LOOK Pedals: Red or Black Shoe Plates

If you’ve got clip less pedals they are probably Look, when you bought them they came with either red or black shoe plates, they are very different and maybe you would be better with the other ones, learn the difference and maybe ride more comfortably.

LOOK pedals were the first and are probably still the most used clip less pedal on the market, at first they only had the black shoe plate which holds the foot solidly on the pedal without any movement, the next improvement was the red shoe plate that allows the foot to swivel on the pedal.

LOOK shoe plates are fairly large giving lots of support for the sole of the shoe, they fit with a three bolt system and so have a lot of adjustment in all directions and you get your foot as close or as far away from the crank as you need.

LOOK then changed the design of the pedal slightly so that you could adjust the amount of movement of your foot when clipped into the pedal, here we will go through the evolution of the LOOK shoe plate.

The Black Plate

French road star and five-time winner of the Tour de France winner, Bernard Hinault, was the first to appear with LOOK clip less pedals, they were developed from LOOK ski bindings with Hinault’s help and they have not looked back since.

Originally they had the black shoe plate, they don’t allow for any movement of the foot, which for some people this feels more secure and with some knee problems it can be better for the tendons.

Many people don’t like them for the same reasons that they don’t “float” which can cause knee problems.

Also the black plate is more difficult to set up as you have to get the plate spot-on correctly positioned on the sole of the shoe, because there is no movement it does not allow for any mistakes when setting up.

The Red Plate

The red plate was a natural progression from the black version; this plate has a rounded section at the back which allows the heel to rotate in and out from the crank, which can save any injuries to the knees, hips and ankles.

The float on the plate also allows for any miss alignment of the plate because your foot isn’t held in one position on the pedal, so if you haven0t positioned it properly then this allows a little bit of play.

There are now some new red plates with silicon inserts at the nose and at the points of contact at the back, these help with wear and stop any squeaking, which can happen when the plates get dry, they also seem more secure and when you clip in they feel and sound more solid.

The New LOOK Keo Pedals

The Keo is not very different from the old LOOK pedals, the system is the same, but the plate is smaller although it does have a bigger platform surface than the old one. It’s also lighter and still has the same fitting points as the Delta, LOOK say that the engagement and disengagement is easier.

LOOK is probably your first choice of clip less pedals, there are quite a few other companies in the pedal world, all have slightly different systems with more or less float, small plates, like SPD’s, have been tried but have problems with engaging and can be fowled by dirt and small stones.

Which ever you chose make sure you set them up properly and that you are comfortable.