The French brand LOOK are considered to be the inventors of clipless pedals. In the 80s, they transferred their know-how from ski bindings to road bikes and launched the first bicycle pedals that allowed you to click in like you could with skis. Have they been just as successful at applying their know-how to flat pedals?
Pin diameter 3 mm | Number of pins 8 | Pin insertion below | Manufacturer’s website
Although LOOK have a long history of making clipless pedals, the Trail Fusion are the French brand’s first flat pedals. They’re made in France using composite material and are the most affordable option in the test field, priced at € 49.99. Weighing in at 324 g, they’re also the lightest pedals on test. As with all composite pedals, the pins screw in from below and are held in place with small nuts. This makes it much easier to replace pins if they get damaged. The Trail Fusion pedals have the fewest pins in our test field with just 8 pins per side. At just 13 mm tall, the platforms of the pedals are super thin around the edge, but they’re about 4 mm taller in the middle to accommodate the axles, giving the platforms a slightly convex shape. Unfortunately, LOOK didn’t think about maintenance when designing the pedals, because you need special tools to open them, which unnecessarily complicates servicing the bearings.
The LOOK Trail Fusion pedals on the trail
On the trail, the LOOK pedals offer a decent amount of grip, comparable to the OneUp pedals. In the vast majority of situations, your feet remain securely in place, while still allowing you to shift your feet where necessary. However, your feet will soon start to slip if the trail gets very rough, and the Trail Fusion pedals don’t come close to the TATZE or Chromag in terms of grip. This is partly due to the composite pedals’ convex shape, which makes them feel a bit less defined underfoot and makes it more difficult to place your feet correctly without looking down. In addition, the platforms are somewhat small for riders with large feet, measuring 105 x 104 mm. At first glance, the LOOK’s design seems like it might pack up with mud, but it still has good self-cleaning properties thanks to the smooth and chamfered struts.
The French pedal experts take on the competition with their first flat pedals, the LOOK Trail Fusion. Looking at their specs, they immediately stand out from the crowd, boasting low weight, low price (€ 49.99) and French manufacturing. They’ve got good self-cleaning properties and provide decent grip, too, though they feel somewhat undefined due to the convex shape of the platforms. Since opening them up requires special tools, maintenance can also be tricky.
Tops
- good grip
- affordable
Flops
- special tools needed to open them up
- too small for big feet
You can find out more about at lookcycle.com
Click here for an overview: The best pedals for mountain bikers
all pedals in Review: Acros Clipless Pedal | Crankbrothers Mallet E LS | Hope Union | HT T2 | Shimano XT PD-M8120 | TIME SPECIALE 12 | Chromag Dagga | Crankbrothers Stamp 7 | Hope F22 | Look Trail Fusion | Nukeproof Horizon Pro Sam Hill | OneUp Composite Pedal | Race Face Atlas | Sixpack Kamikaze RA | SQ Lab 50X | Tatze Link Composite |
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Words: Simon Kohler Photos: Jan Richter
