Archival Reviews of Mavic Pedals

The 646 pedals are the Mavic implementation of the original LOOK clipless pedal system. They use the same LOOK mechanism found in the LOOK pedals except fot the S2 series, please read about the mechanism and how it works in the first paragraph of the LOOK overview. The virtue of the Mavic pedal is that it permits lateral rotation of the foot by up to 5 degrees both left and right. This movement is adjusted and then fixed in either direction by use of indexed adjustments on the bottom of the pedal. This system permits you to choose, based on your own riding experience, how much you want the pedal to rotate left or right, and set the pedal permitting just that degree of movement on an ongoing basis. You can, at any time in the future, readjust the pedals should your ankle or knee obligate further adjustments. Mavic achieves this by using an internal rotating cam that is fixed to the adjusting dial at the pedal bottom. The 646 pedal body is made in two parts that lock together and are additionally joined by a high polished stainless steel plate that has four recessed Torx T-10 head machine screws, making the pedal a single solid unit. The two parts are best described as the "heel" and the "toe" piece. The "toe" piece is made of cast and machined aluminum. The toe piece houses the spindle and bearing system and incorporates the front toe retaining section which holds the front of the cleat in place.

The spindle is made of cold forged cro-moly steel, that is chrome plated, ground and polished where there is bearing contact. The 646 pedals, for the inner bearing, use a pressed-in needle bearing cartridge which has fourteen rollers that are 10mm long. For the outer bearing a thrust un-sealed bearing cartridge is used, having seven steel ball bearings. The bearings revolve directly against the spindle's ground surfaces. The spindle is held in place by an 11mm locking hex nut and there is a Black plastic dust cap that screws into the body sealing off the spindle and bearing assembly. Mavic, as always, wants you to be able to service and lubricate their parts, so they include the necessary wrench to remove the cap without damaging it. The "heel" piece of the body is made of a Yellow cast plastic. It is shaped to fit and hold rigidly the toe piece and has the rotational adjustment devices and the LOOK release mechanism built into it. The stainless steel plate screws down over the heel and toe pieces leaving access to the release clamp tension adjusting screw through the plate. The Mavic 646 pedals come only with a pair of the LOOK fixed Black cleats, (please read about in the LOOK overview) because the Red ARC cleat is unnecessary with the Mavic rotational adjustment. The cleats also come with mounting hardware to work with all standard cycling shoes and include T-nuts for shoes that may not be drilled for cleats at all. The 646 pedals weigh 496 grams per pair without cleats. The cleats and mounting hardware for the most likely mounting combination weigh 92 grams. Made in France. No longer made these sold for $149.99