Quote Originally Posted by pll View Post
I have the Look Keo 2 Max, which I got following a recommendation of DarcyinOregon in this forum and a friend elsewhere. I like them a lot. I switched from SPDs this cycling season and I still have a little trouble clipping the left foot starting from a stop.
Hey thanks! Glad I could be of help.

Regarding clipping in with the left foot (that is the foot I plant at a stop too), I will pedal across a busy intersection and clip in on the other side as it is easy to pedal on a Look pedal without being clipped in. The fastest way to clip in on the Look Keo Max is to just feel the pedal with the foot, flip the pedal, plant the foot on the pedal and the shoe clips in. This pedal is used by a lot of racers, like Contador, and they clip in real fast. Where time is wasted is when the cylist looks down to see where the pedal is positioned, when it should just be a simple movement of the left foot to flip the pedal, no looking at all. It is almost like one movement, the toe of the left foot flips the pedal, the foot continues the forward movement to plant itself on the flipped pedal and the cleat clicks in.

Regarding the 2-bolt Shimano, use the old cleats to clip in to the spin bikes at the gym.

I also have a theory on the Shimano 2-bolt pedals, how they affected me, and the worse was on the hot summer days the foot pain was more intense on the long rides. I gave it a lot of thought, and I think the sun reflected off the asphalt, bounced back up through the metal pedals, the metal heated up, in turn the metal of the cleats also heated up, and because the cleats were recessed the heat was too close to the foot. If I did the same ride on a cold rainy day, I didn't get the same kind of pain, just the discomfort on the balls of the feet; but on the hot days, ouch, it was painful.

The Looks have a large platform, which mitigates a lot of foot pain, not a lot of metal to catch the heat of the sun, and having road bike shoes with the cleats not recessed helps even more.

With respect to wear on the cleats, I do what most cyclists do and that is not walk around in the road shoes too much, always have the sandals or tennis shoes handy, and try not to walk the steep grades. My left cleat did wear out on me a few months ago after about a year of use.