Look KEO Blade 08 vs Wahoo Speedplay Zero: Which Triathlon Pedal System?

Pedal systems are one of those choices triathletes agonise over and then never revisit — you clip in thousands of times a season and barely think about it again. But the two systems below solve the same problem in genuinely different ways, and the right pick depends on what you’re actually optimising for: engagement feel, stack height, or long-term serviceability.

The Two Systems at a Glance

  • Look KEO Blade 08 — £129.99, ~115g per pedal (230g/pair), 14.8mm total stack height, external carbon-fibre leaf spring with user-replaceable blade, fixed float per colour (0°/4.5°/9°)
  • Wahoo Speedplay Zero — £179.99, 222g per pair, 11.5mm stack height, fully adjustable float from 0-15° set at the cleat, dual-sided entry

Weight and Stack Height

The Speedplay Zero is the clear winner on stack height at 11.5mm versus the KEO Blade’s 14.8mm — a real difference if you’re chasing an aggressive aero position on a TT or tri bike, since a lower pedal stack lets you drop saddle height without changing your effective leg extension. The trade-off is weight: the Blade’s external leaf-spring design keeps the pedal itself lighter (115g vs 111g per Speedplay pedal, close enough not to matter, but the systems diverge more once you add cleats and the Speedplay’s cleat-housed spring mechanism).

Float and Engagement

This is where the two systems genuinely disagree on philosophy. The KEO Blade ships in three fixed-float colours (0°, 4.5°, or 9°) — you choose your float once, at purchase, and it doesn’t change. The Speedplay Zero lets you dial in anything from 0° to 15° with a hex key at the cleat, which is useful if you’re still working out your ideal float or have asymmetric hip mobility. The KEO’s external blade spring also gives a noticeably snappier, more immediate engagement than a standard coil-spring pedal, and the tension is adjustable by swapping blades (8Nm standard, up to 20Nm available). The Speedplay’s spring lives in the cleat rather than the pedal, which keeps the pedal body simple but means the mechanism is more exposed to grit — Speedplay cleats “don’t tolerate mud well,” so this system suits clean road and TT use rather than gravel or wet, gritty training rides.

Which Should You Choose

Choose the Look KEO Blade 08 if you want sharp, predictable engagement, adjustable release tension, and a system that’s forgiving of variable riding conditions. It’s also the cheaper of the two.

Check price on Tredz — Look KEO Blade 08

Choose the Wahoo Speedplay Zero if you’re chasing the lowest possible stack height for an aggressive tri or TT position, want fully adjustable float, and mainly ride clean roads rather than gravel or wet winter lanes.

Check price on Tredz — Wahoo Speedplay Zero

For more pedal options across price points, see our best triathlon bike pedals guide, and if you’re weighing pedal-based power meters instead, our best power meter pedals roundup covers that ground.

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