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 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. The carbon blade can be removed and replaced with a stronger version that offers increased tension (Image credit: Peter Haworth) 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. Last autumn we brought you news of a new pedal from Look, with the Keo 2 Max Blade set to make the company's blade-spring technology available at a lower price point. There was a video, too; who knew the French were such fans of dubstep?

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.” 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. 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. Weather resistance has been improved thanks to an updated end plug with an o-ring washer and an internal, double-lipped seal. Certainly, no water had got inside during three decidedly wet winter months of testing. 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.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.

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. Shimano don’t specify the range of release tension of their pedals anywhere we’ve been able to find. 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.” 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. 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. VerdictThe 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. I believe that Shimano provides a significantly better product compared to Look, with the differences being;

The axle of the updated Blade Carbon pedals has been redesigned, the distance between the roller and needle bearings having been increased by 25%. Look says that this provides more rigidity to the entire length of the axle and, as a consequence, improved power transmission. Look also claims that its new axle design allows a gain of about 2 watts at 100rpm. Will you notice this in use? I can't say that I did. This isn’t something you notice when you’re just riding along, unless you concentrate hard on how your feet are moving or ride with a Kéo pedal on one side and an SPD-SL with yellow cleat on the other.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. Look even has a number for weather resistance, with a 120% improvement in stopping water getting in. I've certainly had no issues after a fair few biblically wet rides. 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. 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. All that said, your Look bearings will still wear faster, and your Look cleats will start rattling and creaking sooner than Shimano pedals.

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.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.