LOOK Cycle - KEO Blade Carbon Bike Pedals - High Performance Pedals - Powerful, Light and Aerodynamic LOOK KEO pedals with Carbon Blades, Chromoly+ Axles, Steel Bearings

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The 12Nm spring fitted to the test pedals kept a vice-like grip on my cleats, even when climbing or sprinting. Releasing the pedal sometimes required quite a firm twisting motion but this will likely relax a little as the pedal and cleat wear together. Lighter riders will probably prefer the 8Nm spring option. Personally, the Looks wouldn't tempt me away from my Ultegra R8000 pedals, which I know will work silently for many years, with fewer cleat changes – and I also prefer the method of changing the retention level – but they are a very good pair of pedals with buttery smooth bearings and a vastly improved plate. Verdict

Intended for performance cycling, the blade of the Keo Blade is optimised for speed. As the name suggests, rather than the traditional coil system, these pedals use a blade retention system. The integration of the blade and pedal lessens the frontal area presented to the wind, improving aerodynamics and ultimately increasing speed. He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.Burt agrees, adding that he thinks the longer-axle version came about “because we used to request them specially made for Mark Cavendish” when he worked for British Cycling.

On initial set-up, the Look Keo 2 Max Carbon is every bit as secure as the Shimano pedals with clipping in and release feeling very similar. Over the duration of the test though the Look cleats did wear noticeably faster than the Shimano, this resulted in some play between the cleat and the pedal with no amount of adjustment removing it.Of the above poiints, Look have admitedly closed the gap in recent years, adding pontoons to the cleats so you dont directly walk on the pedal / cleat mating surface as before.

The distance between the crank and the centre of a pedal varies very little between models of clipless pedals. It’s 53mm for all Kéo pedals, and all SPD-SL pedals except Dura-Ace, which is 52mm. Several years’ worth of research has gone into the design and build of Look’s Keo Blade Cromo pedals, resulting in a product which is light, durable, and secure. Lightweight, aerodynamic, powerful, the new KEO BLADE CARBON has all the assets to allow you to improve and optimize your performance until victory is yours. It is for these reasons that KEO BLADE CARBON is the unanimous choice of many champions who have made it a weapon of choice in the conquest of their greatest achievements. At the rear of the pedal's upper face, an easy-access hex bolt can be used to adjust the cleat tension, while the axle houses the bearings. Performance Clipping in is relatively easy. As with any other pedal system, you need to get the hang of positioning your foot in the right place, but after a few rides you'll have that dialled.Perhaps the biggest difference between the two systems is in how the float works and feels when you’re using cleats that provide a lot of movement. Look’s nine-degree red cleats and Shimano’s six-degree yellow cleat feel in use like they provide similar amounts of movement. However, Shimano’s cleat allows your foot to move around a point in the middle of the cleat; Look’s move around the tip. More broadly, Cavell says, “Both SPD-SL and Look are well designed and stable pedalling platforms with a choice of float profiles to suit most riders. Not sure I see too much difference in the pedal real estate but their functionality and ‘feel’ are different enough to give a different proposition to riders.” If you’ve got the luxury of spare cash, you could buy a pair of the base model of each system, see which you prefer the feel of and sell the others on.

I made the switch for the exact same reason this year. The Faveros are fantastic pedals, but they are a pain to clip in to, just because they spin soooooo freely. At 110 grams per pedal, this is a lightweight pedal system. But, despite being a featherweight, it’s secure and stable, so you can be confident you’re getting maximum performance when sprinting for the finish line.That’s perhaps why Shimano offers a version of the SPD-SL pedal, the PD-RS500, with “lighter spring tension optimised for beginner riders.” The bottom of the pedal is completely closed-in by the spring blade, with only a slim gap down each side. This makes them a bit more of a dirt trap than more open pedals, but I didn't have particular problems with them clogging up, even when I had to walk through mud.