Product Review: Keywin Titanium Pedals

In the world of pedals, most of us probably ride Look, Shimano, or one or two other well-known brands. Let’s see a show of hands on this one – who’s heard of a company from down under called Keywin, who make possibly the lightest pedals on the market? That’s what I thought. Their Titanium pedals weigh in at 96 grams each, and make for one nice ride – here’s the scoop…

The standout feature of these babies is their weight – 96 grams per pedal – that’s light! (Slightly more when you add the cleats.) They’re made of space-age plastic (nylon polymer, reinforced with special fibers), with the spindle being our favorite light metal- titanium. They re also available with a chromoly spindle, that adds about 27 grams to each pedal.

Then there’s the float – a full 6 degrees – if you’re into that sort of thing and I am. Of course you can fix the pedals for that fully “locked-and-loaded” feeling. Getting your feet comfy is one of the most important parts of your bike set-up, and if locking your feet to your pedals were so easy, we’d all just drill holes and bolt our shoes to the spindle. With the Keywins, you can actually control the pressure of the float, a feature I’ve not seen in any other pedal.

They also come with optional Axle lengths available in; -3,-6, +3,+6 mm that allows you to position your feet to a set width, a nice feature since we’re all different!

The platform is also nice and big – there’ll be no flip-flopping around on these. The size is approx. 55 x 60mm (2” x 3”) for one of the biggest full-contact platforms on the market.

Another standout feature is the price – they’re available now for $147US per pair – direct from the North American distributor : Big Twin Cycling. Why is the price so low I wondered… well for starters, Keywin does not spend much on advertising. Who do you think pays for those cool ads in the end – right-o – it’s you! This would also explain why you may not have heard of ‘em.

Here’s what I might improve –

When disengaged, they tend to hang upside-down – at least mine did. This made clipping in a bit tricky – more so for me on my mostly urban rides. I’m told that this is typical of the new pedals, and that they’d loosen up over time and hang correctly… we’ll see.

The actual “clipping in movement” is not quite as easy as some other brands out there, but like anything it’s no prob after a few tries and you crack the knack – the same as any pedal.

The cleats were great when clipped in, but tricky to walk on. You’ll have to be careful walking through Starbucks on these, since they’re super slippy on those polished concrete floors –I speak from experience!

So What?
At the end of the day, I’ve been riding these pedals a lot – because they feel great when I’m pedaling and I’ve had some nice long rides on ‘em. We can all attest to the challenges associated with setting up a new set of pedals and cleats – if you’re like me, you spend way too much time fiddling about, looking for that “exact” position that feels just like you’re not clipped in at all. For whatever reason – I got the Keywins set up fast and they’ve become my “base-line set-up” –you know the one that you try to get all your other pedals to match?

So for now, my legs are feeling great, and I make sure I get my espresso at the cafй with the carpeted floor!

To order a pair, or for more info on Keywin Pedals, visit Big Twin Cycling.