Look Keo Easy Pedals

Look Keo Easy are excellent pedals for anyone learning to use cleats for road cycling.

Moulded plastic construction around an aluminium bolt makes them super light, but also rigid and robust. I bought them on offer for just £24, at which price they were an absolute steal.

They come with a set of grey cleat, roughly triangular. The grey cleats all for very little sideways movement whilst locked into the pedal, and they gave me aching knees. I replaced them with the red cleats, which allow a good deal more movement and thus put an end to aching knees - horses for courses, the grey ones might suit you better, we're all made differently.

There's an amount of adjustment available at each of the three lug points where the cleats attach to your cycle shoes, which I had assumed would be useful for setting them correctly to suit me, but in fact I found that it just made it awkward to get each one fitted properly to the shoe, and make both even. It was easier with subsequent sets - I suppose it's something you get used to doing.

The cleats are large, which makes them easy to find the right spot on the pedals without looking down, perfect for someone learning using cleats for the first time. Unfortunately, they are also chunky under the ball of your foot, so however comfortable your cycle shoes might be, these cleats make them uncomfortable to walk in.

I find that at times, I have to walk in them. Before I get on the bike, after I get off, when I find those irksome unbeatable hills, and when I stop for lunch or a pint when touring. At those time, the plastic cleats will take a beating on road surfaces, clop loudly on wooden surfaces (making you the centre of attention when heading for the bar), and are lethal on shiny surfaces where they encourage you to slide and fall over with every step - I ended up doing the splits in a bar where I stopped for lunch in France, all eyes already on me from the clopping, one foot began to slide, and when I adjusted my weight onto the other foot it slid as well, and I was sat in the splits - somebody started clapping whilst I painfully tried to stand, and it was a couple of hours before I was able to take the saddle again. Still you get used to it, just take care. The cleats can wear out quite rapidly on hard ground and require replacement - and with a set of cleats coming in at about £12 each time, or half the price i paid for the pedals including the cleats, it's not pocket busting, but it's an annoying expense - I had to replace my first set after six weeks (though since that first set, they've lasted much longer).

Look Keo Easy aren't for everyone - they're great to get started, but once riding cleats is natural for you, it's a good idea to change to something with a more robust steel cleat that's also much smaller and more comfortable to walk on. I recommend them to anyone who rides primarily on the road and wants to get started with cleats.