save10

Has anyone gone from Keo Classics to Keo Max or Blade and noticed any difference (other than price) or improvement?

fstshrk

I have gone from Keo classic to Keo 2 Max. There is a definite improvement in the feel and stability especially when climbing out of the saddle with the Keo 2 Max. And they almost always line up correctly for re-entry unlike the Keo classics.

It is worth the price of the upgrade especially when you get them on sale.

Achim

I have Keo Sprint pedals on my CAAD 8 and Keo Blade pedals on my EVO. When I shopped for pedals for my EVO, I didn't think there would be much of a difference in terms of how the pedals feel. But it turns out that I like the Blades much more than the Sprints (of course, the EVO rides nicer to begin with). If you can get the Blades at a reasonable cost (less than $100), I'd say go for it.

Lew.

I've gone from classics to 2 Max on my track bike (my road bike has always had classics).
The improvement I noticed is that the engagement is much better, much more solid and I know when I'm in or out of the pedal (the classic always felt vague to me). Even more of a bonus when you consider this was for a track bike (fixed wheel). I felt like my cleat wasn't going anywhere, but the 'float' of the classics seemed odd to me and, both pedals were used with the exact same shoe and cleat.

I personally don't like the blades design, and nor does my trusty LBS. He said that he has sold four pairs (at the time I brought my 2 max pedals), and all four pairs had come back with broken 'blades'. I can see the appeal of weight loss, but that's all.

rangerdavid

I rode the Look Keo pedals for about 3 years. last year I got the Look Blade pedals. Overall, I like the blade better, but there are problems. They seem to have a more stable platform, they seem wider under my foot and feel better. They are a ***** to clip into, and they don't spin on the axels like the old Look pedals did.

ravenmore

I'm going to totally go off script and throw these out there - way more stable to me than any of the Looks (and they've been around about as long as look): https://www.keywinpedals.com/

They are very light. Have much more surface area than any other pedal. The float is in the pedal moving on the spindle - the cleat is locked in place in the pedal and does not move against it. You can adjust the tension in the float or lock it out all together. Also the cleat connects to a peg in the middle of the pedal in addition to binding around the edges like Looks. It's the best pedal I've ridden - in my humble opinion. They're not as sexy looking as the Blades maybe.

save10

yeah...well...i'm building a new crit bike. and my other bikes and TT bike are all Look pedals so its gonna be Look only at this point

carpediemracing 

I have a bunch of Keo Classics or similar (Sprint, etc), a set of Keo Carbons (no plate under the cleat area), and two sets of Keo Max2 (plate under the cleat area). I think that's what they're called anyway.

The Keo Carbons are by far the best in terms of engagement. I have the tension cranked all the way. I unclip out of them maybe a few times a year but I don't have to baby them when out of the saddle on bumpy pavement (as an example). I bought the Max2s to replace the Carbon but reverted almost immediately to the Carbons since I was unclipping out of the Max2 pretty much every time I rode. I could avoid it by pedaling super careful but that's not the way to go hard.

My beat up Carbons:


The Max2s on the red bike:


I mention the Keo dilemma in this post here.

I have maybe 5? sets of Classics in the house. Right now they reside on the tandem (captain and stoker), the Missus's bike, and a few in a box or something.

I'm a 3 for basically forever, had raced well enough to upgrade to 2 purely on crit sprint placings in 2010 (on the Carbons), and my only physiological strength is the sprint. For a TT or less peaky rider the pedal choice may not be an issue. For example I've never clipped out of any of the Keos except when making harder efforts (seated/standing). If you have a powermeter I'm going to guess and say it's about 800-1000+ watt efforts. 500w efforts seated, no biggie.

I tried clipping into the Blades (16nm the last one I tried, just a few days ago) and it felt as loose and slippery as the Max2 I have at max tension. I haven't pedaled them but the weak connection feel was there. I'm curious about the new Keo pedal, I think I saw 24nm for tension numbers (it uses a blade type system also but the bottom of the pedal is covered I think).

I'm considering trying some non-Look Keo compatibles just to try them, see if they're better, like the off brand ones.

hope this helps

waters60

It seems design has gone virtual and gotten away from testing, feedback and refinement. My Look pedals from 1990 worked better than my Looks from 1992. Then I got Keo 2 Max. Clipping in is an enormous PITA. I had no problem getting into my old Looks, but the Keos make me feel like a klutz. The cleat design is such that it is easy to catch the wrong part of the pedal, a problem the old Looks did not have. I would think that if this pedal was actually tested they would have figured it out and fixed it, but it seems things go from design to production without testing, as changing design costs money.

save10

well great...i just ordered some Max's from online...so we'll see.

Looigi

I like the Keo2 Max pedals. I get em at Ribble for ~$80 with cleats. They have all the other Look pedals too. Buy over $100 and get free shipping. From the UK, it can sometimes take 2-3 weeks shipping as things can get delayed for random periods of time at the US POE.

carpediemracing 

I don't have problems clipping in to the Keo2s. It's that they're too easy to clip out of - they feel like Keo Classics in that I can unclip just pushing down hard while out of the saddle (resulting in a slight sideways force). I'd like literally twice the tension or more friction between the cleat and pedal.

mxs

As a long time blade owner I want to chime in regarding their design "weakness." I have been running them for about 3 years now and cracked one of blades after a small spill. Despite what any LBS may say, single blades can be order directly from Look and only cost like $15 and are easily changed even without the special Look tool that is often referred to.

Looigi

You may be aware of this but the Blade pedal has recently been redesigned and is considerably different from the previous version. The blade is wider, has more tension options, is more aero... Still, I see no consequential advantage over metal springs except perhaps saving a few gm, as far as I'm concerned.

Silvercivic27

why not just go to shimanos?

Looigi

You say Shimano, I say Shimayno; Shimano, Shimayno, let's call the whole thing off. Shamino SPD-SL are pretty much the same thing as the Looks for all intents and purposes, without the cachet of being French.

carpediemracing 

I'd want to buy 4-5 sets so that I could use my shoes across a bunch of bikes. I'd rather stay with Keo cleats and use whatever pedal works best.

I have my old pedal sets (3? 4? pedals) that I use for fixed gear stuff, the first gen SPD-R pedals. The Keos.. it's just a lot of money for pedals that I prefer not to spend. The Carbons are working now so that's what I'm using.