Saturday, September 3, 2011

Look Keo 2 Max Pedals

It's been a long time, but I'm back. School has started again and as I head into the second year of medical school, this blog may be finished. Just expect that this will likely be the last of a handful of final posts scattered over the next few months. If you've enjoyed what you've found here, I'm sorry for the announcement. If you're only here to read about the Look Pedals, well then I'll get on with it.

This summer I decided to finally make the switch from my old Look delta cleat pedals that were almost as old as me to something new. Back in April, I tried out the Speedplay Zero. They were a decent pedal, just not quite right for me. Somewhat forlorn, disillusioned (is it possible that Mark Cavendish is that fast for some reason other than his pedals?), I decided to take a look at Look.

My eye fell on the Look Keo 2 Max. I haven't ridden on the Keo pedal before this summer and assumed it would be similar to the old Delta. For the most part, I would say that is true. However, both the cleat and the pedals are much lighter. Just the difference in the cleat was fairly surprising to me. Much more minimalist.

The Keo 2 Max pedal, is light and I worry a little about the durability in the long run, but seems tough enough for my purposes. This is bolstered by a small metal plate over the main contact point of the pedal. As a matter of fact the pedal is so light that it spins more than I am prepared for sometimes after pushing off from a stop. This can make engaging into the pedal a little difficult, but it's mostly just about getting the feel for it. The lightness is all fine and dandy, but it's not what I think is best about the Keo 2 max.

Personally, the best thing about these pedals is the width. They are incredibly wide. So wide, actually that I was a little concerned about the tight cornering I would need to do during the criterium season. However, after a summer of racing I can tell you that cornering really was not an issue with these pedals. And the width is worth every millimeter. On my old pedals I occasionally had the outside of my foot fall asleep (I have kind of big feet). That was pretty much a non-issue this summer while riding with the Keo 2 Max. Also, there is plenty of float depending on the cleats that you use. I prefer the gray cleat with the smallest float, but still some.

One slightly annoying fact is that the only way to put these pedals on and off is with a hex key. My pedal wrench is apparently obsolete now. It's not the end of the world, but it's nice not to have to maneuver around the backside of the crankarms to put your pedals on and off.

All in all, I am very satisfied with these pedals. I think that they are great for road riding and racing. I would especially recommend them if you plan to ride long distances as the width minimizes problems with hotfeet or numbness once you position your cleat correctly. No problems with the float, even with mobility you still have stability. I like these pedals and look forward to using them for a long time.

Pros
-Width, by far and away the biggest advantage of these pedals.
-Weight...or lack thereof. Maybe I should say "Lightness"
-strong, easy to use clipping mechanism

Cons
-plastic pedals aren't the most durable, but since they are road pedals that's probably not too big of an issue
-If you don't have the right size hex key you are going to need to get one because you won't have any way to use your pedal wrench.