Tandem Cycling - Speedplay frog pedals

Is it possible to buy parts for the frog pedals? We have several pairs and one of the pedals comes off for no apparent reason while sprinting or while pulling hard. The same happens even with new cleats.
Thanks

Yes, they have rebuild kits... basically new bodies and seals that are used with the axle and bearings.
http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=Frog+Body+Rebuild+Kit+Black&vendorCode=SPEDPLAY&major=5&minor=6

There's also a bearing and seal kit.
http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=Frog+Bearing+Kit+Set&vendorCode=SPEDPLAY&major=5&minor=6

When I start pulling a foot out I tend to find that it's the cleat, more often than the body. I think I go through about 3 cleats for every body rebuild.

I should probably also note one other thing:

You can sometimes adjust the set screw in the back of the G3 cleats to compensate for pedal wear to eliminate pull-out problems. You need to heat up the hex-head grub screw with a soldering iron to release the red Loctite's grip on the screw and it will re-set once it cools after you've made any adustment.

I should probably also note one other thing:

You can sometimes adjust the set screw in the back of the G3 cleats to compensate for pedal wear to eliminate pull-out problems. You need to heat up the hex-head grub screw with a soldering iron to release the red Loctite's grip on the screw and it will re-set once it cools after you've made any adustment.

Thanks TG!

When my current cleats start to fade I will try your suggestion. Right now they work fine as they are with all the pedals (five) except for one. I ordered the kit to replace the body.

I was planning to take my Speedplay Frogs apart to clean and re-grease them but found that the pedal bodies are siliconed together, so put that idea aside. How do you get the pedal halves apart without damaging them? I am leery of gouging them up trying to pry them apart with a screwdriver. I assume that there is no problem with using regular household silicone caulk for re-assembly.

How do you get the pedal halves apart without damaging them?

The factory instructions tell you to "carefully pry them apart by starting at the spindle opening". However, I've always turned the grease injector port screw in a few turns after I remove the two screws that hold the pedal halves together to create a gap at the opening, and then use a pen knife with a narrow blade or a very thin putty knife to separate the halves.

Detailed instructions are here.
http://www.speedplay.com/pubs/Frog_Instructions_1.14.08web.pdf

The Speedplay instructions say to inject grease until it emerges at the hub, but I have not been able to get that to happen.; the grease just comes back out the injector port. After taking one of my Frogs apart, I now see why: The grease has to go through a cartridge bearing in order to get to the bushing and out at the hub. Do you have luck forcing the grease through, or is there just a trick to this?

Iuse this grease gun:

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=&sku=14003&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Show%20All%20Products

I lub the pedals once a month and have had no problems getting the grease to pop at the hub.

Do you have luck forcing the grease through, or is there just a trick to this?

I'm not sure if there's any trick to it aside from using some type of pin-point grease injector nozzle, a waterproof/marine-type grease, and then making sure you get a really good seal between the injector nozzle and speedy-lube port.


From their FAQs:
What type of grease do you recommend for the pedal bearings?:A synthetic, waterproof wheel bearing grease works best. Speedplay uses this type of waterproof bearing grease in its factory. Do not use thin viscosity grease, spray lubes, oil, or dry-type (PTFE) lubricants on pedal bearings.

That said, once the bearing is filled grease the grease stops flowing and backs at the injector hole or squeezes out of gaps in the pedal halves.... and it doesn't take much to filler-up.

After that you'll spend the next four or five post ride sessions wiping off the grease that continues to work itself out of the pedal body at the axle opening.... so not to worry, the grease will get everywhere that it needs to.

Now, clearly it wouldn't do to try and push really cold grease into a pedal so those who live in cold climates need to be mindful about storing their grease / grease guns somewhere warm before attempting to use them. Same thing goes for the pedals; if they're really cold then grease is not going to flow through the cartridge bearing all that swiftly, if at all.

I also had trouble with grease backing up when infecting. I find it helps to slowly rotate the pedals when injecting.



I had also had problems with one new pedal staying connected to the cleat.

I found the problem was due to the soft bottom of the shoe at the point where the foam contacts the shoe and pushes the inner movable part of the cleat.

I solved the problem by putting a plastic shim between the shoe and the foam part of the cleat. This stiffened the shoe enough to ensure sufficient contact between the cleat and pedal.

I made the shim by cutting a small piece out of a plastic packaging material that now comes around many products one buys.

I find the Frogs are extremely easy to use. I do not ride on trails and try to keep the cleats and pedal contact points clean and dry lubed.


Sam