Keywin pedals

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by bgorton
Has anyone used Keywin clipless pedals? How well do they perform?

My head coach (lots of experience) uses them on his bike and rates them highly. If you want more info then mail him at [email hidden]

I used to use Look 396 pedals but now I use Keywin. They are fantastic pedals, although fairly hard to find. Sometimes they show up on ebay, so I got 2 pair there. I weighed them, and they are 96 grams per pedal, almost half the weight of Look.

The original Keywin clipless pedals were the first clipless pedals I ever owned (ca. '89). I don't know what the current ones are like but my Keywins had a nylon pedal body. Sure it was lightweight but also prone to wear and just plain looks cheap. The cleats had to be mounted with six screws directly to the shoe since it didn't fit any "standard" hole pattern. They were fixed, no pivot or float at all. Personally, I hated the Keywins. I used them for one year before going to LOOK.

Tech72

Six screws?
What shoes are they compactible with?

So long as they are stiff, strong and adjusted correctly I'm willing to give them a go.

Can you buy cleats with float?

Brian

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Brizza
Six screws?
What shoes are they compactible with?

So long as they are stiff, strong and adjusted correctly I'm willing to give them a go.

Can you buy cleats with float?

Brian

The Keywins I had were the early model with cleats that mounted directly to the sole of my shoes (Adidas Eddy Merckx) with six self taping screws - basically wood screws. The screws were short enough to attach the cleats to the shoes without going through the nylon soles. Aligning and mounting the cleats was difficult because you only had one chance to get it right or your soles would end up with a number of extra holes.

I believe current Keywins cleats are LOOK pattern and the pedals were re-designed to have some float. The pedal body is still that cheap nylon material though. I think they even have a Ti spindle version these days. Keywins are lighweight if nothing else.

Tech72

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Brizza
Six screws?
What shoes are they compactible with?

So long as they are stiff, strong and adjusted correctly I'm willing to give them a go.

Can you buy cleats with float?

Brian

The Keywins I had were the early model with cleats that mounted directly to the sole of my shoes (Adidas Eddy Merckx) with six self taping screws - basically wood screws. The screws were short enough to attach the cleats to the shoes without going through the nylon soles. Aligning and mounting the cleats was difficult because you only had one chance to get it right or your soles would end up with a number of extra holes.

I believe current Keywins cleats are LOOK pattern and the pedals were re-designed to have some float. The pedal body is still that cheap nylon material though. I think they even have a Ti spindle version these days. Keywins are lighweight if nothing else.

Tech72

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Brizza
Six screws?
What shoes are they compactible with?

So long as they are stiff, strong and adjusted correctly I'm willing to give them a go.

Can you buy cleats with float?

Brian

The Keywins I had were the early model with cleats that mounted directly to the sole of my shoes (Adidas Eddy Merckx) with six self taping screws - basically wood screws. The screws were short enough to attach the cleats to the shoes without going through the nylon soles. Aligning and mounting the cleats was difficult because you only had one chance to get it right or your soles would end up with a number of extra holes.

I believe current Keywins cleats are LOOK pattern and the pedals were re-designed to have some float. The pedal body is still that cheap nylon material though. I think they even have a Ti spindle version these days. Keywins are lighweight if nothing else.

Tech72

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Brizza
Six screws?
What shoes are they compactible with?

So long as they are stiff, strong and adjusted correctly I'm willing to give them a go.

Can you buy cleats with float?

Brian

Im asuming we are talking about the same thing, Keywin pedals are made in my home country of NZ, I have riden them for years, the originals where terrible though, wear, pulled feet, not compatible ect but the new ones are primo. They are still Nylon but a completly differant design to the old ones, they fit onto look compatable shoes. The "float" is in the pedal itself, not the cleat and it is adjustable. They can be adapted onto an Old set of Keywins also for about 1/2 the price of a new set. What sold me though was the track lock. A small pin that comes up through the pedal and into the cleat makeing it extremely hard to pull your foot (I managed once, but I was trying to and it was alot of effort). If anyone is looking for some or trying to source cleats I would be more than happy to help arange....only drawback is they are a reasonably high maintanance pedal... they get sloppy after abit but can be readjusted.

The spindle is high maintenance?
What is the [censored] spindle like for maintenance?

Are they getting loose or is it a bearing problem?

Brian

Its actually 2 problems, 1 is they do get a little loose, 2 is they have a small plastic cover over the end of the bearings, which tends to go missing leaving the cavity open to dust, dirt ect....the Ti spindal I havnt used so cant comment sorry, ment to mention these things where originally designed using a spindal from a Suntour pedal....they will fit on if you have an old pair of suntours floating about...just need an adapter kit.

I should clarify what I mean by high maintanance....needs adjusting every 2 - 3000 km. dont have to replace things often, I find the cleats (1/2 the price of look cleats) are compareable if not better than looks as far as wear goes

It appears that Nashbar and the like have a flood of these pedals in inventory now 11/2004. Picked up my Ti pair for $69 with cleats. I did not find the cleats to be less expensive than the looks - keywin $20 for cleats. I spent time looking for reviews before purchase including this thread and I decided to throw in my thought too.

Previously riding on Look carbon pedals I am probably saving 120grams. But I was wearing out/snaping cleats 3 times a year on the 8 year old look pedals and figured it time for a change. The Look pedals are rear heavy and the pedals settle in a constant position. My keywins did but when clicking into them I had a Look inspired tendency to use too much power rather than form. I found it difficult to know when I was clicked in - no Look sounding lock and sealed loud snap. But after I was in they were secure. I road them with the default tension - minimal float as I did with Look. I ride on relatively flat course with many short sprints.

