force10

Like the title says I have one pedal (left) that squeaks loudly on the downstroke. It’s driving me crazy and is no doubt annoying to those I ride with.

I have had the problem for months. It’s only one pedal (I unclip with the other side at stops). Replacing the cleat makes no difference (I have genuine Look cleats on there now but have used knockoffs too). I’ve cleaned it well with a toothbrush and alcohol.

Should I grease it (doesn’t seem right)? Wax it? Is the pedal shot??

Anyone experienced this and solved the problem? I’d love to hear about it.

cxwrench

Make sure the axle is attached to the body of the pedal tightly. And greased. Look pedals have been noisy for years. Decades.

gearbasher

I've been using look pedals since they first appeared. Yes, they do squeak. I've used silicone spray, pledge and car wax (all are treacherous for walking on tiled floors). It stops the squeak for about two rides. I've learned to live with it and now it bothers the people I ride with more than it bothers me.

force10

Thanks guys.

Crankycrank

I have a theory that may be completely off but I think the shape of your shoe sole may make squeaking worse for some. The less you have to bend the cleat to fit the sole the better and some type of shimming may help if needed. Also, if memory serves, I think I found that polishing the contact plate on the pedal so it's smooth and coating with carnauba wax for cars lasted a little longer than other lubes to keep the squeaking away. I didn't like putting anything on the cleats because, as mentioned, it made them too slippery to walk on. I would try to barrow some wax before spending on a tin of this to see if it works for you though.

DiabloScott

I'd forgotten how annoying that was... not a problem since I switched to road SPDs about 10 years ago.
I tried it all - the Teflon cleats, spray lube, Pledge... nothing worked for long.

CroMo Mike 

I had that squeaking problem with Look Delta's too. I found it was actually resulting from dirt getting into the dust shields and the plastic retainer nut on the shaft outside of the sealed cartridge bearing. I had to make a wrench to get the plastic retainer nut and shaft out of the pedal and a bearing holder clamp to remove the bearing just to clean the dust shields out, then put it all back together with a new bearing. Earlier attempts to fix it with spray lube, WD-40, wiping, and other quick fixes were of no use. BTW, don't contaminate the inner needle bearing while you have it apart. It is most likely still clean and would be hard to clean if you get it dirty (due to its location).

TiHabanero

Rode Delta pedals from Look from 1996 to 2019. Put up with only the right side pedal tp cleat squeak all that time. Finally I came to my senses and replaced them, not with Keo, but with SPD road pedals. No noise at all in three years. What the heck took me so long???
Get rid of the Look pedals and get Shimano SPD road pedals. You won't regret it.

gearbasher

Look made a tool for disassembling the pedals. You can still find one today. At about 5 times the original price.