The pedals are fitted with an 8Nm carbon blade, but tension can be increased to 12Nm, if needed. The visibly oversized axle, combined with a spindle that passes through internal rollers under the pedal platform, increases efficiency and limits the loss of your precious watts. 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 To try and get a handle on whether there were any important ergonomic differences between SPD-SL and Kéo pedals, I spoke to bike fit experts Phil Cavel of Cyclefit.

There are differences in the range of tension adjustment, float, and entry and exit feel between Look Kéo and SPD-SL pedals, but none of them are killer apps. How to choose? At the top of the range, Look has gone all-out to save weight on the Kéo Blade Carbon Ceramic Ti model, which as the name suggests has titanium axles, ceramic bearings and a carbon fibre body. A pair with cleats weighs a claimed 260g. 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. This comparison seems a little bias to me, but that's probably because I am a little bias the other way. The spindle and bearing assembly is not serviceable, setting it at odds with a lot of the competition. Look say that it's been tested to withstand two million cycles at 100 rpm with a 90 kg load on the centre of the pedal, or the equivalent of a 1,700 watt sprint for 333 hours, so it should be okay for a while with the sort of loads that you or I are likely to put on it. Certainly the sealing shrugged off the wet conditions we've had lately without any issues and the pedals are still spinning smoothly.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 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. Shimano Ultegra pedals: Shimano's closest rival is slightly cheaper, easier to adjust, but slightly heavier

To enhance durability and reliability, the bearings are protected by an o-ring washer and are double-lipped seal to increase resistance to the elements. 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. 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.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. 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. Designed to win, the new KEO BLADE CARBON improves the experience associated with the use of blade technology in a clipless pedal. This new version is the result of experience gained during years of development in the heart of our manufacturing facility and to continual improvements made thanks to daily input from the greatest of champions.

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.Unfortunately, some of our other complaints about the original KéO Blade still carry over, and in one specific area the new pedal is notably worse.

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. The pedal platform is 67mm wide (Shimano Dura-Ace, for comparison, is just a millimetre narrower) and has a surface area of 700mm 2 meaning that the pressure is distributed over a large area and you can get plenty of support.

For me, ceramic bearings still have a tough job beating the Shimano system that has served me well for years. My XT cyclo-cross pedals go through awful conditions every winter and my Ultegra 6800 pedals have done four long years of road riding. Look's claim that its ceramic bearings will last '4 to 6 times longer than standard steel bearings' will take quite a few years to test. The two months that I've been riding and racing with these pedals have caused zero issues, so all good so far. 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 Look says, "Designed to win, the new Keo Blade Carbon improves the experience associated with the use of blade technology in a clipless pedal. This new version is the result of experience gained during years of development in the heart of our manufacturing facility and to continual improvements made thanks to daily input from the greatest of champions.