My wife and I have used Look pedals on all of our bikes for a long time. However, we just converted them all over to Shimano SPDs. We have the A520, M520, and M324 pedals on various bikes. I'm leaning toward the M324 for my LHT because of the platform on one side and SPD on the other. I've been using them on my go-to bike and they seem to work OK. I always carry a pair of running shoes on tour, so the cleat type is not that big an issue.

I also like the fact that the SPD pedals can be easily serviced, unlike the Looks. I have the tools to disassemble the Looks, but it is a shop operation.

The Look cleats have served us well for several thousand miles, but the nylon cleat tends to wear. I have had to replace at least one cleat on one of our shoes on several extended tours. I generally unclip with my right foot when coming to a stop, so that is the cleat that usually fails. It has not been a problem since I carry a spare cleat, because I know that after about 2000 miles of hard use I'll need it. Or I'll just pick up a set after about 1000 miles and have them when I feel I need them. I'm hoping that cleat wear will not be a problem with SPD pedals. I'll find out this spring.



The shoes I use are good for 3 bolt cleats, and are also somewhat "walkable".


This last trip, a three month ride, we had one each of our Look pedals fail. the sealed bearing on the right pedal on each of our bikes started to get really rough. They were high end pedals, and are almost impossible to fix.