Keo v shimano pedals

[gasman]

Ok people-
My left knee which has always given me problems blew up on me a few weeks ago and I have again developed patellar tendonitis. I am doing active recovery per Too Tall's rec and have gone to a couple physical therapists.(Yes TT I will be getting a massage also.) I am stretching, icing the knee and riding very little but hiking and running instead.
I will be getting my first (ever !) bike fit this week from a couple of different guys to get feedback on my postion. They both recommend going to a fixed pedal system opposed to my current speedplay X1s.They differ in their preference of pedals. So has anyone used both the Look Keos and the Shimano 7800s ? I am leaning a bit towards the Looks as I can use the more inexpensive model on my rain bike and still have money to buy the higher end Keos for my good bike.

Thanks in advance.

[znfdl]

Have not used Shimano and Keo pedals, but I switched from Speedplay to Keo and love them. I have no pain from the first day of riding the Keos.

[05Fierte TI]

I have not had any professional opinion, but I used to ride Speedplay and started developing some significant pain in the middle of my right knee. It became so bad that walking was becomming difficult. My knee woud significantly hurt when I swung my leg forward during a normal stride.

Out of frustration, I went back to my very old look pedals, no problems since :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

At some point, I probably will move to the Keo as well

[Proxy]

Ok people-
My left knee which has always given me problems blew up on me a few weeks ago and I have again developed patellar tendonitis. I am doing active recovery per Too Tall's rec and have gone to a couple physical therapists.(Yes TT I will be getting a massage also.) I am stretching, icing the knee and riding very little but hiking and running instead.
I will be getting my first (ever !) bike fit this week from a couple of different guys to get feedback on my postion. They both recommend going to a fixed pedal system opposed to my current speedplay X1s.They differ in their preference of pedals. So has anyone used both the Look Keos and the Shimano 7800s ? I am leaning a bit towards the Looks as I can use the more inexpensive model on my rain bike and still have money to buy the higher end Keos for my good bike.

Thanks in advance.

I would have said the float action is different bet the pedals, the keo is more like the speedplay and the da is from the rear, but you are going fixed, so this is moot. I used x2's for 5+ years and just grew to dislike them, I wear a 48 and my heal was all over the place in sprints and climbing - went to the fixed keo a year ago and it was one of the best moves I have ever made - very easy entry and wide range of settings - on the keo if you have the spring adjusted just half you really have to try and break out, I love them. good luck on that knee.

[tbushnel]

[QUOTE=05Fierte TI] I used to ride Speedplay and started developing some significant pain in the middle of my right knee.

Out of frustration, I went back to my very old look pedals, no problems since /QUOTE]

I went on to try the Keo sprint (I think that is the model name) and I liked the feel, but even with 100+ miles of break in, the pedals are so fricken light that they would not assume the "front up" position if you know what I mean. I struggled to enter the pedal at lights, so I ended up returning them and continuing to use my "new" old Looks (Thanks Keith A for them).

Just my 2cents. ATMO.
Ted

PS: I'd love to hear how the fit goes along with your experience with fixed cleats if you try em. I tried (though not very hard) to adjust my fixed look cleats and I couldnt seem to find a position that didn't hurt my knees.

[Grant McLean]

gasman,

my sympathies.
I've had patella tendon issues in the past. it's super frustrating.

I couldn't attribute my problem to anything except over-use. At the time
of my problem, i hadn't changed anything at all. Rest, ice , all the other
stuff, hope you mend soon.

It would be great if you could blame some specific piece of gear and toss
it away and the problem would be solved, but it likely doesn't work that way.

g

[Ken Robb]

just a layperson here commenting on his experience with surgically repaired knees. Mashing hard gears with longer cranks gives me patellar pain. Easier gears (triples and compacts) and 170mm cranks makes the pain go away. I think it's because the shorter cranks require less flexion of the knees in a revolution of the cranks.

[itsalldark]

I have used the carbon keo's for the last two seasons with the red cleats which I beliece give you 9 degrees of float. Easy and smooth entry and the same for the exit. The grey cleat gives you 5 degrees, I think, and the black cleat is fixed. I really like the pedals, but the new keo pedal cleats are not compatable with the old look pedals.

[Brons2]

Interesting discussion.

There's a guy I ride with that switched from Look to Speedplay and he said it made his knee pain go away.

I guess your mileage really does vary.

[gasman]

gasman,

my sympathies.
I've had patella tendon issues in the past. it's super frustrating.

I couldn't attribute my problem to anything except over-use. At the time
of my problem, i hadn't changed anything at all. Rest, ice , all the other
stuff, hope you mend soon.

It would be great if you could blame some specific piece of gear and toss
it away and the problem would be solved, but it likely doesn't work that way.

g

I think you are right. It depends on so many factors and I haven't had this problem for years. Two different fitters recommended the more fixed pedals so it is worth a try as I'm pretty frustrated.

[gasman]

Interesting discussion.

There's a guy I ride with that switched from Look to Speedplay and he said it made his knee pain go away.

I guess your mileage really does vary.

Funny thing-I used to get pain with the old Time and Look pedals and it went away with speedplays, or so it seemed.
Who knows ? I am willing to change if two different fitters think that it will help.

[zap]

I have two of each.

With fixed cleats, I doubt you will notice much difference between Keo and SPD-SL while riding. The SPD-SL cleats are easier to walk on.

If you recall, my left pateller tendon suffered from over-use 2 years ago but the real damage occured when I was walking down a slope in my backyard. So be very careful when walking and running.

It's important to reduce the amount of flexion at the top of the stroke by raising the saddle, moving the cleats back and setting your saddle so that your knees are behind kops.

[GregLR]

I have Keos on 3 bikes. I've been using them since late '04. I have experienced a different knee issue than others have noted, and it has emerged that it is apparently not related to pedals. But it's perhaps worth mentioning in case others have or develop the problem.

Without making any changes at all, on long brevets I recently experienced pain and apparent swelling in the tendon at the inside rear of my right knee, near where it bends. After an ultrasound examination last Thursday the (non sports) ultrasound doctor diagnosed the condition as tendinosis (as distinct from tendinitis - see www.tendinosis.org ).

To cut a long story a bit shorter, after experimenting on an earlier event, I rode a long brevet last weekend with my saddle 2cm lower. I was not bothered by at all by the injury, even though I had seriously considered not starting because I'd suffered a lot on earlier rides and I feared that I would only do further damage to the tendon.

This is after riding for years with the saddle at the previous height on a range of bikes. The injury was not apparent in the left knee, though I did have a nightmare a few nights ago that the left knee developed pain in the front because my saddle was now too low !

One last intriguing thing I found when trying to solve or manage this knee issue. For pain at the rear of the knee, Dr Arnie Baker's book (I'm at work so I can't quote the title) canvasses lowering saddle height or reducing float from 9 degrees to 5 degrees, but there's no rationale for why more float might lead to knee pain.

GregLR

[gasman]

I bought a pair of Keos but i think there is more than meets the eye to healing my knee.
God should have done a better job designing the knee ;) ,how are expected to ride and run for hours of fun ?