sekaijin

I saw a CL posting for Suntour pedals and of course I had to grab them.

From a quick search around the web, it looks like they could be either 1989 PL-XC10s (as shown here on the Yellow Jersey website), or 1992 MicroLites (as shown here on the Speedplay Pedal Museum site - last pedal, scroll all the way to the right). Or maybe they are something else.

Can anyone help confirm what these are?

unworthy1

those are XC Pros (mtn bike pedal, but I used them on a tourist). they share the basic body of the Superbe Pro but have the beefier cage that uses double bolts to mount. Mine had the "Grease Guard" feature licensed from WTB and allows you to inject grease thru the hollow spindles. very nice pedals.

sekaijin

Thanks unworthy1, it is I who am not worthy.

These cages actually have double bolts at 3 of the bolt points, but a single bolt at the front outer bolt point. You can't see that in the photos because the front cage bolts are covered by the toeclip.

Is that pattern consistent with XC Pros?

unworthy1

uh...maybe I was a little hasty, cause the cages do look a little different from mine (which were sold so not available for pics). Perhaps these are a variation or a model in-between...in any case all the "Superbe" style pedals were great ones.

unworthy1

actually just got the "pedal museum" site to open and it looks like yours are very likely the "Microlite" varients, which are the lightest yet: check the spindles with a magnet; if you have TI spindles then they are Microlites, the regular Superbes and XC Pros used steel spindles AFAIK

sekaijin

Ignorant question, but ... does spindle mean the cylindrical part with threads that screws into the crank? Or do I need to disassemble a pedal to get to the spindle inside?

unworthy1

yes, it's that cylinder part with the threads, just place a magnet on one and see if it sticks.

cyclotoine

How much are they? I'd like to buy them if you don't depending on price. Maybe if you pick em up and decide later you don't want them you could pass 'em along. What i find odd about these is that the bottom does not have the 2 little nubs on them for grip. I thought the XC pros had that. In anycase, you could buy these and throw on some NOS track cages and VIOLA they're worth north of $100 to the fixie crowd.

sekaijin

Thanks, I'll use a magnet tonight to see if the spindles are steel or ti.

They were listed for $20. I decided to buy first and ask questions later. In fact I offered the seller $25 to get his attention. It worked. How did I do?

I don't really have an immediate use for them, but "Suntour pedals, $20" just seemed like something to jump on. If I decide I don't want them, glad to discuss.

UPDATE: The pedals look just like the MicroLites in the Pedal Museum, but the spindles are steel. So I guess that means they are XC Pros.

RobbieTunes

good intuition.
excellent pedals.

unworthy1

there may have been a "MicroLite" with steel spindle, in which case that's what you got...maybe the name's different, but I dunno...in any case, hella good deal for $25.

sekaijin

Not following you ... the pedal on the right side of the pic shows 2 nubs on the bottom front edge of the cage, and 2 nubs plus a flip-tang on the bottom back edge of the cage. Are those the little nubs you mean?

cyclotoine

it's quite possible that the pedals you bought are earlier and this "nub" was not added yet. But take a look at this XC pro pedal (picture from velo base), see the two nubs on the bottom of the body so you'd have some grip if you were forced to use the pedal upside down, perhaps in an emergency situation? Or maybe they were to help you spin them around or....????



Oh and thank-you for responding to my previous post. Do keep me in mind if you decide to pass them along.
thanks,
Anthony

sekaijin

Yes, you have dibs if I decide to part with them. I'm thinking I'll keep them as a 2nd set of road pedals, I just need to find Superbe road cages for them.

OK, now I see what you mean. The XC Pro pic from Velobase has the 2 nubs on the body - they look like screws sticking out.

I see 2 other differences. Clearly the cages are different, but also the XP Pro on Velobase has black plastic end-caps on both ends of the spindle.

unworthy1 - are the black plastic end-caps part of the Grease Guard feature? Did you inject grease through the inner end of the spindle and then replace that cap?

Maybe you're right - with its cage and the absence of Grease Guard caps (if that's what they are), my pedal looks more like the 1992 MicroLite on the Pedal Museum site (but with a steel spindle) than the XC Pro on Velobase.

cyclotoine

In anycase, the are identical to the superbe pros I have. I have 2 sets, one slighly older than the other, but the chrome has flaked off the spindles of the older set and the dustcaps are missing, they made a larger flange on the fixing bolt on the later version so the dustcaps stop falling off. I dismantled both pedals, sanded and polished the bodies, put NOS track plates on them and new bearings and reassembled, the set on my fixed gear looked NOS when I installed them, the other set is on my girlfriend's SS. You can get cages here:
https://www.bikestash.com/index.php?c...581f18ede84311
They jacked prices by $10 over the last year though! I have some old cages from my pedals if you want them for the cost of shipment. They're a little worn from slotted cleats but perfectly functional.

unworthy1

Yes, the Grease Guard feature (which was only on the XC Pro pedal) has that sealed cap on the outboard and a removable rubber plug on the inner bore of the hollow spindle (which is where you inject the grease). This page shows both types of ST pedal including a shot of the spindles exposed:
https://www.bikepro.com/arch_products...our_pedal.html
clearly yours are not XC Pros, nor Superbes, but probably MicroLites with steel spindles.
Thanks Cyclotoine for that link to the replacement cages...even at those prices it's good to have a source.

cyclotoine

The pedal bodies look exactly the same as superbe pro in anycase:



Also, in the 1987 Suntour dealer catalog there does not appear to be an XC pro group.
Just these....

sekaijin

I would gratefully accept that gracious offer! Anything you are looking for that I might have? Sorry I'm fresh out of type 2 Campy SR BB spindles. How about some nice TA inner rings for one of your non-fixie/non-track bikes, do you ride any?

Great links resources. Another dumb question, what part is the "quill"?

unworthy1

at the risk of beating a dead horse: what you probably have is the bodies (with steel spindles) of a Superbe or one of the ATB variants shown in the catalog above (PL5700) that have been swapped with the MicroLite *quills* (the cages), assuming that all the bolt holes match.

sekaijin

You may be right. Cages were swapped, or else a steel-spindle pedal was made with the same cage as the MicroLite. The bolt holes match the MicroLite and Superbe - four in back, three in front, so I'm pretty sure it's the standard Superbe body.

In any case I would like to thank cyclotoine who is sending me a pair of his used Superbe cages, either as pay-it-forward or in trade for my ATB cages. They will go on a bike that I hope to feature by spring in the Before and After thread ... if I can get the old pedals off, they are seriously stuck on.