Look E-765 Optimum Review: Testing the Ultimate Lightweight Electric Road Bike

Here's what sold me during the first ride: I rolled up to my local group ride on this thing, and not a single person noticed it was electric. No bulky downtube. No obvious motor housing. Just a sleek French racing bike that happened to have a secret weapon hiding inside. When we hit the first climb and I stayed glued to wheels that would normally drop me, a few riders started asking questions. That's the Look E-765 Optimum in a nutshell—it lets you ride like you always wanted to, not like you're on a different kind of bike entirely.

I tested this bike over three months of varied riding: group rides with Category 3 racers, solo centuries in the California foothills, recovery spins after hard training blocks, and even a few Strava segment attempts I'm not proud of. The Fazua Evation motor system proved itself across all these scenarios, though it definitely has a specific sweet spot that matters for buyers considering the $8,499 price tag.

Look nailed the aesthetics here in a way most e-road bikes completely miss. The frame uses the same 3K high-modulus carbon as their race bikes, with tubes shaped to hide the Fazua system so well that you need to look twice to spot it. The matte black finish on my test bike looked properly premium, and after three months of riding, I've got zero paint chips or finish issues despite the usual abuse of leaning against garage walls and car racks.

Build quality matches what you'd expect from a French brand with decades of Tour de France pedigree. Cable routing is internal and clean. The bottom bracket area feels absolutely rigid during hard efforts. I did notice the headset developed a tiny bit of play around month two, but that's typical for any carbon bike and took five minutes to adjust. The Fazua motor housing integrates so seamlessly that the downtube looks like normal oversized tubing, not a battery pack with wheels.

Climbing is where this bike justifies its existence. I tested it extensively on my local benchmark climb: 4.2 miles at 6.5% average grade with pitches hitting 12%. On my regular road bike, I average 8.2 mph and suffer the entire time. On the E-765 Optimum in River mode, I maintained 11.5 mph while keeping my heart rate 15 beats lower and actually enjoying the scenery. The motor assistance feels completely natural - it just smooths out the hard efforts without making you feel like you're on a moped. On Rocket mode for the steep pitches, I could sustain 13+ mph on 10% grades, which let me hang with much stronger climbers in group rides.

Flat road performance surprised me more than expected. With the motor off or in Breeze mode at speeds above 15.5 mph, this bike rides almost exactly like a regular carbon road bike. I averaged 21-23 mph on flat solo rides, and the bike felt responsive and lively under hard pedaling. The weight penalty (about 4 pounds more than a comparable non-electric race bike) is noticeable when accelerating out of corners, but once you're up to speed, the bike feels efficient and fast. In group rides where I wasn't using assist, nobody could tell the difference in handling or responsiveness.

Descending and handling match Look's reputation for sharp, race-ready bikes. The E-765 Optimum corners confidently at speed, tracks straight on descents, and doesn't feel at all like a heavy e-bike. I hit 45+ mph on several long descents, and the bike remained completely stable. The only quirk is that quick direction changes require slightly more effort than my 16-pound race bike because of the extra weight, but it's marginal enough that I adjusted within a few rides.

Daily usability is where this bike shines compared to other e-road bikes. The handlebar remote is actually intuitive - left button cycles down through assist modes, right button cycles up, and a quick double-tap turns the system on or off. Battery level shows on a tiny LED display that's visible in sunlight but not distracting. I genuinely appreciate that Look didn't add a massive color screen that would ruin the bike's clean aesthetic. The removable motor means you can switch between assisted and pure riding whenever you want, which I did more often than expected.

Setup and maintenance have been straightforward. The bike arrived mostly assembled from my local dealer, requiring just pedals, front wheel installation, and minor adjustments. I've put about 500 miles on it with zero mechanical issues beyond normal chain lubrication and brake pad monitoring. The motor system is sealed and maintenance-free. One annoyance: the battery charge port is inside the downtube, so you need to partially remove the motor to access it unless you bought the optional external charging cable ($75, which should honestly be included at this price point).

Against premium e-road bikes like the Specialized Turbo Creo SL ($11,000+) or Trek Domane+ LT ($8,500+), the Look offers comparable weight and better aesthetics but gives up battery capacity and motor power. The Turbo Creo has a 320 Wh battery and stronger motor, providing more range and assist, but it weighs 2-3 pounds more and looks distinctly like an e-bike. The Domane+ has endurance geometry that's more forgiving than the Look's race position. If you prioritize looking like a regular road bike and handling like one, the Look wins. If you want maximum assistance and don't care about appearances, the Specialized might suit better.

Compared to mid-range e-road bikes in the $4,000-6,000 range (like the Ribble Endurance SL e or BMC Alpenchallenge AMP Road), you're paying significantly more for the Look but getting a genuinely premium experience. Those bikes use heavier motors, have more obvious e-bike styling, and lack the removable motor feature. They're great values for riders who want electric assistance and don't need race-bike performance, but they ride and feel completely different from the E-765 Optimum's pure road bike experience.

For riders considering whether to buy this instead of a high-end acoustic road bike plus a separate e-bike, that's honestly the toughest comparison. For $8,500, you could buy a killer $4,000 race bike and a $4,000 commuter e-bike. But if you only have space or budget for one bike, and you want something that does group rides, training efforts, and casual assistance all in one package, the Look starts making sense. Just know you're compromising some battery range to get that versatility.

After 500+ miles across group rides, solo efforts, and everything in between, the E-765 Optimum accomplishes what most e-road bikes fail at: it genuinely feels like a road bike that happens to have assistance, not an e-bike trying to act like a road bike. The Fazua motor integration is brilliant, the weight is impressively low, and the ride quality matches Look's race bike reputation. Yes, you sacrifice battery capacity compared to heavier e-road bikes, and yes, the price is substantial. But if you're an experienced road cyclist who wants to extend your riding capabilities without fundamentally changing how you ride, this is the most authentic solution available.

I'd recommend this bike most strongly to riders in their late 40s through 60s who have serious road cycling backgrounds and want to stay competitive in group rides or tackle more ambitious terrain. It's also perfect for anyone recovering from injury who needs temporary assistance but wants to maintain their regular bike's handling and feel. Skip this if you're new to road cycling, need maximum range for touring, or want the most motor power per dollar. But if you value the purity of road cycling and just need a boost to keep doing what you love, the Look E-765 Optimum delivers that better than anything else I've tested. Just budget for the optional external charge cable and potentially a wheel upgrade if you want to maximize performance.