were a little bit more guarded. But if it’s anything like the other world tour teams, it’s about four bikes throughout the season and then more if they break them, of course, and one or two time trial bikes. one for at home for training, testing, getting in the right position, and one for racing. Now, on to group sets because this is where the big change is. And as I’m sure you know, Coffidis are the first world tour team back in the Pelaton after a year out for Campanolo. Now, if you want to know more about Campolo or get involved in a bit of a discussion, head over to the video I posted a little while back because yes, it’s got people talking. I delve into what’s happening with Campanolo at the moment. And what is happening with Campanolo at the moment? Well, these guys are currently running the latest version of the Campanolo Super Record Wireless Group Set, 12speed, but if you’ve kept an eye on the news of late, you might know that there could very possibly be a 13speed group set coming along because the team have been spotted using it at a select few races. In fact, I got probably a glimpse of it at Rube without realizing it. They already do a 13speed group set with the Echar group set. Of course, it’ll be exciting to find out when this comes out, if it’s coming out. What level is it? Super Record, Super Record S, as they now call it cuz they’ve also got rid of the record name, believe it or not. Will it even drop down to chorus? Who knows? Right. So, there we are. group set Campanolo. Over at CIC, they are on Shimano Jaw Race, which is a bit of a surprise, I think, because a lot of these continental teams downgrade a few components to save money because they’re generally not sponsored by a group set manufacturer. It’s either the bike manufacturer giving the bikes with the group set on or they have to go out and buy it themselves. So yeah, to have them all on jaw race without any deviations in rear mech or shifters, anything like that is quite an outlay for the team. Now there is a couple of deviations though because a few of the riders were seen using not race chain rings but a Dutch company called the mechanic parts chain rings. This is so they can get those huge 54 55 56 chamberings that seem to be infiltrating the Pelaton at the moment. On to wheels and coffee. What with them being sponsored by Campanolo this year are using the top tier wheel sets. The Bora WTO Ultras either in 45 mil or a 60 mil deep version. over at CIC they’re using Kareema which is a little bit of a surprise I suppose because I think sometime middle of 2024 look and Kareema who were once both under the same umbrella company have separated now Kareema have gone off on their own look have stayed as a separate company but I’m guessing what with uh them previously being under the same group they’ve got good connections and with that CIC are using the Karema wheels this year because last year they were neither on look frames or Kareema wheels. They were on Mavic wheels with a French I suppose small brand called Adris Frames. Right. What a wrap in those wheels though. For look, they have swapped from Michelin tires last year over to the very popular at least in the prop pelaton Victoria Corser tires in a 28 or a 30 depending on the riders. And yes, they are running them tubeless. Over at that Continental team, they’ve gone full French frame set, French wheels. Yeah, Japanese componentry, but French tires cuz they are using Michelin this year. Power cups, tubeless ready. though they do have tubes in them and they’re running them in a 28 or a 30 mil. We’re nearly there, people. Bar and stem. Now, that isn’t actually a one piece setup. It is actually a bar and a stem. Separate pieces, but made to look sleek, arrow, and one piece. I reckon it’s quite a smart design because of course with many one piece bars and stems you are going to struggle to find the exact combination that you want to use. Yes, plenty of manufacturers do plenty of different sizes, but on the odd occasion you’ll find yourself wanting maybe a 140 stem like I saw on one of the coffee dispikes with a I don’t know a 38 width bar and that’s going to be hard to come by here. You can definitely do that. Now, as for weight, well, the mechanics both weren’t too keen on letting me get the scales out. Though I am led to believe the Coffidus look bike is lighter than it was last year, which is a good thing because if you remember rightly, Guian Martan, who was with the squad last year, did have a little bit of a hissy fit in the press at some point about the weight of his bike while he was at the Vela saying that it was too heavy, which is, believe it or not, exactly the same sort of setup as CIC are using this year. Shimano Kareema. So yeah, I’m guessing their bikes heavier than the coffee this one. So no exact weight because the mechanics weren’t too keen on me getting the scales out. Right. What are we forgetting? Saddles. Now a lot like the other two videos that I’ve already put out where team versus team. We’ve seen plenty of 3D printed saddles from Physic mainly. These guys are both on the Cell Italia range and again there’s plenty of 3D printed saddles there. But there is also the SLR boost pro team kit carbono superflow. That’s a mouthful. What makes it a team edition one? Well, big old lettering for the brand on there. That’s all. Okay, last but not least, something else that’s French and something that’s going to come as no surprise to anybody. Pedals. of course they look and both teams seem to be using the Kio Blade power meter pedals. Neither a team are using the Shimano power meters on the bikes or the Campanolo power meters, which is understandable. Right, that’s it from me for this video. I think we’ve got everything, haven’t we? Frame sets, wheels, tires, group sets, saddles, pedals. There’s nothing else that makes a bike up, is there? Okay, let us know what you think in the comments below. Join the conversation, please. Do also subscribe. You know, the usual stuff. And as always, thank you for watching and enjoy your riding.