The first thing I felt was that the Look system with the weight toward the rear support toe (down) and heel (up) pedaling. The Keywin just felt limp and played no part in directing motion. After riding 10 miles my shins had noticable pain which I only get when running. I have not had time to adjust the cleat thoroughly but just my first impression mimicing the Look cleat placement (middle) which leave me with only 2cm or so of correction. I definitely need to correct this fit - beware of seemingly different pedal position/motion.

I do not know why, I installed Racer Lite tires and new rear wheel too, but cornering (and pedaling through the corners) was awesome and I had no fear of pedal touchdown. As Keywin mentions I needed 2 (forward most) cleat position longer screws than they supplied (my old Look screws were fine) I ride SIDI shoes.

Verdict, I had planned to donate my Look pedals but I will kept them to see how the Keywins adjust. The Keywins are hot at $69-$79 but this shin thing bothers me. Keywin has a 30 day money back guarantee but there has to be some fix.

I think the Look cleats I have been buying the last four years are designed to wear out fast - I snap the front lip easily and it if I touchdown on the road they melt. My original cleats lasted three years I think they were lined with a kevlar or something - let me know if there really are different grades of Look cleats.

[font=Arial]You mentioned Nashbar. Who or what are they and do they have contact details.[/font]

6061RoadRacer said:

It appears that Nashbar and the like have a flood of these pedals in inventory now 11/2004. Picked up my Ti pair for $69 with cleats. I did not find the cleats to be less expensive than the looks - keywin $20 for cleats. I spent time looking for reviews before purchase including this thread and I decided to throw in my thought too.

Previously riding on Look carbon pedals I am probably saving 120grams. But I was wearing out/snaping cleats 3 times a year on the 8 year old look pedals and figured it time for a change. The Look pedals are rear heavy and the pedals settle in a constant position. My keywins did but when clicking into them I had a Look inspired tendency to use too much power rather than form. I found it difficult to know when I was clicked in - no Look sounding lock and sealed loud snap. But after I was in they were secure. I road them with the default tension - minimal float as I did with Look. I ride on relatively flat course with many short sprints.

The first thing I felt was that the Look system with the weight toward the rear support toe (down) and heel (up) pedaling. The Keywin just felt limp and played no part in directing motion. After riding 10 miles my shins had noticable pain which I only get when running. I have not had time to adjust the cleat thoroughly but just my first impression mimicing the Look cleat placement (middle) which leave me with only 2cm or so of correction. I definitely need to correct this fit - beware of seemingly different pedal position/motion.

I do not know why, I installed Racer Lite tires and new rear wheel too, but cornering (and pedaling through the corners) was awesome and I had no fear of pedal touchdown. As Keywin mentions I needed 2 (forward most) cleat position longer screws than they supplied (my old Look screws were fine) I ride SIDI shoes.

Verdict, I had planned to donate my Look pedals but I will kept them to see how the Keywins adjust. The Keywins are hot at $69-$79 but this shin thing bothers me. Keywin has a 30 day money back guarantee but there has to be some fix.

I think the Look cleats I have been buying the last four years are designed to wear out fast - I snap the front lip easily and it if I touchdown on the road they melt. My original cleats lasted three years I think they were lined with a kevlar or something - let me know if there really are different grades of Look cleats.

Hasselhoff said:

[font=Arial]You mentioned Nashbar. Who or what are they and do they have contact details.[/font]

www.nashbar.com

Hasselhoff said:

[font=Arial]You mentioned Nashbar. Who or what are they and do they have contact details.[/font]

Contact information.. they are at
Nashbar.com

They are a discount bicycling supplier/seller in the US. But many searches have a price feed from them shown in 3rd party catalogs (or vice versa) so you may see many companies online selling these at that price.

I picked them up the first week available in the snail mailed catalog for $69... the shipment came with a new catlog listing them at $79 so I guess they had a lot of action on them and will rise by holiday season. Anyway about Nashbar. They are very reputable company and have fast well packaged delivery and also they have many locations across the US. I am not promoting BikeNashbar I just know they have them and their catalogs online quantity ticker is very accurate.

Just goto nashbar.com and search on a partnumber below or goto pedals/clipless road and find keywins they have TI and Cro ($49 or so)

nashbar.comprofile.cfmOpen ↗

bgorton said:

Has anyone used Keywin clipless pedals? How well do they perform?

GREAT pedals! That's what I use on both my road bikes.
1) Keywin pedals are ultra lightweight, and it is surprisingly noticable.
2) Keywin pedals are very easy to clip into, and provide a very secure attachment. Since they are lightweight, they don't flip upside down as easy as my Look pedals did, very important for clipping in at the beginning of a race
3) At first they are a bit difficult to get out of (unclip). Not terribly so, just a bit tougher than my Look's were.

All in all, they are fantastic. I've used other brands besides Keywin and Look (I only mention this because I mentioned Look above), and I personally like the Keywin's best of all.

I'm thinking about ordering the Keywin pedals from nashbar but are they the CRM model or not? I'd like the option of adjusting float in my pedals.

Love them. got a pair of the lighter ti ones that are older-no float CRM's from nashbar for like 50 bucks. i do triathlons in a mtn-ous area so i have to run on the clips a lot-easy tp dp they are flat and wide. they are SO easy to get in and out of...easiest yet. they never get stuck upside down. they are firm and have no give when i try to get my foot in the shoe well riding. i just love them. my fear---i cannot find replacement cleats or more pedals for under 150 bucks--i shoulda bout that nashbar out. so if you hate your keywins---sell them to me.

and float is silly--i get plenty of room in my shoe. i swear by float sucking unless your and touring and i get all sore kinda person...but to race--why would you want your foot flooping around. i would rather have the older no floats (so you no float haters--just send them to me COD!!!)

best peds i've road and i've road them all but the m2's and be bops