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How long do clipless pedals last?

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Old 01-18-08, 06:45 AM
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kmac27
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How long do clipless pedals last?

How long does it take to wear out clipless pedals? I never thought of it until after I bought some. I have the speedplays and they have no springs.
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Old 01-18-08, 06:57 AM
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Originally Posted by kmac27
How long does it take to wear out clipless pedals? I never thought of it until after I bought some. I have the speedplays and they have no springs.
IME, it's not the springs you have to worry about, it's the bearings in the spindle area.
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Old 01-18-08, 07:11 AM
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What kind of speedplays did you get? Zeroes, X5, Light Action, Frogs or ??

Reason I ask is because with Zeroes and Light Action at least it isn't the pedals to worry about since they are easy to maintain with some grease and are rebuildable. It is the darn cleats. The brass lid on the cleats and those screws get ruined in short order even just putting them down at stops. I see alot more wear on my right foot then my left, I primarily touch down with my right foot when riding.
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Old 01-18-08, 07:33 AM
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As long as you replace the bearings before they loosen from wear then the pedals should last many, many years.

My Time pedals work great years later.
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Old 01-18-08, 07:37 AM
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I tend to agree with others... it has taken me about 20 years, riding about 2000 miles a year, to actually wear out my LOOK pedals. I have gone through several cleats in the mean time, several shoes, and lots of grease to keep the bearings happy.

But now the surface of the pedal is well worn and the pedals are sloppy; they creak and moan when mated to new cleats and there is just nothing else to do but buy new ones.

May your pedals last as long.
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Old 01-18-08, 08:36 AM
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My friend Reed is worst case scenario when it comes to bike parts, and he's gotten two years out of some spd's that's roughly 35 years for the rest of us.
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Old 01-18-08, 08:41 AM
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Too many variables to say exactly.
Some of them are:
1) Quality level of the component
2) Frequency of maintenance
3) How many miles the rider puts in
4) Conditions riding in
5) Do you wreck often?
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Old 01-18-08, 09:38 AM
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My SPDs last anywhere from 6 months to about 10 years.
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Old 01-18-08, 10:14 AM
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Originally Posted by kmac27
How long does it take to wear out clipless pedals? I never thought of it until after I bought some. I have the speedplays and they have no springs.
I buy the cheapest ones I can for my commuter (~$25) from performance or nashbar and tend to get 2-3 years out of them before the mechanisms are so messed up (bent, corroded, etc) that I can't easily get my foot in and out.
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Old 01-18-08, 10:35 AM
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Have some LOOK pedals from the early '90s, still work like a charm. Have some Ritchey's from '94, still work like new...another pair of Ritchey's from '97 that are easily as functional as my '07 Shimano 520s. I've gone through a few cleats, but I think as long as you keep the pedals clean and with a light layer of oil you can prevent breakdown and rusting. As others said, bearings usually go first, but I've never had to replace the bearings in any of my pedals. I do fear my LOOKs are dust as of this fall, though...they started wobbling a minor bit. I don't know if it can be remedied, but even if it can I won't be the one doing it!
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Old 01-18-08, 11:14 AM
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I still have a set of first generation SPD's (circa 1988). They've been through New England winters, one season of racing, and general thrashing over 10 years of faithful service. I have them in semi-retirement on my rarely-ridden mountain bike. I am guessing they should have the bearings overhauled but they still spin pretty nicely.
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Old 01-18-08, 11:49 AM
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I've got a pair of Shimano M545 pedals from 1992 which I just swapped over to my new bike after having them on my previous ride for 15 years. They still work great. Solid lock onto the cleat, no accidental clipping out, and the bearings still feel smooth and light.
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Old 01-18-08, 09:26 PM
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I got the frogs. Do I need to lube them up? They dont have any springs. Anything I need to know or do to keep them as long as possible?
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Old 05-04-21, 01:55 PM
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My look keo classics

I burned through these pedals in 9 months. Went through three sets of cleats in that time too. Depends on how hard you ride.
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Old 05-04-21, 02:08 PM
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I had a pair of Ultegra pedals that lasted 15 years.
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Old 05-05-21, 07:44 AM
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My Look Keo's (road) and EggBeaters (Commute) have both lasted longer than this thread! Now cleats? too many to count

Which makes me wonder if Speedplays that cost more initially but sound like they are much lower on cleat replacement would be a better value ... but thats another thread
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Old 05-05-21, 09:48 AM
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Dang it. I hate when I reply to a zombie thread.
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Old 05-08-21, 05:47 PM
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Zombie Thread had been asleep for 13 years before it was resurrected a few days ago.

Answer to question: A long time.
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Old 05-09-21, 06:45 AM
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Originally Posted by JanMM
Zombie Thread had been asleep for 13 years before it was resurrected a few days ago.

Answer to question: A long time.
I have two pairs of SPD pedals that were born before this thread and continue to perform faultlessly.
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Old 05-09-21, 05:09 PM
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I have never worn out a pair of pedals of any type.
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Old 05-11-21, 01:32 PM
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On my first adult sized bike, which I think I got from Wal-Mart, one of the pedals actually cracked while I was riding.
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Old 05-11-21, 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by seibaatgung
On my first adult sized bike, which I think I got from Wal-Mart, one of the pedals actually cracked while I was riding.
Sure, there are some very poorly made pedals which break quickly. I've seen many pedal failures, so I guess my failure rate of zero means I don't ride with bad pedals.
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Old 05-11-21, 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Sure, there are some very poorly made pedals which break quickly. I've seen many pedal failures, so I guess my failure rate of zero means I don't ride with bad pedals.
I meant to suggest pedals breaking is atypical. I got that bike for $110 at Wal-Mart over a decade ago.
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Old 05-12-21, 08:53 PM
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Originally Posted by caloso
Dang it. I hate when I reply to a zombie thread.
After reading your post, I realized I liked a post above from 2008. Sorry, @DataJunkie
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