snapshot46

Recently I bought a pair of Wellgo flat pedals off Ebay. I know that they are not the top of the line pedals but they have always served me well for my Giant hybrid rides on mostly paved trails. I'm a senior citizen so I stay to the smooth surfaces but I do ride a few thousand miles per year. After receiving them in the mail, I notice that when I spin the axle, they feel like there is grit in the bearings. They don't turn smoothly! They're made in Taiwan (well at least it's not China) I've been in touch with the seller and he said that this is normal and they will wear in. I'm suspicious of his comments because I've never heard of bearings wearing in. What do you think? Ever had a set of pedals where the bearings smoothed out after some usage?

Andrew R Stewart 

Overly preloaded bearings are pretty normal for many mass produced parts, and the lower the cost the less attention has been paid for in the part's making. Bearings do wear in. It's the initial part of the bearings wearing out in time. When we decide to say "the bearings are worn in" and when we say the "bearings are wearing" is a big shade of grey.

Do the pedals work well enough for you to ride the bike with out issues? If so than they met the goal of the manufacturer.

Some pedals have cup and cone loose ball bearings with an adjustability design (threaded con e and lock nut). Some people can readjust their pedals for nicer spin. Many find this to be a rather frustrating effort given the lack of room to work in and wrench flats that are somewhat blocked by the rest of the pedal. Andy

SpedFast

I bought some pedals like that a few years back and had to disassemble them, pack the bearings with grease and preload the bearings properly to get them to spin smoothly. Mine came from China and I put them on a bike that I gave to a neighbor kid. I stick with quality name brand parts now. If you can plip a plastic cover on the outboard side of the pedal and find a nut in there you might be able to service them, or at least turn some pressure off that nut depending on the locking nut/device. Even then, I wouldn't hold out much hope that they will last very long. Good luck,

GamblerGORD53

Maybe you could post the model name. IMO, wearing in bearings is a stupid concept.
Anyway, it's now my practice to disassemble all pedals right away. If they are tight, they are most likely cup/ cone loose bearing. Most have a reasonable bearing size design that is workable. The nut will be 10 or 11 mm. If they are too horrible to work with, then they are GARBAGE. I expect them to spin by hand several revs, the dust seal may slow them, but will still be OK as long as the feel is OK. Whatever the bearings, they will need cleaning every 2,000 miles.

I bumbled into such POS pedals, the cheapest model of Vsixty. It had moronic 1/16" bearings with zero chance to improve function. I got a refund and told the LBS to quit stocking them. The bastards are still selling them at $33.
The $60+ Vsixty ones are very nice with a sealed bearing on the outside end and a bushing on the other. These also have the benefit of NOT needing adjustment, lube, tighten the nut, cap on and done. I've used some of them 15,000+ miles.

snapshot46

I tend to agree with you Gambler. I was in the machine repair business before I retired and I've never heard of a steel bearing wearing in. Although the axles do turn freely, they have a crunch to them that is not characteristic of round ball bearings. Part of the reason that I use this specific pedal is the design lets me bolt on the old style resin toe clips on the front of the pedal and that is my preference for riding. I have only been back into biking for the past few years and I wanted to hear what the group here had to say about this issue.

Thank you to all here for your input. It is great appreciated..

bboy314

Most inexpensive pedals feel this way when new and should feel smoother after some riding. I wouldn’t worry about it.