Look

Andrew discusses the relative values of two excellent performance pedal options from either end of the pricing spectrum.

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There’s a lot of history but Look just hit a home run with an in-house power pedal design

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The Production Privee Shan 5 is a bike that’s impossible to pigeonhole. With 140mm of claimed travel and a skinny-tubed steel front triangle, it’s the kind of oddball machine you’d expect to find at the Bespoked bike show. Great for fans of retro, but not something that would qualify as one of our best mountain bikes. I’m not sure it would be allowed into Bespoked though. The Shan 5 has a full carbon fibre back end, with T700 and T800 lamination, while those tubes are custom-designed, made from MCS 4130 heat treated steel, and robot welded for strength. And yet, despite knowing all this about the bike, with the materials at the back of my mind, I was not expecting the Shan 5 to ride quite as it did. It’s one of the most surprising bikes I’ve ridden in 2024… and one of the most predictable too. Production Privee Shan 5 need to know Single-pivot trail bike made with 4130 steel front triangle, and carbon fibre swingarm Steel frame section has been robot-welded for strength and precision in Andorra 140mm claimed travel comes via an Ohlins TTX shock, and a 150mm Ohlins RXF fork Rolling chassis build with Crank Brothers wheelset, Ohlins suspension, costs €5,652 Big sizing, and slack geometry throughout the range We need a quick history lesson before we go on any more about the ride quality though, if you’re to understand why the Shan 5 looks like it does. Production Privee is based in Andorra and its founders are self-declared motor racing fanatics, taking inspiration from the 50s and 60s. That explains the funky yellow paint job, hand sprayed in Andorra, and the retro stickers adorning it. It’s the kind of bike you want wobbling about on top of your vintage Porsche, stuck on by vacuum suckers and good faith. A poser’s bike then? Well yes, but that doesn’t necessarily preclude performance. And the styling doesn’t explain the skinny tubing either, which really isn’t there just for show. Steel and carbon frame The skinny steel tubing is the best material for the job. So designer Damien Nosella from Production Privee told me last year. I can get on board with that, steel framed bikes do have a recognisable softness to them that’s played out time and time again, with Orange, Cotic, Whyte and plenty more all mastering the material.  The steel also generates around 10mm of travel in vertical flex, effectively removing a harsh bottom out at the end of the stroke and letting the Shan 5 use all its travel more effectively, Production Privee says. The neat joins are the result of robot welding, a process that’s said to produce much better results than trusting it to an artisan. That’s because the welds are more consistent, lessening the chances of a weak point, while less material and therefore weight is needed in the process. It’ll be stronger too – heating and cooling during welding weakens the steel, but robot welding is more accurate and means less …Continue reading »

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