HillRider

I've been riding with Speedplay Frog pedals since they were introduced as the "Magnums" ( a similar but not identical design) in the early 1990's and I've owned 5 pair in that time. I do maintain them by injecting Phil Grease into the grease ports about every 500 - 750 miles or much more often then Speedplay recommends.

The first pair died due to bearing failure at 33,000 miles and the second pair died due to the rotation stop breaking off at 38,000 miles. Now, Ive got 23,000 miles on another pair and one of the bearings has developed a lot of play which will be fatal pretty quickly.

So I called Speedplay to ask about this "premature" failure and the tech guy just laughed. He said anything over about 10,000 miles is great service and I was way off the bell curve with my first two pair. I guess I'm spoiled. BTW, I have another pair on a different bike with 13,000 miles and the bearings are still in great shape.

Yes, there are rebuild kits available but they are pricey and hard to find so I'm not sure if they are worth the trouble and expense. Maybe I'll just go buy new ones as I really like them.

So, my question is; what service life have forum members gotten from their various brands of clipless pedals? Is my experience typical or have I just been very lucky so far?

Wiswell

I have spd 540s and they have thus far lasted around 20,000. Many more miles than many of the components on the bike. I add the occasional T9 or other chain lube to them from time to time but otherwise don't mess with them much. I am a lightweight rider (120); I would guess that some of the longevity of pedals relates to pedaling style and weight/force applied.

joejack951

~10,000 miles so far on Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals (original versions with plastic base plate). Regreased once in that time. Still going strong

~16,000 miles on a pair of Performance Forte SPD pedals. Regreased once. I've retired them due to severe wear on the clip plates causing way too much noise for me to tolerate any more. Bearings still seem fine.

[edit] To make DMF happy , I've weighed between 155 and 175 lbs. while using the aforementioned pedals. [edit]

DMF 

You guys need to state your weights when telling everyone how long your pedals last.

HillRider

Absolutely. I realized the omission right after I posted the OP. I weigh 150 and my riding is strictly road, but hilly roads so the pedals take my full weight a lot as I prefer to climb standing.

Also, the pedals that lasted the longest were used in worse conditions (rain, snow, salt, etc.) more often than the latest ones since I didn't have a dedicated rain/beater bike while they were in service.