Reviews

LOOK Keo Blade pedals

Sub-£100 version of the popular pro pedal system

We like the LOOK Keo Blade pedal system – last year we featured the top-level Carbon Ti version in the RCUK 100, but this year it’s the turn of its little brother, which offers better value with the same easy-to-use engagement system.

Centre stage is the blade design – in both name and concept – which LOOK claim has three major benefits over using a conventional spring. The first of these is a firm and secure clipping in action, coupled with a positive disengagement when the time comes to unclip. If you want a super-stiff pedal body with great retention strength, then you can opt for the 12nm version, although the 8nm option has suited us in the RCUK office over the past couple of years and is more than enough for the competitive club rider.

Secondly, the French manufacturer claims that aerodynamics are at the forefront of the pedal design, with the internally-fitted blade smoothing airflow around the bottom of the shoe while clipped in. In fact, they go so far as to say that the design is “the best aerodynamic shape ever created” – quite a claim.

Finally, the pedal itself further benefits from a lack of spring by boasting a lightweight construction of 120g per pedal, which adds up to 308g when you add the cleats and screws.

Speaking of cleats, LOOK’s system of zero, 4.5 and 9 degree fixings to the bottom of the shoe (you get 4.5 degree cleats supplied as standard) allow riders to customise float, with further customisation available through those two blade stiffness options.

The pedal provides a large contact area between the body and cleat, so you get a stable platform for power transfer. All the while, the chromoly pedal axle is integrated into the design of the Keo Blade, which results in a low stack of 13mm.

LOOK Keo Blade

All the while, you can expect great reliability. LOOK test the Keo Blade to a standard of 1,700 watts put out at 100rpm for a total of 333 hours – about the equivalent power Mark Cavendish is capable of putting out in a full-bore sprint. That’s impressive by anyone’s standards.

You may not get the exotic materials of the Blade 2 Ti but the barebones functionality is the same, and at an RRP of less than £100, represent a more affordable version of a popular pedal system many riders in the pro peloton use.