Air

So I just got two pairs of folding pedals off eBay for my two bikes.

I went for a 30 mile 5 bridge ride a week ago on my mtb and the drive side pedal started creaking really loudly. My friend who was behind me noticed that it looked like my foot was sliding off. I rode the bike again and noticed the same problem - if not a little worse. So I took off the pedal and the shaft of the pedal is loose. It seems riveted shut so not too much I can do to fix - contacted the person and am negotiating a new pedal.

I swapped the other pedal on and after riding around a bit yesterday (fairly hard) the same thing started happening. Not as badly - but seems loose. Same side.

Does one exert more force on the drive side pedal? I would think that the bb would equalize that force but I could be way off. Also - being a Clydesdale and having 13EEEE feet I find most pedals just don't fit that well. I don't like clipless or straps though I really like the idea of eliminating that extra foot of space to make room in the hallway.

Now, these could just be cheap pedals. If so does anyone have a brand of folding pedals that they'd recommend - I couldn't find anything online. If I resort to taking the pedals off after every ride then could someone recommend extra long pedals that may hold my foot better? As it is my foot feels less than half on any pedal when I'm riding.

Thanks all!

Air

So, that newer pedal after a 30 mile trip was starting to really wobble this week, so I put my old pedal on.

Halfway through another 30 miles I look down and notice that the metal shaft is coming through the plastic casing on the pedal.

I'm guessing there's something going on with my pedaling? What would cause a pedal on one side to wear down quicker than the other side??

geo8rge

In general cheap plastic pedals due not hold up well. I went through a pair of 'next' folding pedals in 6 months. The ball bearing races were about 1/16 thick and shattered. If you keep riding the wobble may unscrew the crank arm. A crank arm wobbling against a hardend steel BB spindle can be perminently damaged.

Air

Thanks for the reply!

Here's the weird thing - those pedals have been on my bike for years (over a decade). When I used to ride I think I rode harder than I did now - I was definately in better shape. Only now does the right drive side pedal start to break. And the two folding pedals. All in the span of a few weeks.

I took the folding pedals off - so no worries with that but good to know I could have done more damage. I was more worried about trying to ride back on a nub

Any suggestions as to a more 'bullet proof' set of pedals? Is this something a good bike shop might be able to take a look at me pedaling and see if I'm doing anything funky? If so any suggestions in the NYC area?

Thanks!

powers2b

Pedals are NJS (Nippon Junky sh1t).
Your technique is fine unless you wreck.
"Any suggestions as to a more 'bullet proof' set of pedals?"
Yea, anything that doesn't fold.