HiBoost

I bought a set of zeros with the 1/4" longer spindles from a bike shop on ebay. They were described as only having been used for a fitting session and when they arrived they looked the part - not a spec of dirt or road grime, no rub marks, etc. However, when I spin the pedal on the spindle I can feel a slight roughness throughout the full revolution. Both pedals feel exactly this same way. I removed the lube screw and injected some Phils just to be sure. The lube that came out the other side was clearish-yellow and obviously very fresh, so again, everything points to them actually being new. Same thing though, still a small amount of roughness as they turn. I have tried searching for this issue and could only find 1 post from 2011 where a guy mentioned having to open 5 boxes at his LBS before finding a set that spun completely smoothly. Is this normal? If it were a manufacturing defect and a truly bad bearing I would find it unlikely that both pedals would be impacted. My 5-year old light actions spin with no hint of roughness but I can't recall if I even felt them when they were new or just threw them on and rode. Is it something that smooths out after a bit of break-in?

Bill Kapaun

If they're anything like hubs, the bearings are probably adjusted a bit too tight.

HiBoost

I thought about that but I actually removed the spindle from the pedal and with the pedal body just sitting on it (no screw, no preload) it feels the same exact way. So the roughness seems to be internal just from rotation, not side load. I guess I need to further dissect the pedal to determine if it is the cartridge bearings or the needle bearing that is the source. Wanted to hopefully get opinions from others before doing all that though...

HiBoost

I got impatient and tore it all apart. It's definitely the needle bearing which has the roughness. The two cartridge bearings are perfectly smooth. I guess I'll try them out on the road and see if it "polishes out" and if not I'll swap in some new HK1010's :/

Andrew R Stewart 

I've had more then a dozen Zeros (including the first gen of AL bodied ones) go through my stable of bikes as well as have sold dozens over the years. I have never had what I would call a rough bearing out of the box. Far more common is the loose/slop/ wear that comes with miles, a lack of up keep and that the pedals don't have much volume inside them to store grease. If the Ebay store won't work with you then I'd run them and see what happens. Andy.

HiBoost

Yeah, I figure I own them fully at this point now that I've disassembled them. I will report back for sure whether they smooth out or explode.