dumtarded

I got my gr-9s today and they felt a bit gritty when I spun them. After doing a little bit of research i found that no one really had a great method of prying dust caps out w/o marring them to hell or risking stabbing themselves. No one got very specific about servicing the pedals either so here's my DIY with the necessary info. If this has been posted then I apologize, my searching skills are lacking. Anyway..

You'll need:
pliers
sewing needle
micro torch/lighter/stove (something to get the needle hot)

for repacking the bearings:
1/2'' socket
10mm socket w/ rachet
15mm wrench
grease
dish or bowl to hold the bearings.


Step 1: Grip the needles with the pliers and heat them up with the micro torch/lighter/stove till they're glowing. You want them hot enough to pierce the plastic.

Step 2: place the needle at the little opening at the bottom of the pedal. and push it down. You should feel it change from slight resistance to none as it passes through the thin wall of plastic. Make sure you're pushing straight down so you won't make the hole bigger by going in at an angle.


Step 3: Now grip the needle as close to the pedals as you can and pry it out parallel to the pedal axle. You'll hear it pop as it comes off. Notice in the photo that pushing the need all the way would have forced it through the other side...


Voila! cap is off! however i must warn you guys the force it takes to pop the cap off can potentially snap your needle as it did in my case. Make sure you have those pliers close to the pedal and you're pulling out parallel to the axle so its not just bending the needle at the insertion point!




**** fixing the gritty feeling of new Gr-9s or to regrease them ****
I don't have photos for the 2nd half because i thought this was pretty straight forward from here on out..

Step 1: take your 15mm wrench and slip it over the axle, then take your 10mm socket and place it over the nut inside the pedal. Loosen the nut by turning it counter clockwise (lefty loosey righty tighty). Take this nut out.

Step 2: The inner nut is actually a cone that holds the bearings in place. I took a 1/2'' socket and hand loosened this until it came out. I'm sure it wasn't the right socket but it worked and since there wasn't any excessive torque involved there wasn't anything to worry about.

Step 3: Slide the axle out and check if you need to replace bearings. Clean the cones check for pitting, replace and regrease as necessary.

Step 4: Put the axle back in and hand tighten large nut/cone until it makes contact with the pedal. spin it to make sure it doesn't feel gritty. If it does back it out about 1/16-1/8 of a turn. place the 10mm nut back in and tighten it till it makes contact with the cone, then tight a little more. Test spin again. If its still gritty loosen the 10mm nut just enough and back out the cone with the 1/2'' socket, then tighten the 10mm again. You'll need to play with this till you get it to spin smoothly and theres no play in the pedal. When you're done tighten the 10mm nut as tight as you can.

Step 5: Replace the cap, but when you do so, rotate it so the hole from the needle isn't in the little groove. This way you get to save your cap and keep the dust out.


Good luck with getting your pedals smooth and ride safe out there!

James1:17

yeah i serviced my gr9's as soon as i got them. the factory sends them out overtightened.