Keywin CRM Pedals

Keywin pedals have been around for quite a while, yet remain fairly obscure. Here’s the Clif Notes take on them: light, cheap, highly adjustable. But despite these admirable traits I only know of two riders on them in our local community. Let’s take a closer look at these unsung heroes from New Zealand.

Price/Weight
Keywin’s site lists three models, the $150 324g (pedals, cleats, and hardware) CRM, the $199 299g Carbon, and the $299 245g Carbon Ti. I got the base model CRM for $140 from TTBikeFit.com, one of only two Keywin dealers in the US. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my CRM’s weighed only 268g thanks to Ti axles. I have no idea why Keywin’s site is unclear on this, but I’m guessing it’s because customers may not want to pay $160 extra to save 23 grams.

And speaking of price and weight, the CRM’s are 29g lighter and $490 cheaper than Speedplay Nanogram Zeros, 14g heavier and $310 cheaper than Time Iclic Titan Carbons, and 10g heavier and $280 cheaper than Look Keo Blades.

Keywin's large cleats provide stability and comfort.

Clipping In/Out
Clipping in is like most pedals, toe-in heel-down, with the addition of a heel-in click. Entry would be simple but for the fact that the pedals are so light that they can’t overcome bearing drag. If you don’t click in right away you’ll have to take a peek and make sure they’re right side up. This becomes a bit of a chore dodging midtown Manhattan traffic. Clipping out is a simple heels-out move. (Update: After a couple of months the bearings have broken in and the pedals stay toe up now. Clipping in is much easier.)

One hook (red arrow) keeps your heel down, one hook (green arrow) keeps your heel in.

Float
Keywins are unusual in that the pedal/cleat interface is rock solid. Its 6 degrees of float comes from the pedal body pivoting over the axle within. The float comes completely resistance-free, but you can increase its drag by tightening a rubber bumper against the axle. Despite being a Speedplay convert I didn’t care for the feel of the float, so I popped in a couple of inserts and made the pedals totally fixed. Cleat angle was tweaked during a roller ride and I’ve been good to go since.

Two inserts lock the outboard bearings and fix the pedal for no float.

Q-Factor
The CRM’s come in 5 axle lengths, listed at +6, +3, 0, -3, and -6mm. I opted for the -3, but had enough clearance to get the -6. If I were blessed with wide child birthin’ hips favored by old timey mother-in-laws I’d surely check out the longer spindles, available for $60 and user replaceable.

More Whining
The pedals ship with cleats engaged, so the very first thing you do is gouge up your brand new pedals and cleats by separating them with a screwdriver. This makes me want to say “Why? Why?” with a Kerriganesque intonation.

Pedal adjustments are hidden inside snap-on covers. Popping them out gouges the pedals some more. The cleats are just slightly less slippery than ice skates to walk on. Thankfully the retention hook is recessed and shouldn’t be worn out by walking.

Verdict
Pedals really aren’t all that glamorous. They should just do their job and stay out of the way. These do that while shaving a few grams and saving you a lotta bucks. They come from the land of Bret and Jemaine. What’s not to like?