Review Update: June 17.

I’ve been using the pedals for two months now. The news is good. The pedals have performed very, very well. Click-in is easy and positive. It is accompanied by a distinct snap that echoes throughout the pedal body. The feel is a little bit different from the Eggbeater pedals I was used to so it took a couple of weeks until it became second nature.

Click-out is easy and consistent. The stock cleats offer 15 degrees of float and a 20 degree version will be available soon. Although there is 15 degrees of float, the cleat has a ‘centered’ location and there is bit of resistance along the the 15 degrees until the cleat is centered. Beyond the float, the pedal releases cleanly after a slight resistance. It seems easier to release than the Crank Brothers pedals. These pedals seem less likely to lock you in when an abrupt clickout is needed.

If you find the click-out resistance of the Crank Brothers Eggbeater just perfect, I think you will find that these Look Quartz pedals require less effort to click out. The only downside is you might inadvertently click out of the pedals in technical sections or during aerial maneuvers.

We did not have the opportunity to test these pedals in the mud but it is fairly clear that these will shed mud well. The open design provides very little surface for any mud to interfere with.

The pedals spun very smooth and displayed no noticeable play. After a month of use, the pedals spun more freely than new but they were not free spinning like some Shimano pedals that we’ve seen.

Verdict:

We are very satisfied so far. The pedals are light and spin nicely. They let us click in and click out consistently. They offer a large platform for less foot hotspots, although we haven’t felt a difference yet during riding. These look like they are going to work great in mud. And finally, they offer tremendous value at the $99 model weighing in at 260 grams.

The downside is the spring tension seems a bit light and is not adjustable. Thus accidental click-outs are a possibility for some riders. Also, the $399 Carbon Ti model is just a poor value. Another downside is initial setup can be tricky getting the pedal and sole interface to mate up perfectly. And as the sole of the shoe wears down, the shim stack on the cleat has to be adjusted to keep the shoe properly adjusted. Time will tell on the robustness and reliability of this pedal.

But this effort is a fantastic offering from Look. It’s great to have a new choice that is well-designed, light and offers good value.

Value Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

Overall Rating:

4.50 out of 5 Stars

Mtbr User Reviews:

http://www.mtbr.com/cat/drivetrain/Pedal/look/quartz-pedal/PRD_416749_135crx.aspx

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Introduction:

This is one of the most anticipated products this year. I’ve got my hands on a production model so it should be hitting the store shelves pretty soon.Why the fuss?

• it is a pedal from Look, which has a good track record of making excellent pedals
• it is a very simple, open design.
• the base model, the Look Quartz is very light and priced aggressively at $99/pair
• each pedal has 1 set of sealed bearing and a needle bearing. The more expensive Ti axle pedals have 2 sealed bearings and a needle bearing.

Claimed weight is 125 grams per pedal. Our test set (production model) came in at 130 and 129.5 grams each. In comparison, the Crank comparable Crank Brothers pedals are:

Candy SL at 303 grams/pair and $120 msrp

Candy 2Ti at 267 grams and $220 msrp.

The Look Quartz has a fairly light cleat as well at 32 grams a pair. The whole system with cleats and bolts weighs in at 298.5 grams. Our Candy SL system weight came in at 348 grams.

Packaging and construction seem first rate. The box it comes with seems quite a bit bigger than it needs to be. The parts are neatly separated and there is a good collection of cleat spacers that come with the system. There’s good instructions that come with it as well.

The instructions say it is important to use the right spacer for your shoe type. Basically, when the shoe is clipped in, they want the pedal body to be touching the shoe sole. This ensures proper shoe interface and the contact area between the shoe and the pedal is maximized. This should lead to better stability, better power transfer and good feet comfort.

The pedal body is very open. It looks like dirt and mud should be able to flow through the pedal pretty well. Also, the cage seems to be milled out in a couple of places to minimize weight.

The cleat is fairly small and is made out of a hard metal, similar to Shimano cleats.

Pedal weight and system weight:

Installation seems straightforward with these small cleats. However, on our Sidi Dragons, it seemed like the float of the shoe seemed a bit restricted. Also, clicking out required more effort than the typical pedal. So we looked at bottom of the shoe when clicked in the pedal and discovered that the sole was interfering with the pedal body when twisting the shoe to click out. We trimmed the shoe and it seemed much better after that.

Another thing we discovered is the sole on our shoe was worn down such that it wasn’t touching the pedal body at all. It looks like we will have to get some replacement soles to get optimum performance with this pedal.

Manufacturer Video

Ride report: Stay tuned….