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TECH NEWS

Look’s new Keo Blade Power is “the lightest power meter pedal on the market”

New system “instals in just 30 seconds”, comes in single- and dual-sided options, and is priced from £600

Look has introduced new Keo Blade power meter pedals for the road – and X-Track power meter pedals for riding off-road – which, it says, are extremely lightweight, feature a standard Q-factor (pedal stance width), and offer data that are accurate to within +/-1%. Aside from the strain gauges, all of the clever gubbins (it's a technical term) is integrated within the pedal axle. Available in single-sided and dual-sided options, the Look Keo Blade Power costs from £599.

2024 Look Blade Power pedal - 4

Look says that both the Keo Blade power meter pedals and the X-Track Power pedals use “the latest generation of electronic components combined with proven algorithms to allow consistent power measurement and reliable data with an accuracy of +/- 1%, regardless of air temperature or altitude”. 

> Best power meters for cycling 2024 — maximise your training with on-bike data to track your efforts 

There are already power-measuring pedals out there from the likes of Garmin, Wahoo and Favero, of course, and Look and SRM launched their Exakt pedals back in 2018, but Look believes that the Blade Power offers something new. 

Look’s global product manager Alex Lavaud said, “When we started the project, the aim was to get the lightest pedal with a standard Q-factor and stack height – which is really important because none of our competitors are offering that – while being easy to install and simple to use daily. This new lineup will establish itself as the benchmark to access power, which is the smartest way to train and progress.”

2024 Look Blade Power pedal - 3

Romain Simon, Look's bike products manager, said, “The key point to this pedal is that it’s the best on the market as far as power sensing goes. It is also an absolutely uncompromised pedal. We did not want to put a pod on the side to store all the electronics, we wanted to hide everything. We did not want to compromise on mechanical resistance or durability, so what we have is a power-sensing device and also a perfect pedal that is virtually indistinguishable from a normal Keo 2 Max Blade. You would be hard-pressed to know it's a power meter from the outside."

Look says, “[Our] Research & Development team has developed a proprietary auto-calibration algorithm to introduce a quick and easy set-up of the pedals, installing them in just 30 seconds with a 15mm wrench.”

Thirty seconds? That’s going some. We’ll have to put a timer on it when we get a set for review. The idea is that you can quickly move the pedals between bikes and easily swap between power measurement and normal pedals.

The French brand says, “There’s no need for rider position adjustment when moving between pedals as the Q-factor and stack height for X-Track Power and Keo Blade Power are similar to those of the standard Look pedals.”

2024 Look Blade Power pedal - 6

The Keo Blade Power pedals add no additional width while the stack height is 10.8mm, compared with 8.5mm for their non-power measuring cousins. The 705mm² contact surface is the same whichever route you go down.

> Look launches “fastest-ever” Keo Blade pedals that also offer “increased rider comfort and durability” 

Look claims a weight of 260g per pair of Keo Blade Power pedals. That compares with a claimed 230g for the base-level non-power Keo Blades (£139.99) and 190g for the super-posh Keo Blade Ceramic Ti (£299.99) – so the weight penalty is small.

For comparison, we weighed the Garmin Rally RK200 Dual-sensing power meter pedals at 330g and the Favero Assioma Duo power meter pedals at 300g.

The X-Track Power – the off-road version – has a pedal body that’s made from recycled aluminium. The contact surface is 550mm² and Look claims a weight of 400g a pair.

Naturally enough, Look says its new pedals can stand up to the most severe conditions.

“The electronic components and batteries are integrated within the pedal axle to eliminate the risk of water, mud and dust infiltration,” it says.

“X-Track Power pedals meet the requirements of IPX7 testing, while the Keo Blade Power pedals have been upgraded from the previous model with a new lever shape to improve durability and an updated centre of gravity for easier clip-in.”

An IPX7 rating means a product can be submerged in a meter of water for 30 minutes without harm or, more relevantly, cope with wet riding conditions.

2024 Look Blade Power pedal - 1

If you damage the pedal body, it can be replaced. Look offers a three-year extended warranty and a graduated three-year crash replacement programme as long as you register your pedals.  
 
As you’d expect, both types of pedals communicate via Bluetooth and ANT+ for compatibility with every major head unit out there. 

Look says, “The dedicated Look App offers riders a complete breakdown of statistics including normalised power, intensity factor, power zones, training stress score, functional threshold power, pedalling smoothness, and torque effectiveness.

“The Look App provides clear guidance on pedal installation, warranty registration, firmware updates, and accessing support materials. Moreover, users can carry out tasks such as product calibration, customise settings and monitor battery status.”

Speaking of the battery, Look reckons you get a whopping 60 hours of use before you need to recharge via USB-C. It says a full charge takes two hours or less, depending on the current.  

2024 Look X-Track Power pedal - 2

Both Keo Blade Power and X-Track Power (above) pedals are made in Look’s factory in France, and they are available with single-sided or dual-sided power measurement. The single-sided option provides a power sensor in just the left pedal, the system doubling the measurements to give your totals.

Keo Blade Power Body Carbon
Cleat Keo Grip 
Axle Steel
Retention 16Nm - Carbon
Contact surface 705mm2 
Q-factor 53mm 
Stack 10.8mm
Weight 260g (pair)
Price single £599
Price dual £899

X-Track Power Body Aluminium
Cleat SPD compatible
Axle Steel
Retention 6-14Nm
Contact surface 550mm
Q-factor 53mm 
Stack 10.7mm
Weight 400g (pair)
Price single £674.99
Price double £999.99

www.lookcycle.com

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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5 comments

Avatar
jaymack | 8 months ago
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While the cost is eye watering my main gripe is that they're rechargeable. Once the built in battery no longer holds a charge you'll be left with a very expensive pedal that performs the same function as something costing hundreds of £ less. Batteries can be recycled but I'd be surprised to the point of astonishment if you can replace these pedals rechargeable battery unit; madness.

Avatar
OnYerBike replied to jaymack | 8 months ago
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I think "madness" is an exaggeration. According to Look:

Quote:

 The battery capacity has been rigorously tested by LOOK: under normal conditions, it is reduced by less than 20% after 300 complete cycles. This corresponds to approximately 15 years of use at a rate of 15 hours/week.

(with translation by google)

Obviously you can take their numbers with a pinch of salt, but even so I do think most people would get many years' use out of these pedals, to the extent that it's anyone's guess whether they will die because the battery goes or because something else goes wrong (there are plenty of reports of power meters from pretty much any brand failing in various non-battery-related ways). 

Avatar
Smoggysteve replied to jaymack | 8 months ago
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I'm sure that's the same argument thrown at electric cars is it not? But those batteries can last for miles. The battery on my power meter lasts ages. So not sure if these will require charging on a weekly basis even with high use. 

Avatar
Losd | 8 months ago
0 likes

As usual; Look pedals are best avoided if you're a Clyde rider.

  • If you're above 85 kg, Look advises you to "... be particularly vigilant and have your pedals inspected more frequently than a person weighing less than 85 kg"
  • If you're above 100 kg, look (heh ;)) elsewhere: "LOOK pedals are designed and optimised for use by cyclists up to 100 kg (220.5 lbs)."
Avatar
the infamous grouse replied to Losd | 7 months ago
0 likes

they apply that limit to their bikes as well; one would have expected XL-size frames to withstand the load and forces of an XL rider, but apparently not.

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