Hello again, I’m looking to get new pedals. I would like to your personal and professional opinion for Look Keo Carbon VS. Speedplay
I recently went from Speedplays to Keos, a few things I noticed.
-I miss the two sided entry, but it’s not that big of a deal.
-The Q factor of the look pedals is significantly larger, this can be an issue, I’m still trying to resolve it
-The platfrom on the Keo is much larger, leading to less hot spots and foot discomfort
-The platform height of the keo is larger, but once you adjust your saddle height it doesn’t really make a difference.
Jonblyer - so from the sounds of it, there wasn’t really a big upside to the switch (other than foot comfort / discomfort)? I too have / am considering making the switch, but am really used to the Speedplays and not sure there’s going to be much of an upside with moving to the Looks - not that they are bad or anything.
I’d heard they were stiffer, so I was thinking / hoping it would mean more power applied to the drivetrain, but maybe not…
So, just tagging along here, seeing what others have to say.
-Chris
I’ve ridden them both. Went from Speedplays to the Looks back to speedplays. I really, really liked the Keo’s, better than the speedplays. There was not enough float for a pigeoned toed rider like me on the Keo’s. The Keo’s just felt more stable when riding and climbing. It felt like I was riding/standing on a huge platform, the speedplays just feel much smaller under my foot. I did miss the two sided entry and the, imo, easier clip in/out of the speedplays vs the Looks.
Wow, foot comfort seems a pretty big plus side to me! I have the Keos on all my road/TT bikes and love them. I am swayed away from the speedplays because of the big slippery metal cleats. Also, the biggest selling point of the speedplay seems to be the touted weight of the pedal, but add the weight of the cleat into the equation and you have very little difference between the two, except comfort!
I use the Look Keo pedals on my road bike ad use old school Shimano SPD-R on my tri bike because the metal shimano cleats don’t mind as much when I run in and out of tranition areas on them. 
Herbert
Litespeed / Quintana Roo
I just googled the spd-r cleats and it looks like the rubber/plastic parts of the cleats would prevent the metal clipping section of the cleat making contact with the ground. Very dissimilar to the speedplay cleat.
I was using the Keo’s and had to get rid of them. I was experiencing to much knee pain. I tried all of the different cleats for them, but I just couldn’t get rid of the pain. I switched to the Speedplays and my knee pain went away.
“Look Keo Carbon VS. Speedplay”
The biggest problem with the Speedplays, IMHO, is that there is too much play (shoe roll) side-to-side once the cleat wears even a little. Look style pedals (I like the Time RXS) are much more stable laterally, so your shoe won’t rock side-to-side like with Speedplays.
Haim
+1 for the time rxs(e) pedals, i have just switched for look after 6 years (delta cleat). after a short honeymoon period, I wouldn’t go back to the look system
the times are lighter, nicer q adjustment, nicer (to me at least) float sensation and much more positive engagement.
the platform is still a good size and lets not forget the walkable cleat ( bonus for us tri geeks)
I used to race on Keo’s but after a cleat breakage on a training ride I fear that the plastic the cleats are made of aren’t strong enough for the impacts caused by running in the transition zones.
I switched to Speedplays and will never go back…
just so you know they are now on to spd-SL. They no longer make the spd-r but a lot of track guys use it. The cleat looks similar in some ways.
used to race on Keo’s
Keo’s what?
after a cleat breakage on a training ride I fear that the plastic the cleats are made of aren’t strong enough for the impacts caused by running in the transition zones.
Learn to dismount with bare feet and your shoes still clipped in, that will solve that problem.
I thought spd-SLs had been out for some years now.
I started on Speedplay X Series. After sliping once in transition, switched to a couple of other types including Shimano SPD, Look and even experimented with Speedplay Frogs along the way all while trying to find a more “walkable” cleat. I found that with anything other than completely free float, I had knee pain on every ride over about 30 miles. Eventually found my way back to Speedplay X1’s and haven’t looked back.
Yes, I hate the clunky cleats (especially in transition) but my knees are more important to me than 3 seconds in T1.
yeah, that’s my point. They no longer make the -r that you pictured.
Sorry if I’m not being clear. I just didn’t want you to compare to a pedals you can’t buy.
Since '92 I had used nothing but Look until I tried some Time in '05. RSX to be exact. They really were not a big change though they didn’t have that positive snap you have with Look. I also tried some M2 Racer pedals with lots of float. I realized I didn’t need, or like float at all, so now I am back to using grey +/- 4 degree pedals with the Look Keos. The best pedals I have used.
Chad
I have no interest in buying them, I was trying to envisage what Herbert meant aboutthem being ok when dismounting as I thought the metal didn’t hit the deck.
The rubber stops on the outside are actually there to protect the cleats from wearing out. But even if you don’t have/use the “rubber wings” the metal cleat is still tough enough for running in the transition area.
Cheers,
Herbert
I have no interest in buying them, I was trying to envisage what Herbert meant aboutthem being ok when dismounting as I thought the metal didn’t hit the deck.
Sorry I don’t get your question “Keo’s what?” All I meant was Look Keo pedals. I used to have this pedal on my race bike - now I don’t.
About running on bare feet with shoes still clipped in - isn’t this really hard on the shoes? I mean aren’t they often being dragged across the surface causing significant wear and damage to the heel caps? I have thought about doing this but I can’t afford to buy new shoes just because I’m trying to gain 3 seconds…?