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By Thien Dinh

Look Cycles USA will be rolling out a new pedal fitting process this year, called the Keo Cleat Fit System. Developed in-house by Look’s own Pedal Product Manager Fred Roudergues, the system aims to help cyclists select the best cleat based on angular float and also to correctly position the cleat on the shoe.

The first step in the process is to setup the cleats properly on the rider’s shoes. This is done by having the cyclist stand up against a wall and measuring the ball of his/her foot in relation to the wall and then translating that onto the shoe. Once the cleats are installed properly, the fitter will setup the cyclists bike on a trainer with specially equipped Keo pedals that will be used to measures and analyzes each complete cycle of the pedal stroke. The cyclist will pedal 3 mins at a regular cadence of 60-90 RPM while the system measures values for both position and amplitude. The position value will help the fitter determine the best position on the shoe for the cleat, while the amplitude value will help the fitter determine which Keo cleat will best suit the cyclist. The process is done twice to get an average value for position, which the fitter will then use to correct the positioning of the cleat.

Once the fitter determines the best angular position for the cleat on the shoe, the fitter will use a special angular measuring tool that will reposition the cleat in the optimum position on the shoe. The cyclists will then cycle another 3 mins to verfiy that the adjustments are correct and that the cleats fall within range of the optimum position. Depending on the amplitude values recorded during the fit, the fitter may swap out the cyclist’s cleat. Look offers three different cleats depending on desired float.

The system has been in use over in the French market for over a year now and will go into use in most other markets this year. The price on a Look Keo Cleat Fit is still TBD, but there should be some flexibility in price. For instance, a dealer could throw it in with a bike purchase, pedal purchase, or as part of a more complete fit.

Having gone through the fit process myself, I can definitely recommend anyone already on the Keo system to get fitted. Though cleat positioning is only part of a complete bike fit, it is still an important and often overlooked aspect.