Since I've started cycling, I've been using the most basic clipless pedals. i think the ones I have now are r540s or something. They use lose ball bearings. I feel like every year, I'm having to service the pedals, because the ball bearings inside get lose. the good ones coming out appear to use cartridge bearings, which should be a little better.

I'm wondering what people's experiences are between the basic, ball bearing pedals, vs the cartridge bearing pedals. How much longer do the cartridge bearing pedals last, and when they go bad, is the bearing replacement a straight forward process?

The Dura Ace pedals have additional needle bearings.

I plan to get a pair when they're on sale next.

The only reason they would get loose is if the cone locknut is loosening. Use a bit of loctite to set the preload and it should hold.

If you are tired of fixing, a set of LX quality SPD pedals cost about $25.

I have a pair of carbon 105 pedals. I think they are carbon. Might be ultegra actually but I'll send them to you cheap if interested. Well. Let me see if I can find them first lol they are brand new.

I never used them since going to speedplay. Speedplay is very good for my knees. Never going back to Shimano

Lots of Shimano pedals have a subassembly screwed in with that plastic collar, the bearings are balls & tiny.

SPD SL is a pontoon set flanking a mtb 'spud' cleat, on a hard sole road shoe , is that what you want?

speedplay for road shoes is different from their 'frog' for walking friendly shoes..


time ATAC uses a cartridge bearing , and an oil bushing on the end,,,





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I had a pair of Ultegra 6500 pedals that lasted 15 years and had 20? 25,000 miles on them before they gave out.

You might be thinking of SPD-R. SPD-SL is very similar to the Look system. Wide plastic cleat, not the mt. bike type cleat at all.

SPD-R was the road system which came before SPD-SL. It's not compatible with anything else. It's a bit like the Dura Ace 7970 system it's not compatible with anything else nor will it ever be.

Most people just go with the PD-540s unless they're buying a new bike with higher end components. In which case you can look for the PD-6800 and up which have more carbon and less metal.

There is nothing wrong with loose ball bearings in a pedal. I have a pair of Campagnolo Record pedals that were supplied whith my 1973 Raleigh Professional. I rode them for years until I switched to Look clipless pedals in the late 1990's. They are still perfect after about 25 years of use. Yes, they required a yearly overhaul, but that was a 30 minute job I did in the depths of winter. One of the pedals has a broken dust cap. Replace it, give the pedals a quick repacking, and you could ride them for another 20 years

I use R540s on one bike and Ultegra on the other. The Ultegras are prettier and will probably last longer, but they're functionally the same otherwise.

They are but they weigh less. If you're chasing that goal of being the number one weight weenie for your particular bike this may matter for the average rider it should not. The good news is R540s will set you back less than $50 also.

one reason to go up to the r550s or higher is the carbon body seems to squeek less compared to my older aluminum 105s that I had to constantly lube