night person

should a person try to re grease pedals to help them last longer

CliffordK

It depends on the pedals. Some pedals are designed to be disposable and are difficult to service without damaging the pedals.

Sealed cartridge bearings aren't designed to be re-greased.

Many of the mid to high-end Shimano pedals are designed to be easily disassembled and adjusted provided you have the proper tools.

europa

If they don't need messing with, don't mess with them. If they start making noises (like a set of Shimano pedals I had), pull them apart and grease them.

I actually did spend money on the expensive special tools... which then didn't fit so I got a refund and found alternative ways of doing it (wedged a triangular file in beside the big nut while I tightened the lock nut with a small socket).

theunartist

The big question is whether you can get the pedals off the bike and if the pedals actually do need servicing. If they spin freely, firm, smooth and quiet, you might not need to service them. Bike pedals aren't a like a car engine needing an oil change after so much time or miles.

I'm a tinkerer, if I could get the pedals off, and had the right tools, I might try to clean and grease them. I would never do it unless I had a set of backup pedals just in case...

dsbrantjr

I only buy serviceable pedals, and I find that they come from the factory with the bearings adjusted too tight and skimpily lubricated, so my first order of business is to open them up, lube and adjust.

FBOATSB

[MENTION=468610]night person[/MENTION], Best pedal advise ever!

sweeks

Yes, but find out what tools you need and learn about the process of servicing the pedals if they can in fact be serviced. A good place to start is Sheldon Brown's site: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/pedals.html#servicing
Another good resource is Park Tools: Pedals Repair Help Articles | Park Tool
Have fun!
Steve

SquidPuppet

Not completely accurate.

See post number five. I've found the same thing to be true even with high quality reputable brand pedals. MKS I'm looking at you. Way over tight and significantly under greased when brand new. And calling what MKS uses grease is being kind.

Many pedals are designed as serviceable because, you know, they actually need servicing periodically. Especially pedals that see rain and off road use.

corrado33

Whenever I rebuilt mine I just played the guessing game. Meaning I left the cone nut a bit loose and tightened the lock nut on top of it expecting the lock nut to also tighten the cone nut.

It worked fine, and the pedals are still in good condition today (years later.)

sch

Partly depends on the bearings. Sleeve bearing pedals don't really respond well to greasing and are designed to
last maybe 6-10k miles before the sleeves wear out. Pedals with loose balls and cones will respond to periodic
cleaning and re-greasing with longer lives and with the adjustability of the cones can last 10s of thousands of
miles. Sealed bearing pedals with plastic seals can be regreased with some minor difficulty or the bearings
replaced. Speedplay pedals have a small screw on the end of the plastic body which allows grease to be injected
periodically and treated well they can last well above 20k miles, two pairs of Frogs now ~25k each and doing
well IME.

Partly also depends on the construction of the pedals, some being more easily disassembled than others.
ie recent poster about Power Tap pedals with no obvious way to care for mechanically.

davidad

I use shimano SPD pedals and regrease them about every 5k miles. I have only had to adjust the bearing preload a few times and I have the overpriced tool.
The axle and bearings come out as a unit. You clean out the old grease from the housing and pump new grease in it, reinstall the axle forcing out the old grease that in in the axle assembly.
I have friends with the MKS pedals and I remove the end cap and force grease through the pedal with my thumb until it comes out of the crank side clean.

sweeks

This has been my experience as well. I have used MKS "AR2-EZ" pedals on my folding commuter bikes for years. The first thing I noticed was that the inboard bearings (nearest the cranks) shipped a lot of water and salt (in the winter) and got rusty and crappy. I took them apart and resurfaced the inner races (on the spindles) by chucking them in a lathe and removing the rust and pitted steel with a Dremel green stone. The bearing balls get replaced as well. I've done this a number of times. The seals on these pedals are crap; they have a primitive labyrinth structure, but they do not seal. Eventually, I figured out that a mud flap large enough to prevent spray from hitting the seals allows me to go a year or more between overhauls. I probably should be using "marine" grease as well. At any rate, the pedals have just over 20,000 miles on them, so I can't complain too much. But they would be really *great* pedals if they had good seals.

I did take apart a brand new set of these because the bearings felt tight, and found what looked like a layer of vaseline in the bearings. I repacked them with Park "Polylube 1000" and they're ready for use when I overhaul the old ones.

The bearings are easy to adjust once you get the end caps off (another nuisance... the caps are plastic and have to be pried out, which eventually destroys them). A "deep-well" 13mm socket will reach the adjustable cone with the washer and locknut in place. I've found that it's possible to balance tightening the locknut and *loosening* the cone (which has the effect of tightening it against the locknut) to get the play just right ("minimal").

I have a couple pairs of Shimano SPD pedals on other bikes. I ran my mountain bike through some deep water and submerged the pedals, so I took them apart to re-grease them. There was no water in them! As has been noted ^^ you don't have to disassemble these pedals to re-lube them; re-inserting the shaft with the bearings into the pedal body (previously filled with new grease) forces the grease through the bearings. I took them apart anyway, and they reassemble the same way as the MKS pretty much. Seals are *much* better though.
Steve

MarcusT

I bought a pair of NC 17 because I had a gift certificate. So, after a lot of wet riding, I asked the manufacturer how to disassemble for a repack. As the plastic cap was a solid piece and would be damaged with removal. Their reply was; It's too difficult to re-assemble the pedal, so just take off the plastic cap and pack grease in there.
Right. I think I'll just buy a new set when these start to make noise