Look Cycle Keo Blade Aero Road Pedal Review

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 yearAAAs 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 402mmAA, yet the cornering clearance is actually better because the extra width is on the top of the new pedal rather than the bottom.