Build Things That Make Life Better
Look Cycles × CIXI — Rover 45
Brand strategy meets frame engineering — a chainless urban speed pedelec built to open a new category on LOOK's terms.
LOOK Cycles is a French heritage sports brand with decades of precision manufacturing behind them. Their partnership with CIXI — whose PERS chainless pedaling system removes the mechanical link between pedal and wheel entirely — created a unique design opportunity. The challenge wasn't purely engineering: it was ensuring the product felt like LOOK and opened a credible new chapter for the brand. ZÆT began with an in-person strategic session at LOOK headquarters in Nevers before any design work began.
The Rover 45 was presented at Eurobike 2023, establishing LOOK and CIXI as a credible partnership in the premium urban electrified mobility space and setting a design language for the range going forward.
How ZÆT Built This
Define Direction
On-site strategic session at LOOK HQ, Nevers, France · Brand DNA analysis and product category mapping · CIXI PERS technology requirements and constraints · Commercial feasibility and market positioning
Build the Foundation
Chainless frame architecture and load path engineering · Battery as structural and visual bridging element · Integration of carrying, locking, and contact points · Speed pedelec regulatory compliance framing
Execute and Launch
Full frame specification and engineering documentation · Production rendering suite for market and investor use · Strategic brief for ongoing electrified urban range · LOOK × CIXI partnership framework for future models
The Result
