Look Keo Power Pedals Go ANT+
Look has offered a power-meter pedal with transmitter pods, called Keo Power, since 2011. Many cyclists still haven’t heard of the pedal, however, and there’s a good chance they’ve never seen one in the wild. The reason: Instead of using the popular ANT+ wireless communication language, like many cycling electronics, Look first used Polar’s W.I.N.D. language (only readable by a Polar head unit) before switching to Bluetooth Smart. While Bluetooth made the pedals compatible with more devices—like smartphones—the power pedals still weren’t compatible with the multitudes of ANT+ head units, like Garmin’s, which dominates the market.
But in 2016 the Keo Power will finally gain ANT+ compatibility, while keeping Bluetooth Smart. With this update, the Keo Power pedal should become a lot more relevant and popular.
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The Look Keo is one of the best and most popular road pedals on the market, and building power measurement into the pedal has advantages: It provides left/right balance information (especially helpful for injury recovery); it is relatively lightweight (Look claims 398 grams for a pair of pedals with pods, a 150-gram weight increase over a standard Keo); and it does not change a bicycle’s drivetrain components or force the rider to abandon his or her favorite wheel system in order to get power readings.
According to Look’s website, current owners of Keo Power pedals—both W.I.N.D. and Bluetooth versions—can upgrade to the new dual-mode system. I requested further information about the upgrade program, but a representative of Look’s North American distributor said that details for US customers are not yet available.
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The same representative also said that US retail prices for the new dual-mode Keo Power system are not available. However, at the recent Eurobike trade show, Look quoted a set of metered pedals at €1,499 (about $1,700), and a set with only one pod-equipped pedal for €899 (about $1,000); the single pedal is upgradable to dual sided. For comparison, Garmin’s Vector 2 dual-sided system is $1,500; its 2S single is $900; and Powertap’s new dual-sided P1 pedals are $1,200.
With the Keo Power joining the ANT+ party, there are now three directly comparable power meter pedal systems on the market from reputable players. I’ve been using the Keo Power in Bluetooth form (with Polar M450 head unit) for a bit now and have been impressed, though installation is a bit tricky. Once I upgrade to the dual-mode pods, I plan to do a comparison test of the three systems. Stay tuned.
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