Monday 21 July 2025 at 17h42
It was already 40 years ago, in 1985, that the automatic pedal saw the light of day, and led to Bernard Hinault's victory in the Tour de France, the last of his 5 victories in the Grande Boucle.
Over the past 40 years, the automatic pedal has continued to evolve, but it was the revolutionary idea of switching from ski bindings to a bicycle pedal that formed the basis of the pedal as we know it today. On the occasion of this 40th anniversary, let's take a look back at the history of the automatic pedal created by LOOK Cycle, then owned by Bernard Tapie.
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40 years of LOOK Cycle's automatic pedal history
In 1983, Bernard Tapie bought the LOOK company, and it was two years later, in 1985, that the company invented the first automatic pedal (the PP65) and launched the very first carbon frame (the KG86).
Since then, no fewer than 11,000 pro rider victories (including 650 in Grand Tours) and over 10 million pairs of pedals have been produced.
Invented, designed and developed entirely in-house (see diagram below), the PP65 pedal quickly made a name for itself, notably with Bernard Hinault's victory in the 1985 Tour de France and his heavy crash 800 meters from the line in Saint-Etienne during stage 14, following which he declared (with a double fracture of the nose and a gash to the scalp): I've still got my two legs, my two arms, I think that's the most important thing. Without the PP65, the fall would have been much worse and I probably wouldn't have been able to set off again the next day. It's the most important technological evolution of the last 30 years".
In 1986, Bernard Hinault continued on the pedals and on a LOOK frame, and although this time he finished second in the overall classification on his last appearance, behind team-mate Greg LeMond, he still won the Alpe d'Huez stage, as well as a long time-trial around Nantes and the loop stage around Saint-Etienne, as well as the mountain classification (polka-dot jersey), all while wearing the race's yellow jersey for 5 days.
In 1987, it was Jean-François Bernard's turn to wear the yellow jersey after winning the time-trial to Mont Ventoux, as well as the penultimate stage to Dijon. In the end, he finished 3rd overall, and it was with an automatic LOOK pedal that Catherine Marsal became World Champion in 1990. LOOK Cycle didn't stop the progress, and in 1990 invented the "MAX one", the first on-bike computer, which was to become the first power sensor, with data made directly available to the team's sports directors and to TV. LOOK didn't rest on its laurels when it came to pedals either, and in 1992 introduced the PP286, featuring the "Free Arc" (manual adjustment knob incorporated into the pedal lever) and the "Dynamic positioner" (adapted positioning on the pedal) to optimize each cyclist's morphology. It also featured a specially designed contact surface to promote greater resistance to pedal wear by the cleat.
In 1992, it was with this pedal - and a LOOK frame - that Laurent Jalabert won the Roubaix > Brussels stage of the Tour de France. Mario Cipollini did the same at Ghent-Wevelgem the following year, while Luc Leblanc became World Champion with LOOK pedals in 1994. Laurent Jalabert continued with Milan-San Remo and a final victory in the Vuelta a España in 1995. Laurent Jalabert was a true LOOK rider throughout his career, taking no less than 138 victories with them ... even if he too had the experience of falling over with it, in front of a red light, as we see in the interview below 😀.
Between 2000 and 2010 then came the era of carbon and pedaling ergonomics, with the introduction of the CX7 pedal, with its 170-gram weight and 21-gram carbon body. The pedal's spacing from the crank could be adjusted by 10 mm to bring the foot as far back on axis as possible for optimum performance. It was also possible to adjust the pedal attitude (the pressure on the pedal according to the sole of the foot), with an amplitude of 6 degrees (+3° to 3°).
And in 2004, we approached the LOOK pedal as we know it today, with a new standard of cleat, called Kéo, developed with the aim of saving weight on the cleat and pedal assembly, while remaining compatible with shoes on the market. And that's where carbon came into its own, to create the lightest possible pedal without compromising on reliability.
In 2005, Thor Hushovd won the points classification on this pedal, and his team-mates Robbie McEwen and Simon Gerrans in the Crédit Agricole team also benefited from it for their speed peaks.
And in 2009, it was with the brand-new LOOK KEO 2 MAX thatAlberto Contador won the Tour de France, while Alejandro Valverde did the same in this year's Vuelta a España. This pedal boasts a very large, wide stainless steel bearing surface (340 mm, 12% more than a KEO CARBON), and weighs just 122 g per pedal.
Based on a 2007 patent, LOOK then introduced the KEO BLADE in 2010, replacing the steel springs with a buckling carbon blade. This saves weight and provides a more immediate on/off feel. And the exploits continue, with Thomas Voeckler 's 10 days in the yellow jersey and his 4th place overall.
In 2014, the KEO Blade was re-launched, with a new design and a more aerodynamic profile. It also boasts a new bearing surface, increased by 75%, and is even lighter. Now it's Peter Sagan's turn to continue his story in green with this new pedal. Jean-Christophe Péraud finished 2nd overall in the Tour de France, while Nairo Quintana took overall victory in the Giro d'Italia.
The victories continue in 2018 when Alejandro Valverde becomes World Champion and in 2019 when Richard Carapaz wins the Giro d'Italia, while Romain Bardet takes the polka-dot jersey for best climber in the Tour de France.
2021 and 2022 see the first Tour de France victories of Tadej Pogčar on LOOK pedals, and 2022 also sees the victory of Annemiek van Vleuten in the Tour de France Femmes. Victor Lafay wins stage 2 of the Tour de France 2023 in San Sebastian on a LOOK frame and pedals, shortly after Victoire Berteau's victory in the French Championships.
2024 sees the launch of the KEO Blade 4, with optimized front sections and smoother transition zones to reduce the pedal's aerodynamic drag. Aerodynamics are also improved. It was on this pedal that Biniam Girmay won the points classification in the Tour de France 2024, and Benjamin Thomas became Olympic track champion.
The same year saw the first integration of power measurement into an automatic pedal, with the Kéo Blade Power. This pedal became the most powerful and lightest power meter on the market (260 g per pair), while retaining the "Blade" system introduced in 2010 and the Kéo cleats that has made it such a success since 2004.
With Raphaël Jeune, Sports Marketing Manager at LOOK Cycle, we look back at the history of LOOK pedals and the various innovations, while daring to mention the competition, with Ekoi's PW8 shoe-pedal.
Partnership with Cofidis: LOOK frames and pedals for the French team
In 2023, LOOK frames return to the professional peloton, based on a partnership with the Cofidis team, which also uses LOOK pedals. We've already mentioned this in the Raphaël Jeune interview above, but we also took the opportunity to interview Cofidis team manager Cédric Vasseur:door Thomas Vergouwen
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