Road Cycling - Look Pedals - 2 questions

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA

View Full Version : Look Pedals - 2 questions

Eureka
12-21-03, 07:18 PM
Question 1: I just got some new (to me!) Look 396 pedals. They come with "Free Arc" settings that are 0,3,6,or 9 degrees. Are they refering to how much I have to angle my ankle out to disengage? If not, what?

Question 2: On my old Look pedals I have the black cleats. I understand the red cleats are different, but they look exactly the same to me. What am I missing?

Thanks for the help.

velocipedio
12-21-03, 09:45 PM
1. yes. the angle refers to how much float or play you have before your foot releases.

2. look at the rear of the cleats. the red ones are shaped slightly differently to permit float.
Eureka
12-22-03, 06:37 AM
Thanks Velo, I appreciate the feedback.

fujibike
12-22-03, 11:18 AM
Question 1: I just got some new (to me!) Look 396 pedals. They come with "Free Arc" settings that are 0,3,6,or 9 degrees. Are they refering to how much I have to angle my ankle out to disengage? If not, what?

Question 2: On my old Look pedals I have the black cleats. I understand the red cleats are different, but they look exactly the same to me. What am I missing?

Thanks for the help.

Something else you may want to do. Looks have an adjustable tension for release. It's adjusted by the set screw in the pedal - don't recall what size hex key it requires. Anyway, you'll want to have that tension as loose as possible as you start out. With some experience with the pedal you may want to adjust later on.
Eureka
12-22-03, 03:01 PM
Hey Fuji - thanks for the heads up on the hex screw. I forgot all about that. Now I am really confused. If the dial in setting is for how far out I need to angle out my ankle, what does the hex setting have to do with it?

I could probably look this up on the Look website, but now I have an excuse to check this site 33 times a day.
Jonny B
12-22-03, 03:15 PM
The float is how much play your foot has before you clip out. Tension is how easy it is to clip in and out.
fujibike
12-23-03, 03:00 AM
The float is how much play your foot has before you clip out. Tension is how easy it is to clip in and out.

Meaning the resistance you meet when turning your foot to unclip. High tension is difficullt, low tension easier. Kinda like a nut that has been torqued on a bolt or one that is finger tight.