Look Trail Roc+ flat pedals review

Clipless pedal manufacturer Look hopes its all-new Trail Roc+ flats will break the brand into the flat pedal market, thanks to input from freeride star Thomas Genon.

Made in France, the pedal's 103x101mm platform is constructed from forged aluminium. This spins on a Chromoly axle using two roller bearings and a needle bearing.

There are 10 rear loading pins per side, each 5.5mm long.

Look claims the pedals have a concave shape. However, the central axle support measures 18mm, while the leading and trailing edges are 14.5mm deep, suggesting they have a convex profile.

The pedal’s sides are tapered, but the leading and trailing edges are stepped rather than chamfered.

They’re available in three colours: black (tested), orange, and silver.

My test pedals weighed 408g.

Look Trail Roc+ flat pedal performance

The long, sharp pins dominate the Trail Roc+’s feel, producing an enormous amount of bite into the bottom of your shoes.

The pins also create a good amount of effective concavity, lifting the centre of your foot away from the large axle support.

Despite this, it’s possible to feel the centre of the pedal through your shoes. The single central pin accentuates this further, increasing pressure on the ball of your foot.

Removing the centre pin helped restore some of the effective concavity – it’s a highly recommended alteration.

The grip is reasonable but there is some walk across the pedal’s surface until your foot butts up against the crank, but this isn’t as bad as you’d expect given the convex profile.

Repositioning your foot – once it has settled against the crank – requires a deliberate lift from the platform.

There are no major instability issues, and neither do they require super-accurate foot placement. That said, a fractionally larger platform would only improve grip.

Arguably riders with smaller feet would be better suited to the Trail Roc+.

Foot clawing is limited, too.

The lipped, square leading and trailing edges aren’t great at brushing off impacts with the ground or rocks. However, these impacts didn’t bend or damage the pedals during testing.

The axle spins freely and smoothly, exuding quality.

A lack of left or right designation makes installing the Look Trail Roc+ trickier than other mountain bike pedals.

Look Trail Roc+ flat pedal bottom line

Long, sharp pins make the Trail Roc+ impressively grippy, and the made-in-France credentials, plus smooth-running bearings help justify the price tag.

However, a convex profile and average-sized platform work against them. If Look could size up the body and decrease the depth of the axle the Trail Roc+ pedals would be a top performer.