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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Shimano Ultegra pedals: Shimano's closest rival is slightly cheaper, easier to adjust, but slightly heavier

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.Cornering clearance is impressively generous despite the very wide upper platform: cornering clearance is impressively generous despite the very wide upper platform

Because Shimano use cup-and-cone bearings it’s also possible to adjust them, though the TL-D63 tool for that job is both expensive and quite hard to find. Look has developed a Keo Fit system where suitably-equipped dealers can get your cleats set up just so, and also give you specific advice about which of the float options best suits you. I didn't try this as I already had Keo cleats set up on a pair of shoes so just used them as they were, but it could be a useful service if you're changing over. That’s perhaps why Shimano offers a version of the SPD-SL pedal, the PD-RS500, with “lighter spring tension optimised for beginner riders.” While weight is far from being the most important aspect of a bike component, it still matters. The cheapest Kéo, the Classic 3, weighs 350g/pr including cleats. The base-model SPD-SL pedals, PD-RS500s come in at a claimed 320g without cleats; a pair of cleats weighs 74g, so that’s 394g in total.

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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 This comparison seems a little bias to me, but that's probably because I am a little bias the other way. As with all of the pedals on test, the installation was straightforward: regular thread on the drive-side, reverse thread on the other and an Allen key to tighten them up. Cleat setup has been the main differentiator with how straightforward or difficult each pedal has been to set up. All the Look pedals feature a three-bolt cleat, similar in setup to Shimano’s SPD SL platform but with a few differences. The material of the Look cleat supplied with the Keo Blade Carbon Ceramic pedals is a hard grey plastic, with harder wearing white sections at the front and rear of the cleat. These offer 4.5 degrees of float (the amount you can twist your foot while remaining clipped in), but 0-degree and 9-degree float options are also available aftermarket. Burt agrees, adding: “I’d say if you can ride one or the other you can ride either bio mechanically speaking — it will just be personal preference.”

As a result, you’re either very much ‘in’ or very much ‘out’ and there’s no vagueness in between, whereas with the standard system there’s a short period where the rear gate is flexed open and you’re still partially engaged. Also agree with @Sjl wrt Shimano's reliability - I did zero servicing on mine, and they never let me down, whether bottom of-the-range, or flashy carbon jobbies 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.”Furthermore, the carbon blade sits in the bed of the pedal, supported by a 67mm steel plate. Combined with a broad platform, means these pedals offer maximum power transfer from your hard-working legs to forward motion. Shimano Dura-Ace pedals: Shimano's top-tier pedal is lighter, easier to adjust, but slightly more expensive When viewed side by side, it’s easy to see the big leaps forward look has made with the second-generation kéo blade: when viewed side by side, it’s easy to see the big leaps forward look has made with the second-generation kéo blade