Here’s a bit of bike pedal history for you: back in 1983, Jean Bernard & Michel Mercier patented the Look clipless pedal, the first commercially successful pedal of its type. Three years later, in 1986, the pedals were actually introduced to the consumer market (Hinnault won the TDF on a set of prototype pedals in 1985). Look continues to produce cutting edge designs and for the MTB market, they offer the Quartz pedal in three different configurations. I recently had a chance to test the entry level Quartz pedal that features a chromoly axle and fiberglass reinforced polyamide body.
The Look Quartz pedals weigh 280 grams for the pair which, when compared to similarly priced pedals ($95-$150), are fairly lightweight. The shape of the impact resistant polyamide body has been honed to eliminate unnecessary material while maximizing mud shedding capabilities. One of the hallmarks of great design is simplicity and clearly Look has been refining and perfecting their pedal designs over many years. Case in point: the 2009 model Quartz pedal sports an improved spring wire design that makes entry and release even smoother that the previous year’s model. Each set of Quartz pedals comes with 15 and 20 cleats and all the necessary hardware.
Installing the pedals was a snap. You can use an 8mm allen wrench or even better, a torque wrench set to 40Nm to get the pedals set in the crank arms perfectly. Remember, bike pedals are threaded LH (counter clockwise) and RH handed threads (clockwise).
When installing the Quartz pedal cleats you’ll need to set the correct cleat height using the included shims. It too me about half an hour to set the cleats properly and I had to take the cleats off more than once to get things right (follow the printed or online installation instructions). After finding the right height for my Shimano shoes (about a 1.5mm shim stack) I added a touch of grease to the bolts and torqued them to 5 Nm. By following the instructions I got perfect engagement and a clean, crisp, and quick click in. I also found the Quartz pedals produced the right amount of float and zero drag on the feet when trying to engage or disengage.
On the trails the Look Quartz worked really well and I can honestly say these were some of the best clipless pedals I have tested so far. You know a set of pedals is pretty amazing when you don’t have to look down during an entire ride; the Quartz proved to be just that type of pedal. Placing my foot on the pedal greeted me with a positive click every time and I never once worried if I was indeed clipped in or not. On or off the saddle I felt very comfortable and the little bit of angular float (3degrees) kept my legs feeling fine without any knee strain. When I wanted out it was a simple twist and they instantly released without any hang up. Even with the nasty Canadian weather this time of year, these pedals didn’t clog with frozen slushy mud or the tacky underlay.
Overall I am very satisfied with these pedals. The only draw back I can find is that you can’t increase the spring tension. Although my feet never popped out during testing, I could also see the need to re-shim the cleats as the soles of my shoes wear down a bit. I’ll continue using these pedals over the next few more months and will give you all a heads up if I run into any issues. But for now, all is good.
Look Quartz pedals are available in two additional configurations, each featuring an injection molded carbon body. The Quartz Carbon Ti ($420 MSRP) features a titanium axle and a single pedal weighs just 120g.
The Look Quartz pedals a great set of lightweight pedals for the money. I would not hesitate to recommend these since they definitely give some of the other brands a run for their money. As with any high quality bike gear, make sure you follow the installation instructions to get the best experience possible.
Specs from Look
Polyamide and fiberglass body
Steel axle
1 Cartridge / 1 Needle bearing
1 Lip seal / 1 Bearing seal
3 Degree Angular play
1,5mm Lateral play
318 grams with cleats and bolts
1 Pair of 15 play , 1 Pair of 20 play cleats, along with shims.
Thanks to the folks at Look for providing the Quartz pedals for review.
1 Comments
Sep 28, 2011
I like the float on the Crank Bros. (the wear of the cleat quickly gives you more than the spec’d 6deg.) vs. the Time’s (which seems less than the advertised 5deg). I also prefer the lower release tension of the Crank Bros. vs. the Time’s.
Would stick with the Crank Bros. but they have some deal-breaking problems (very finicky entry – the Eggbeaters rotate “away” from the cleat and the position of the Candy’s wings need to be in the right place which doesn’t alway happen quickly, the ease of release seems to vary greatly due to the slop in the mechanism as if pedal/sole contact sometimes can make it much harder to release depending on where I am in the pedal stroke, and the release if the bottom of the pedal hits something).