The HT PK02 Carbon Pedals represent great value if you’re looking for a lightweight, carbon fibre performance road pedal to rival options from the more mainstream brands. The Look Keo-style pedal is essentially the same weight as Shimano’s Dura-Ace and Keo Blade Ceramic pedals at less than half the price – and all without any obvious step down in quality.
For other options, check our best clipless pedals buyer’s guide.
> Buy now: HT PK02 Carbon Pedals for £98.99 from TradeInn
I was unfamiliar with the HT brand before I received these for testing. Coming from a road background, I was unaware of the Taiwanese company’s long and storied history in the mountain bike world, where it supports a number of world-class riders such as Victor Koretzky and Kate Courtney, so it clearly knows how to produce high-class pedals.
Pedals are components that a lot of us tend to stick with season after season. I’ve been riding with various Shimano Ultegra and Dura-Ace pedals for seven or eight years with no desire or reason to swap to Look or another brand.
When setting up the HT Look Keo-style cleat, I took my time to measure my existing cleat position so I could recreate it as much as possible. Luckily the experience I gained working in a bike shop as a teenager came in hand here – and I got the position right first time.
A slight criticism, though it’s one that has no bearing on the pedals’ performance, is that the cleat bolts come in plastic packaging, which Shimano has all-but eradicated in its packaging.
Fitting them is much the same process as with any other brand’s pedals – an 8mm hex key, a dab of grease and the chromoly axle wound into my cranks without any friction. As with Look’s pedals, though unlike the Shimano Dura-Ace pedals, these don’t have a spanner flat for a 15mm pedal spanner, so it’s hex key only. A variant with a titanium axle – the HT-PK02T – drops the weight down to 186 per pair though comes with a price rise to £169.99.
The engagement when clipping in was very stiff at first, and while it’s always hard to tell exactly how tightly the spring tension is when shipped, I think the tension was somewhere in the middle. Even after backing the tension off entirely, they still felt a little stiff to snap into – but once clipped in, the 4-5-degree floats felt planted and solid.
Part of that might be down to the 760mm2, which feels very supportive and when riding hard or standing on the pedals. The similarly priced Look Keo 2 Max has a surface area of just 500mm2.
I think some of my initial issues clipping in is a result of the slight difference in shape between my old Shimano cleats and the HT’s Look Keo-type cleats, but I did find them stiffer during the test period. That said, I would have expected them to bed in a little more.
After a month riding in all conditions, and multiple cleans – including some with a jet wash – the pedal’s bearings are still running extremely smoothly. Okay, you wouldn’t expect any wear after just a few thousand kilometres, but the sealed cartridge bearings are serviceable when they do run less smoothly, which is another plus point.
Value
The real selling point of HT’s PK02 pedals, for me, is their astonishing value
These match or beat Shimano’s flagship Dura-Ace pedals in virtually every category – in spite of being £99.99 compared with the Dura-Ace’s £235. The HT pedals are 2g lighter, have a broader contact patch and in my opinion they feel just as stiff and solid to engage. And if you’d like to go lighter still, you have the option of a titanium axle, though that does up the price considerably.
Aside from the cachet of the Dura-Ace name, the Shimano pedals do have the option of a 4mm longer axle, which offers a broader fit. The HT has just the 53mm Q factor model, which is 1mm longer than the standard Dura-Ace.
It’s a similar story with Look. Its Keo Ceramic Blade pedals are a princess-and-the-pea 3g heavier, though they’ll lighten your wallet to the tune of £210.
To get something at a similar price from the French company you’d be looking at its Keo 2 Max Carbon pedals that come in at just £95, but these are both heavier and have a smaller contact patch.
Conclusion
I was very pleasantly surprised by the HT PK02 pedals. You can walk in the cleats that offer as much grip as a piece of plastic can offer, the bearings are smooth, and in my experience these feel like a top-quality option, helped by a contact patch that’s larger than that offered by Look or Shimano pedals. If you’re prepared to move away from the big-name brands, these are a bargain price choice with no obvious quality compromise.
Verdict
High quality, a very low weight, a super-low price and a performance to rival the likes of Look and Shimano
> Buy now: HT PK02 Carbon Pedals for £98.99 from TradeInn
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road.cc test report
Make and model: HT PK02 Carbon Pedals
Size tested: One Size
Tell us what the product is for and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
The HT PK02 is a Look Keo-type carbon road pedal aimed at road riders. HT doesn’t say much on its website about the PK02 carbon pedals, but the brand itself states its mission as ‘providing consumers with the best riding experience in order to develop the highest quality products manufacturing enterprises mission!’
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Pedal Weight (pair): 226g
Cleat Weight (pair): 48g
Size: 69 x86mm
Body Material: injected carbon composite
Spindle: CNC-machined cr-moly
Pedal Bearings: 2 sealed bearings / DU bushings
Cleat System: H5 (4.5° lateral floating ) / H7 (0° ) / Look compatible
Dimension: 760mm2 contact area
Q-factor 53mm / stack height 15.4 mm
After a month of testing, the pedals have performed well – far exceeding my expectations.
The pedals are still running very smoothly, with no signs of play or wear to the bearings.
At 226g, these pedals are 2g lighter than Shimano’s flagship Dura-Ace models and 3g lighter than the Look Keo Blades. And with a price of just £100, this weight is very impressive.
A 53mm Q-Factor measurement is standard for road pedals, and the familiar Look Keo style cleat with 4.5 degrees of lateral float proved very comfortable in use.
At just a penny under £100 and weighing much the same as Shimano’s Dura-Ace pedals and the twice-as-expensive Look Keo Blades – these very good value indeed.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
These are a quality pair of road pedals that performed very well in a solid month of testing.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The cost-per-gram!
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
I’m struggling to find things I dislike. The engagement was maybe a little stiff, even with the tension screw dialled all the way off, but even then I soon got used to it.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
The price is the biggest draw. £100 for a 228g set of pedals with a carbon body and quality bearings is exceptional value. The Look Keo Blades, for example, will set you back more than twice as much, and they’re 3g heavier.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
These are a really solid pair of pedals that punch well above their weight – and with a super-low price that undercuts the opposition and then some.
About the tester
Age: 28 Height: 175cm Weight: 67kg
I usually ride: Road (Tarmac SL7) My best bike is:
I’ve been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, mtb, Occasional Ultra Racing
1 thought on “HT PK02 Carbon Pedals”
I’ve never liked the keo
I’ve never liked the keo cleat, they get majorly trashed when walking in/on them and the 0/4.5/9 options aren’t the best for me tho keo pedals dont suffer wear that spdsl’s do on the cleat front pedal lip, where it connects!