I know, new ones are pretty cheap but I give a dozen or more bikes to neighbor kids every year and they leave them stashed all over the yard. And new pedals rarely look good on a lot of the older bikes that I rebuild.
These new plastic pedals are tough to open up and grease properly and the old ones on the 70s Raleighs and Schwinns aren't any better. I've taken to standing them on end and putting a bunch of chain lube in the slot between the spindle and the body and repeating till I get the feeling that some of it has dripped down into the outer bearing. It's slow and I know a lighter oil would be faster but I want something that will last at least a summer.
I'm thinking I could mix a little bit of some kind of solvent that would let it flow down in there better and then evaporate and leave the nice thick oil. I wonder what kind of solvent would be best.
Any thoughts? Any better techniques?

Is lubbing what you do with somebody after you fall in lub?

Sorry I don't have much help to offer, but want to say it's awesome that you give away and service bikes for the neighborhood kids. I wish there were more people like you.

I think I gave away/sold all my non-clipless (toe clip?) pedals, but if I turn some up I'll send you a PM, I would be happy to mail them to you for free.

Should I have said Lubing?
Thanks for checking on those.

I think your method for lubing or lubbing or lubbbing them is fine. Keep doing it.

i always completely overhaul my new (to me) acquisitions with fresh grease and bearings. it's a bit time consuming, but pays back forever -- you never have to do it again really.

short of that, if you can remove the dust cap off the old rat traps, you can usually push grease in to the bearings on the outside races. the inside bearings and surfaces are hidden unless the pedal is unassembled of course.

For those plastic pedals I usually squirt plenty of TF-2 or Finish line aerosol can lube into both ends using tjhe thin straw attachment. Spin the pedals and repeat several times. It's a lot better than when they were supplied new without any lube and the cheap ones don't come apart anyway. Keep on going the way you are. In really stubborn cases I start off flushing through with a 50/50 mix of mineral spirit and motor oil (any grade) to free things up, then follow up with the spray lube. Not my idea, I got the 'formula' from an old post on here. Afterwards, rubbing the mix that ran out all over the plastic bodies with a rag really gets them clean!

Alas, there are a surprising number of cheap pedals with "no user-serviceable parts inside." For those, the OP's approach works well.

It's important to keep them lubbed.

me lubb u long time

(Poem #1080) The Lama


The one-l lama,
He's a priest.
The two-l llama,
He's a beast.
And I will bet
A silk pajama
There isn't any
Three-l lllama.

-- Ogden Nash

Don't lub them. You'd be a lubber.

lub·ber (lbr)
n.
1. A clumsy person.
2. An inexperienced sailor; a landlubber.

appropriate cause the OP is a sailor!!

I didn't want to start a new thread on this. But right now I'm looking for some spd style $30.00 or less pedals. One pair.
I noticed there are some off brands out there and was wondering if anyone has had experience using them.

Thank you !

I actually know a guy named "Lubor".......
But he's an Architect.....

I've been using Wellgo and off-brand pedals for SPD cleats. They're working well for me. The difference in quality between these and Shimano is noticeable when I look at them and fondle them, but they have worked fine so far, and they haven't failed in any way. The one SPD pedal I don't like is the Electra. It's too hard to clip in and out, due to a design flaw.

Oil is inadequate for this application; grease is required.

If the cheap pedals are pooched, then chuck them, and install another set. If the pedals are intact and spin reasonably well, then do this:

1. take a small nail and punch a hole in the plastic end-cap.
2. With a small grease ***, inject grease in the hole until the old nasty stuff comes out from the inside gap (near the crankarm)
3. Spin a few times and wipe up the surplus.

Good as new. Actually probably better than new, as these pedals typically were too tight and had too little grease.

Thank you good sir !

Yeah, oil is not the right stuff. But if the goal is keep junky stuff working with no cost, then using oil to refresh dried out grease in bearings will do some good. Relatively speaking, I think it does a lot of good.

Jim

The OP's method sure seems better than the new replacement Bell brand at Wallymart. For grins, have you ever rotated a new Bell pedal? Hard to believe that product gets to the shelf.

Please, everybody, ride safely and don't be a land-luber*

(*that's when you crash your bike so hard there's nothing left of you but a greasy spot on ground.)

Similar to what Dave M. said, I have taken to salvaging old pedals, or even new MKS platforms, etc., by carefully drilling one or two very small holes on the underside of the pedal body, squirting in some Park grease or similar till it starts to ooze out the ends, then wiping it clean and sealing the holes back up with beeswax. Seems to hold up well. I suppose one could use a proper small rubber plug to seal the drilled holes up.

Chas in NJ

Why not thin some GREASE with a volatile solvent (acetone, for example) to make a liquid? Flow it in and let the solvent evaporate, leaving grease in the bearings. I would think pumping the pedal full of grease until it comes out the ends would make a greasy mess as the gross excess of grease migrates out for the remaining life of the pedal. Moderation is the key to using grease on a bearing. JMHO.

For cheap new & used pedals I do it like SB except I use Phil Tenacious Oil, I will sometimes use my air blow tool to force oil to the outside bearings or just let them sit overnight in my vice. The VP Bear Trap pedals sold on Ebay come thru barely spinning and need a complete tare down & rebuild right off the bat, I replace the cage screws with SS screws at the same time.


Glenn

When plastic... oh sorry, RESIN pedals require lubrication, I remove them from the bike and chuck them in the trash. Then replace them with some only slightly more expensive alloy ones from Wellgo or VP that will last for decades longer.
Honestly, servicing plastic pedals is a waste of time and effort.