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wobble in pedals

Old 08-07-22, 11:59 AM
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eftim
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wobble in pedals

today i went to inflate my tires in some shop and guy started shaking my pedals - and he said its too wobbly. i tried later and i see some minimum movement but nothing big. how much of a wobble is too much? he was very dramatic about but also he was smarta** for many things because he started feeding me info why my bike is better to go into junk... so i dont know if just negative person or something to worry about...
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Old 08-07-22, 12:26 PM
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Might have been trying to stir up some new-bike-fever in you. Some think negative enforcement helps for this.

If you are satisfied with your bike, think nothing of it. But if the play or wobble gets to a certain point, you might be left walking home. And some bikes aren't worth spending much on.

That though just depends on your own desires though. But don't expect us to always agree about what you consider reasonable for you.
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Old 08-07-22, 03:00 PM
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Run, or I should say, ride away from that bike shop as fast as you can, and don't ever go back!

Even if your pedals were wobbly, so what? That doesn't mean it's time to buy a new bike, it just means that either the pedal needs to have the bearings replaced, or a new set of pedals are the order of the day. Last I checked, pedals were far cheaper than a new bike.
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Old 08-07-22, 03:09 PM
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Originally Posted by eftim
today i went to inflate my tires in some shop and guy started shaking my pedals - and he said its too wobbly. i tried later and i see some minimum movement but nothing big. how much of a wobble is too much?
A properly adjusted pedal shouldn’t wobble at all.
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Old 08-07-22, 03:46 PM
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If the only thing wrong with a bike is a pedal which needs replacement, or adjustment, then the bike shop employee was way out of line. Could it have been more than a loose pedal- maybe a bad bottom bracket or a square taper crank that was loose and wore the bb? But if more than just a pedal issue, he should have said so.

Last edited by freeranger; 08-07-22 at 03:53 PM.
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Old 08-07-22, 03:52 PM
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thanks guys! whole my life i ride bikes that are borderline falling apart haha and i was never thinking much. but this one i just wanted to be a bit more nice - just to have some nice bike for once. but he was like - ah this will never be a bike because pedal is going left and right one or two millimetres. so i was wondering - maybe there is some point in it. i ride bike for last 30 years and i had bad bearings and all but bike still goes on. but for fine adjustment i thought - maybe he has some point - but i really dont like that kind of attitude anyway. so i will wait for a nice local repair guy to come from holidays and ask him to tune me stuff and replace whats needed.but thanks again for all opinions - you helped me realize a bit where i stand. hugzzz to everyone
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Old 08-07-22, 04:37 PM
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If you can post a video of the pedal wobble we can maybe tell you how to fix it if needed. Usually not a real difficult thing to lube and adjust. If you know the brand and model of your pedals that would be helpful as well.
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Old 08-07-22, 06:09 PM
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The "wobble" could be in either the pedal bearings or the bottom bracket bearings. If you can wiggle the crank arms directly, it's the bottom bracket. If you hold the crank arm steady and can wiggle the pedal, it's the pedal bearings.

N.B. some low-end pedals have the bearing cones permanently swaged in place, and can't be adjusted. Replace the pedals if it bothers you.
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Old 08-07-22, 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by eftim
i will wait for a nice local repair guy to come from holidays and ask him to tune me stuff.
Hot.
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Old 08-07-22, 08:22 PM
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Pedals shouldn't wobble, that is not a good sign. Without knowing what bike you have and what condition it is in, it is hard to speculate. If we got to see it and inspect it we could get a better sense of it. Cheap test ride pedals can eventually wear out usually rather quickly and should be replaced but a higher quality pedal shouldn't wobble and if it does it needs to be overhauled or adjusted. A lot of people forget about maintenance and their bikes can get in rough shape. However again we don't know what bike you have but things like that and a rusty chain or rust on bolts and such can be an easy sign of the bike needing some work to a lot of work.

No need to hate on a bike shop without seeing both sides and especially the bike. Some folks around here had a bad experience once or something at a bike shop or just bought into someone else having it without doing their research but those small isolated incidents are not necessarily common. There are also people who just aren't happy in retail and find issue in the tiniest things or even nothing at all. I have worked with people that you can bend over backwards for and be as nice, helpful and honest as you can and they still have an issue.
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Old 08-07-22, 08:37 PM
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Originally Posted by eftim
...he started feeding me info why my bike is better to go into junk... so i dont know if just negative person or something to worry about...
Not Nice... A bike that is being ridden deserves respect.
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Old 08-08-22, 03:25 PM
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Originally Posted by zandoval
Not Nice... A bike that is being ridden deserves respect.
It also deserves proper care and maintenance and if one is not doing that, they should be made aware and if the lack of care and maintenance have left the bike requiring a lot of repairs that could be much greater than the worth of the bike it is good to tell someone in the best way possible. Of course we don't know what has happened here as we have a very tiny piece of story from only one side and very little info to go on, so what I have said is more general info not necessarily pertaining to this specific case
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Old 08-08-22, 05:12 PM
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is there an emoji for rolling one's eyes?
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Old 08-08-22, 06:06 PM
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
is there an emoji for rolling one's eyes?
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Old 08-08-22, 07:42 PM
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Originally Posted by veganbikes
Pedals shouldn't wobble.
Weebles, on the other hand...

.
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Old 08-08-22, 08:08 PM
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As mentioned above many pedals can be serviced and tightened back up. While they will wear more when loose many pedals will roll that way for a really long time before it's an issue. If the pedals spin smoothly and aren't adjustable I'd feel comfortable just keeping an eye on them and riding on. If they start to get looser or to stiffen up then it will be time to get serious about a fix.
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Old 08-09-22, 04:20 AM
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Originally Posted by eftim
today i went to inflate my tires in some shop and guy started shaking my pedals - and he said its too wobbly. i tried later and i see some minimum movement but nothing big. how much of a wobble is too much? he was very dramatic about but also he was smarta** for many things because he started feeding me info why my bike is better to go into junk... so i dont know if just negative person or something to worry about...
can you take a short video clip showing the wobble?
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Old 08-09-22, 04:38 AM
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
can you take a short video clip showing the wobble?
will do later when i take it for a ride.
by the way i didnt really hate on a bike shop - just some guys have that attitude - i dont know if they just think that when they show more flaws they will force you into buying new stuff. i mean all local repair shops were closed so i just went into big chain that have shop and all - so they mostly force people to buy as much as possible and to avoid repairs. because he was like this cant be repaired (i mean what cant be repaired in this world...)
​​​​​but yeah all that is irrelevant- will send you video
anyway i took it to local repair guy in my hood and he fixed brakes and all to run smoothly and was like - its tiny wobble don't waste money over it - we fix when its more dramatic. he is very nice guy and never want to do anything that will push money out of my pocket unless really bothering me. funny man he even stopped me few times from doing some small things because he thought i shouldnt throw money away to just improve something for like 10%. but still i will like to hear opinion from you guys because you all are very friendly
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Old 08-09-22, 05:33 AM
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Next time you see the guy with negative attitude, tell him you're also member of BF and that BF members should be nice to each other.
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