LOOK releases its fastest-ever pedals with the all-new KEO Blade

French cycling brand LOOK has released a new version of its successful KEO Blade series of pedals. They are the collaborative work between WorldTour athletes and the brand themselves that took place over a three-year period. According to LOOK these pedals are faster, more comfortable and lighter than the outgoing generation.

The pedals have a new external profile that has been developed to be as efficient at cutting through the wind as possible. With this redesign, the pedals are now claimed to be 2% faster than the outgoing models.

© LOOK

The body of the pedals has seen refinement that's resulted in a 2% increase in aerodynamic efficiency

LOOK has spent time trying to improve comfort with the new KEO Blade range, offering a wide surface platform that aims to minimise hotspots that can be transferred to the rider's feet. The new platform is said to increase comfort regardless of shoe stiffness, as well as increase pedalling stability.

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Alex Lavaud, Global Product Manager of LOOK Cycle, said, “Performance is critical to our design and engineering teams just as it is for our professional riders, but we also know that comfort and reliability is what keeps cyclists on the road whether they are racing, training, or travelling. This is why we’ve ensured improvements to comfort and durability are implemented alongside weight reduction and aero gains throughout the range.”

The internals of the pedals have also been updated with a new feel to the clipless mechanism. The brand is claiming a 60% easier clip in rotation due to an improvement in the system weight balance. This is said to offer quicker pedal disengagement whilst not compromising the security of the pedal when in use.

© LOOK

The pedals are also designed to be more durable with a stronger body and stainless steel face plate

LOOK has made these pedals with the intention of them lasting for season after season. A new spindle design attempts to fend off water ingress that could cause bearing degradation. This is in conjunction with a newly formulated weather-resistant grease that has been specifically designed to have a long service life aimed at extending service intervals.

The pedal body itself is reportedly 200% stronger and features a new more robust stainless steel contact plate. As far as the blade is concerned, this can be removed and replaced in under a minute with the option to replace the blade like-for-like, which allows the pedal's useable life to be extended. It also allows riders to swap out and fit the retention strength that they want, from a range of blades numbered from eight to twenty.

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Biniam Girmay of Intermarché-Wanty, said: “As a professional cyclist, especially as a sprinter-puncher, I scrutinise every detail for performance gains. The new KEO Blade represents another leap forward for me. With these LOOK pedals, I experience exceptional stability during maximum efforts, be it an attack or a sprint. Each watt I exert is efficiently transmitted through the Blade pedals, ensuring no loss of effort. Moreover, the robustness of these pedals instils complete confidence in me. I only think about one thing! Press as hard as possible to win!”

© LOOK

The range topping KEO Blade Ti comes in at a feathery 95 grams per pedal

There will be three models available in the new KEO Blade range. All are based around a 53mm Q-factor and the same carbon fibre body and blade system.

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The entry-level KEO Blade comes in at €145 / $174 / £139.99 and weighs 115 grams per pedal. Next up in the range is the KEO Blade ceramic, which uses ceramic bearings in the pedal axle for increased life and reduced resistance. They are set to retail for €210 / $252 / £199.99 and also weigh 115 grams per pedal.

Crowing the range is the KEO Blade Ti as the name might suggest these use titanium axles and ceramic bearings to reduce the weight of the pedal to just 95 grams. The cost for the range-topping pedals comes in at €310 / $389 / £299.99.

For more information on the full range of KEO pedals from LOOK head over to its website.

Have you used the current generation KEO Blade pedals? Are the updates to the pedals enough to consider upgrading? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.