any reason to buy look keo max pedals over shimano?

[R3awak3n]

I never tried looks but the shimanos are so good that I see no reason what so ever to try anything else (well, tried speedplay and they weren't for me)

[ultraman6970]

Keywin, thoes arent going to creak or skweak ever.

[ntb1001]

I've been using Looks since Lemond and Hinault started the clipless trend.

I actually still have the pair I bought in I think 85'....white look pedals.

Never had any problems over the years, and currently have Blades and Keo carbons.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

[krw6184]

Shimano pedals are definitely set it and forget it pedals. They aren't the lightest but they are durable and seldom fail. Shimano still uses the "Delta" which is the original cleat design pioneered LOOK. It's a solid cleat design, it works well, but old. Shimano has never paid too close attention to the design aesthetics's of the pedal. Only recently have they taken design que's from LOOK so the current Shimano line looks much better than before. They still use the Delta style cleat which I believe has a higher stack height than LOOK's current KEO cleat. Overall, you can go wrong with Shimano.

LOOK has the heritage and being the creator of the "automatic" pedal, they definitely continue to study the interface between the foot and the pedal, the power transmission, the design, etc...it's in their DNA. LOOK is a company of firsts and very innovative. From a quality perspective, I would say that they do tend to have a few more issues but it depends on the model that you are using. The carbon blade and carbon blade II are phenomenal pedals. Almost disappear under your foot. They feel great, super light and super efficient. But they are racing pedals and not designed to have the ultimate durability as say the Keo 2 Max or the Keo Classic.

Having ridden both brands, I think the best way to view is Shimano will be high quality, dead reliable, but not particularly sexy. Like a LEXUS. LOOK will have pretty high quality, designs that push the envelope, reliable but may have it's quirks, and I think I mentioned it's heritage...like a BMW.

German cars feel different on the road that Japanese cars. They just do. I believe you will find the same for pedals.

WIGGLE has a sale going on now for Shimano pedals and the prices are really good. For LOOK pedals, Planet Cyclery always seems to have low pricing as I believe they import direct from Europe.

Good luck with your search.

[krw6184]

Originally Posted by Bostic

I used Look Keo's for about 7 years then switched to Shimano Ultegra pedals. Big difference in the stability feel especially when riding the Tandem. My left knee is much happier now plus that horrible squeaking is gone. I was also never a fan of the Keo Grip cleat. It was a bit of a $$ commitment since I had several bikes to swap over.

The KEO Grip cleat is known to squeak, squeal, and make noise. The standard, non-grip is much better. For heavier loads, I think Shimano is a much better choice.

[BdaGhisallo]

Originally Posted by krw6184

Shimano pedals are definitely set it and forget it pedals. They aren't the lightest but they are durable and seldom fail. Shimano still uses the "Delta" which is the original cleat design pioneered LOOK. It's a solid cleat design, it works well, but old. Shimano has never paid too close attention to the design aesthetics's of the pedal.

Shimano's spd-sl cleat and Look's original 'delta' cleat are two distinct designs. Shimano's cleat is a 'delta' only in the sense that it uses the same triangular 3 bolt pattern that Look pioneered with their original design. The cleats are not interchangeable.

I haven't measured it, but I am pretty sure that the spd-sl design has a slightly lower stack height than the Look keo cleat.

[pdmtong]

Off the bike the shimano cleat is much more walkable than the look cleat. Unless you plan to go hiking in cycling shoes they last a ridiculously long time. Some folks won't put shimano pedals on an otherwise campagnolo or Italian fitted bike. I don't have that issue.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

Off the bike the shimano cleat is much more walkable than the look cleat. Unless you plan to go hiking in cycling shoes they last a ridiculously long time. Some folks won't put shimano pedals on an otherwise campagnolo or Italian fitted bike. I don't have that issue.

All my bikes are full campy with shimano pedals, they are just great pedals and look right st home with the campy stuff.

I have new DA 9100 pedals and 6800 pedals, I got a deal on the DA but they were still almost $100 more than I paid for my Ultegras. Appart from weight difference (like 50 grams) and different bearings they are bery similar. On the bike, to me, they feel identical. I would not spend the extra money for the DA pedals next timr

[rzthomas]

I had a bike with Record and so I tried LOOK keo pedals, because I guess that's what you're supposed to do. The pedals didn't hold up and the cleats sucked. Went back to Shimano and have been happy ever since. The whole SPD-SL system is much more durable and works much better.

[benb]

I just wanted to elaborate on what I mentioned, I think both the Look and Shimano 3-bolt setups are vulnerable to the problem that gives me numb toes.

Nothing wrong with the cleats or 3-bolt pattern, but most road shoes have a shape built into the last that essentially goes back to the old nail-in cleats. Those had a thick shape built into the forefoot to hold the nails, that caused the cleats to have a certain shape, and the 3-bolt pattern today has the same shape to the bottom of the sole.

Then to lighten the shoes, they've removed material from the inside of the shoe since there are no longer any nails. It ends up curving the toes up as they removed material from above the cleats.

The other aspect to this is AFAICT most road shoes do not correctly scale up the bolt holes as the shoe size changes... I wear 46-48 shoes depending on brand, the holes are too far forward so I'm pedaling with the cleat too close to my toes contributing to pressure on the nerve/blood vessels. Apparently shimano has some shoes with rearward holes but I haven't managed to try them. (shoes obviously cost plenty, that could be a multi-hundred dollar experiment that could fail.)

But if you don't have any hot-foot/numbness issues none of this matters as far as Shimano vs. Look. Only speedplay has apparently tried to solve these issues on the current shoes.