New cleat design is the biggest change for 2008 - notice the rubber pads, which they claim eliminates the need for "coffee shop" covers.

but are those rubber pads replaceable? If not, then I would still wear the coffee shop covers as the rubber would just quickly wear out...

No idea if they're replaceable, but they appear to be permanently affixed.

Hmmm....Will these cleats be compatible with the pre-08 Keo's??

The shape doesn't look any different. The rubber will be more resistant to wear than the hard plastic because it will give and deform, rather than chip away

The white plastic wasn't the only issue with the current Keo design. The gray plastic cracked and wore out as well. These little rubber pieces will not prevent that from still happening.

Look at some of the pictures that have been posted showing broken Keo cleats and you'll see it is the plastic that's at issue.

I will certainly credit them with realizing there is a design flaw and they addressed it fairly quickly. I still think there is more redesigning that need to take place though.

The new logo's definitely the selling point.

As long as the rubber pads can prevent this, I'll be content....

Good God, and I thought mine was bad!

It seems like the contact points are where they're putting the rubber pads. In that case the rubber will deform and instead of putting your weight on very small hard points, it will be distributed over an easily deformable piece of rubber.

Now, can someone explain to me the difference between the Keo's and other look pedals?

Mine occurred during an idiotic tip-over (very much rider error). The cleat snapped when my foot/pedal hit the ground.

So, in interest of full disclosure, I am glad the cleat snapped instead of my ankle.

Still...

Keos are a smaller, thinner cleat than the Delta cleats.

+1 - Their design was an attmept to shed weight and reduce stack height. I have been waiting for a redesign of the cleat. Figured it was a matter of time.

In regards to broken Keo's....

Do you guys walk much in yours? I mean, I only walk on mine enough to turn my bike around after putting in the code for my garage door. I use the covers all the time. I'll see guys walking around on cleat before races and no wonder they wear out so fast. I broke two crank-spindle bonds with my Keo's, and my cleats haven't snapped off yet. (shrug?)

So basically the Keo is now almost as good as the SPD-SL?

higher cost for the change?

Not a chance, how would they sell the new ones?

Actually they will. If they didn't they would have named them something other than KEO. It appears all they changed was the material. Kind of like when they came out with the dual material Delta cleats (with teflon) to help solve the problems they were having with the squeeking of the cleat against the AL pedal bodies.

The new logo, of course.

Kidding aside, I think the change is good, and I hope they are compatible. How many times I have almost embarrassed myself in the coffee shop and their slick linoleum floors, or tumbled down a flight of stairs, bike over shoulder.

I bought some of the new 2008 pedals from the ebay seller. They are going on my new bike, a PF RS with Chorus. I'm currently running the older Ultegra pedals and wanted something lighter for the new bike. I'll have a better report on things in a few weeks.

Why don't the Shimano SPD-SL cleats have that problem? They are also made of plastic.

BTW-I've been riding KEO pedals for about a year and a half with no problems. I've worn out a couple pair of cleats but otherwise they've been flawless.

Except you can use the KEO on a Campy bike. You can't use Shimano on a Campy bike.

Uhh.....

Seriously, the bike will explode. Campy and Shimano should never be together on the same bike.