A change of pedals can lop a chunk of weight off your bike and also give you a chance to switch to pedals that work better in other ways such as providing a broader platform for your shoes or user-friendly double-sided mechanism.
In the selection of lightweight, high-end pedals below we’ve picked pedals designed to save weight but that also improve over regular or less expensive designs in other ways.
For example, Look’s latest Keo Blade pedals have a very large steel contact plate, which in theory makes the cleat — and therefore the shoe — steadier on the pedal.
The Hairsine ratios for these pedals are based on Shimano’s 330g R540 pedals, except for the Ritcheys which we’ve compared with Shimano’s 374g M520s.
>>Read more: Buyer's Guide — The best clipless pedals
Ritchey Pro Micro V4 — £59.99
Weight: 210g Hairsine ratio: 2.73
Ritchey Pro Micro V4 Road Pedals - pair
The Ritchey Pro Micro Road Pedals are lightweight, sleek pedals for SPD-cleat users. At 210g (plus cleats), they’re are at the lighter end of heavy; they’re almost certainly the lightest option if you want to use shoes you can easily walk in.
Once clicked in they feel just as good as any other high-end SPD-style pedal, with a decent amount of float, no fore-aft slop and clean entry/exit even with grime underfoot. Being single-sided you have to look a bit, and without the SPD-SL's large rear end they don't hang ready to clip into.
We didn't find flipping them over to engage to be any hassle, the compactness meaning they didn't want to spin all the way over under their own gravity. Double-sided SPDs might be a boon off-road where you are clipping in-out frequently, but for even moderately-experienced road users the single-sidedness of the Ritcheys shouldn't be an issue.
Read our review of the Ritchey Pro Micro V4
Speedplay Zero Stainless Pedals — £149.99
Weight: 208g Hairsine ratio: 0.81
Speedplay Zero pedals
Those who love Speedplays rave about the low weight, adjustability, and shallow stack. But it's undeniable they need more looking after than most pedals, the large cleat is awkward to walk in (the new aero cleat is a big improvement on the original naked cleat though) and they're susceptible to clogging from eve the smallest amount of dirt.
But if you have knees that are in any way fragile, or you want pedals that are incredibly easy to enter and release but fit stiff-soled road racing shoes, their free float and double-sided designs make Speedplays well worth considering.
Read our review of the Speedplay Zero Stainless Pedals
Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 Carbon SPD-SL — £127.99
Weight: 248g Hairsine ratio: 0.64
Shimano dura ace SPD-SL pedal.jpg
Shimano's top-level road pedals boast the go-on-forever internals of previous Dura-Ace incarnations but now coming with a carbon composite body that lowers the weight.
The pedal body is 63mm wide, which is exactly the same width as Look Keo Carbon Blades, so you get a shed-load of stability. Your cleats just don't rock on these pedals; it's an absolutely rock-solid platform (as is the Look design). Where Shimano scores over its French rival is that the stainless steel plate across the centre of the pedal body — over the top of the axle — is replaceable. If you eventually wear it down, you can fit a new one without the need to buy a whole new set of pedals. That makes a lot of sense.
The SPD-SL cleats you get in the box have 6 degrees of float - meaning that you can pivot your foot 3 degreees in either direction before becoming unclipped. I've always found that to be plenty for keeping the old knees happy although, of course, you might be different.
Read our review of the Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 Carbon SPD-SL
Xpedo Thrust XRF08CT — £149.47
Weight: 184g Hairsine ratio: 0.98
Xpedo.jpg
Despite their conventional steel springs, these carbon-bodied Look Keo clones from the upmarket arm of Taiwanese pedal giant Wellgo are very light, thanks to their pared-down carbon fibre bodies and titanium axles.
Out on the road these provide you with a whole lot of stability. That wide pedal body gives you a solid platform underneath your foot for putting down the power, with no rocking from side to side. The mechanism hangs on to your cleat securely, and if you wind up the tension there’s virtually no chance of your foot disconnecting unexpectedly.
Read our review of the Xpedo Thrust XRF08CT
Look Keo Blade 2 Pro Team Carbon Ti Pedals — £179.99
Weight: 180g Hairsine ratio: 0.83
Look Keo Blade Ti Team.jpg
This is the lightest incarnation of Look’s Keo Blade pedals, which use a weight-saving carbon fibre leaf spring to provide the retention force in place of the usual steel coil.
We like the less expensive Keo 2 Max Blade and these have even more bells and whistles, including a very large steel contact plate for stability (700mm2 rather than the Max’s 400mm2) and titanium axle.
Look makes the Keo Blade 2 Ti in three versions with different spring tensions, but warns that you shouldn’t come crying to them if you crash because you can’t get out of the 20Nm version.
Read our review of the Look Keo Blade 2 Pro Team Carbon Ti Pedals
Time Xpresso 15 — £319.99
Weight: 140g Hairsine ratio: 0.59
TIME Xpresso 15 pedals
The Time Xpresso 15 pedals are extremely light and clipping in/twisting out could hardly be easier. The downside is the price, and the cleats wear noticeably faster than those of other brands.
At just 140g for the pair, they're phenomenally light thanks to carbon bodies, titanium axles, aluminium top plates and ceramic bearings. Clipping in is very easy thanks to a spring mechanism that stays open after you click out.
Read our review of the Time Xpresso 15
Speedplay Zero Titanium Nanogram — £539.99
Weight: 120g Hairsine ratio: 0.39
Speedplay Nanogram
At just 120g/pair these race-day-only pedals are Speedplay's demonstration that the Zero design can be made extraordinarily light. Speedplay has often displayed superlight bikes at trade shows; these pedals help make bikes like those even lighter.
The low weight is achieved by the use of every lightweight material you can think of: carbon-reinforced thermoplastic bodies; ceramic bearings; titanium axles; titanium bolts; and aluminium top plates. The cleats have been lightened too with carbon fiber replacing the plastic and aluminium fasteners instead of steel. They're bonkers expensive, but you have to admire the fanaticism.
