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Look Cycle Keo Blade Carbon Aero pedal
When wind is a facto ... wait, what are we talking about? Wind is always a factor. Just ask Alberto Contador, who rode prototype time trial-specific aero pedals to victory in the last individual time trial around Lake Annecy at last year's Tour De France. Since then, Look and Contador have been working tirelessly on a pedal that would give him the ultimate competitive advantage. That pedal is the Look Keo Blade Carbon Aero. Oversized spindles, huge pedal platforms, dual bearing seals with easy maintenance, and of course, carbon blades instead of conventional springs are all tech features that rocked the cycling world when they were introduced. Keo Carbon Blade Aero Pedals combines all the high-tech wizardry of the Keo Carbon Blade pedal with a compressed carbon shell to enhance the pedal's aerodynamics to give you every possible advantage in your next time trial or triathlon.
The most important story here, tech-wise, is the carbon blade, which flexes against the retention plate to hold the cleat in place instead of the traditional retention spring. The blade helps make the pedal crazy-light without costing it any in the way of durability. In fact, it would take some serious work to accidentally disengage the blade or break it. A pretty heavy hammer blow to just the right spot is about the only way to damage it.
While the carbon fiber blade is what creates the buzz, the rest is extremely tech-forward as well. Start with the redesigned composite pedal body. It's quite different than the Keo, utilizing the new Keo 2 design. It's 17% wider than the old Keo, about on par with the Shimano Dura-Ace pedal. This 62mm platform increases the surface area that contacts the cleat to 402mm, yet the cornering clearance is actually better because the extra width is on the top of the new pedal rather than the bottom. The result of the design change is 31% greater surface area than the old Keos, which should leave you with the feeling that your foot is on a more stable platform where foot pressure is spread over a wider area.
The axle is new as well, and this is the only aspect where these pedals differ from the top of the line titanium version. The cromoly spindle is 12mm in diameter on the inboard side near the mounting threads and remains so through the support for two sets of roller bearings, and then starts to taper towards the end, where a needle bearing sits. The greater diameter not only insures stiffness, but also allows Look to offer this pedal without the caveat of a rider weight limit. The larger spindle diameter might set off alarms with some people. These people fear that with the larger spindle, stack height must have increased. It hasn't, still at a slim 15.7mm, thanks in part to the stainless steel wear plate atop the pedal. Your cleat will not wear down the pedal body over time, so they could afford to make the pedal body fairly thin under the plate.
Look Keo Blade Carbon Aero Pedals come with a set of Grey Look Keo Grip anti-slip cleats. They have 4.5 degrees of float. You can also use the Keo Grip cleats in Red, with nine-degrees of float, or Black, with no float. The anti-slip designation is due to both the forward and rearward parts of the cleat being topped by non-skid pads. The cleat also has Look's Memory Clip built in to the center pad, which, depending on your shoe, can simplify changing cleats without having to futz with re-positioning. The pedal body and retention bar on the back are black. Look currently makes the carbon blades with two different spring rates. Please choose between the 12Nm option (the lowest setting on Look's Keo 2 Max pedals, which is pretty good for most riders and racers) and the stiffer 16Nm option (just below the stiffest setting on the Keo 2 Max).
Price: $229.99 (41% Off!)
Regularly: $390.00
Buy Now
When wind is a facto ... wait, what are we talking about? Wind is always a factor. Just ask Alberto Contador, who rode prototype time trial-specific aero pedals to victory in the last individual time trial around Lake Annecy at last year's Tour De France. Since then, Look and Contador have been working tirelessly on a pedal that would give him the ultimate competitive advantage. That pedal is the Look Keo Blade Carbon Aero. Oversized spindles, huge pedal platforms, dual bearing seals with easy maintenance, and of course, carbon blades instead of conventional springs are all tech features that rocked the cycling world when they were introduced. Keo Carbon Blade Aero Pedals combines all the high-tech wizardry of the Keo Carbon Blade pedal with a compressed carbon shell to enhance the pedal's aerodynamics to give you every possible advantage in your next time trial or triathlon.
The most important story here, tech-wise, is the carbon blade, which flexes against the retention plate to hold the cleat in place instead of the traditional retention spring. The blade helps make the pedal crazy-light without costing it any in the way of durability. In fact, it would take some serious work to accidentally disengage the blade or break it. A pretty heavy hammer blow to just the right spot is about the only way to damage it.
While the carbon fiber blade is what creates the buzz, the rest is extremely tech-forward as well. Start with the redesigned composite pedal body. It's quite different than the Keo, utilizing the new Keo 2 design. It's 17% wider than the old Keo, about on par with the Shimano Dura-Ace pedal. This 62mm platform increases the surface area that contacts the cleat to 402mm, yet the cornering clearance is actually better because the extra width is on the top of the new pedal rather than the bottom. The result of the design change is 31% greater surface area than the old Keos, which should leave you with the feeling that your foot is on a more stable platform where foot pressure is spread over a wider area.
The axle is new as well, and this is the only aspect where these pedals differ from the top of the line titanium version. The cromoly spindle is 12mm in diameter on the inboard side near the mounting threads and remains so through the support for two sets of roller bearings, and then starts to taper towards the end, where a needle bearing sits. The greater diameter not only insures stiffness, but also allows Look to offer this pedal without the caveat of a rider weight limit. The larger spindle diameter might set off alarms with some people. These people fear that with the larger spindle, stack height must have increased. It hasn't, still at a slim 15.7mm, thanks in part to the stainless steel wear plate atop the pedal. Your cleat will not wear down the pedal body over time, so they could afford to make the pedal body fairly thin under the plate.
Look Keo Blade Carbon Aero Pedals come with a set of Grey Look Keo Grip anti-slip cleats. They have 4.5 degrees of float. You can also use the Keo Grip cleats in Red, with nine-degrees of float, or Black, with no float. The anti-slip designation is due to both the forward and rearward parts of the cleat being topped by non-skid pads. The cleat also has Look's Memory Clip built in to the center pad, which, depending on your shoe, can simplify changing cleats without having to futz with re-positioning. The pedal body and retention bar on the back are black. Look currently makes the carbon blades with two different spring rates. Please choose between the 12Nm option (the lowest setting on Look's Keo 2 Max pedals, which is pretty good for most riders and racers) and the stiffer 16Nm option (just below the stiffest setting on the Keo 2 Max).
Price: $229.99 (41% Off!)
Regularly: $390.00
Buy Now
