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Thin-wall socket for adjusting pedal bearings?

Old 04-17-21, 02:39 PM
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brianinc-ville
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Thin-wall socket for adjusting pedal bearings?

Hi. I just got a new pair of Sunlite city pedals; as on most new pedals in my experience, the bearings are set way too tight. The problem is, on these pedals the circular hole in the pedal body around the adjustment nut is too narrow for any of my 10mm sockets to fit inside. Can anybody recommend a thin-wall socket that works for this purpose? (Yes, I know I could just grind down the wall of another socket, but that sounds like a pain -- I'd rather just buy one that will work.) Thanks!
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Old 04-17-21, 02:57 PM
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Are you certain it is not just the excess grease hasn't been pushed out of the way from use?

I usually find thin wall sockets at my auto parts store or other tool store.

On the pedals I use, the spindle along with the bearings comes out of the pedal completely. Then you adjust the bearings with what ever you have that fits. In fact, mine have a lock nut to tighten against the nut/bearing cone, so you'll be SOL if that is the case with yours.
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Old 04-17-21, 05:43 PM
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I don't know what things look like inside that particular pedal, but for some of their pedals, Shimano has specialty tools - e.g., TL-PD33, TL-PD63 - to be able to engage the cone and the lock nut independently and simultaneously. It involves one socket that can fit through the clear bore of another socket.

Last edited by John Valuk; 04-17-21 at 05:57 PM.
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Old 04-17-21, 07:33 PM
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.
...this doesn't sound like any of the adjustable pedal bearings I've worked on. Maybe post a photo of what you have in front of you.

Most of the pedal being assemblies I work on here have a 15mm cone ( the Campy crank bolt wrench works for this one). Then there's either a 10mm or 12 mm lock nut and a washer that holds that in position on the threaded nd of the pedal shaft. (Any properly sized socket for that locking nut works.) You need to be able to hold the adjustable cone in place, and still be able to tighten down the lock nut.
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Old 04-17-21, 09:45 PM
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I understand your need, having overhauled pedals by Lyotard and Campagnolo. It's tight in there. So I will make a suggestion instead of criticizing your request. Have you tried entering "thin wall socket set" in your browser search window?

https://www.mcmaster.com/thin-wall-sockets/

I've heard Snap-On and SKS sockets are thinner than Craftsman, and Harbor Freight advertises thin-wall sets.

Last edited by oldbobcat; 04-17-21 at 09:54 PM.
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Old 04-18-21, 04:14 AM
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Snap On non impact sockets are thinner than other brands. I have a chest full them and they're all I use. That said, they weren't purchased for bicycle repair work.

That said, you might be able to buy another set of pedals for what the Snap It Off In Ya man wants for a single socket.
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Old 04-18-21, 08:51 AM
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I've also heard them called "deep-well" sockets. I have a set of these ("Husky" brand, probably imported) that have served me well for many years.
Most of the pedal servicing i've done has been on MKS pedals on my folding bike. Once the plastic () end cap is removed, a 10mm socket reaches the locknut (this doesn't have to be deep-well), and a 12mm (or maybe 13mm... it's been a while) reaches far enough in to engage the cone. There's a non-rotating washer between the cone and locknut, so it's not necessary to be able to hold the cone while tightening the locknut. If the adjustment winds up a little too tight, the cone can be backed out against the locknut. It's easy.
I have Shimano SPD pedals on a couple other bikes, and as Iride01 said (post #2) the bearing assemblies come out in one piece and don't have to be disassembled for lubrication. In the case that adjustment is needed, the deep-well sockets can be used in the same way.
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Old 04-18-21, 12:26 PM
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When those wear out get these. Much easier to work on and if cared for last a life time. Amazon.com : MKS Sylvan Touring Pedal Double Sided : Bike Pedals : Sports & Outdoors
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Old 04-18-21, 12:34 PM
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I actually use a needle nose pliers to adjust the bearing pre-load before slipping on the dimpled washer and then the locknut. The dimpled washer keeps the preloaded nut from turning while you tighten the locking nut. On my pedals I've been able to get a craftsman deepwell socket in to tighten the locking nut. I also find that if I put too much torque on the locking nut it adds more preload to the bearings, which is frustrating. Good luck BTW=lots of cheap Chinese sockets are really thin walled.
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Old 04-18-21, 12:43 PM
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Originally Posted by davidad
When those wear out get these. Much easier to work on and if cared for last a life time.
I wish I could... those have a nice, easily removed end cap. The AR-2 EZ pedals that I am limited to (folding bike; pedal comes off twice a day) have plastic caps that *look* like they ought to unscrew... but they don't. I have looked for a tool that would somehow grip the 4 holes on these caps, but to no avail. They can be pried out with a small screwdriver, but they eventually break and have to be replaced. Replacements are available, luckily. I have about 15,000 miles on one pair, but they've required a lot of service because the in-board (crank-side) seals are poor. Otherwise, they are excellent pedals. I've found that a good front mud flap goes a long way toward extending the pedals' life.
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Old 04-18-21, 01:28 PM
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brianinc-ville
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Originally Posted by davidad
When those wear out get these. Much easier to work on and if cared for last a life time. Amazon.com : MKS Sylvan Touring Pedal Double Sided : Bike Pedals : Sports & Outdoors
I love MKS pedals, but they don't make a model that's appropriate for my needs in this case. I wear leather-soled dress shoes to work (or will, as soon as I'm back to teaching in person, which should be soon), so these pedals need to be rubber; the only rubber pedals MKS makes are vintage-style block pedals that would look out of place on a 2016 Priority Continuum. I've used the previous iteration of Sunlite city pedals happily on my other commuter bikes for years (and have always had to adjust them before the first use), but the spindle hole on the earlier version was big enough to accommodate an ordinary 10mm socket. Not so with the new ones.

Last edited by brianinc-ville; 04-18-21 at 01:32 PM.
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Old 04-18-21, 01:30 PM
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Originally Posted by oldbobcat
I understand your need, having overhauled pedals by Lyotard and Campagnolo. It's tight in there. So I will make a suggestion instead of criticizing your request. Have you tried entering "thin wall socket set" in your browser search window?

https://www.mcmaster.com/thin-wall-sockets/

I've heard Snap-On and SKS sockets are thinner than Craftsman, and Harbor Freight advertises thin-wall sets.
Yeah, the McMaster was my first hit, too -- but unless I'm missing something, they don't make them in metric?
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Old 04-18-21, 02:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Bigbus
I also find that if I put too much torque on the locking nut it adds more preload to the bearings, which is frustrating.
I think that's because the non-rotating washer (tab, dimple, slot, whatever...) doesn't completely isolate the cone from the tightening of the locknut. This can be compensated for by leaving the cone a bit loose, but it's a real trial-and-error task to get it right... and frustrating, as you say. Leaving the locknut too loose may result in the whole assembly coming loose. This may also be complicated by PRECESSION, the same phenomenon that is avoided by having left-hand threads on the pedal-crank interface on the left-side crank. I'm not sure, but I believe this would be more likely to affect the cone/locknut assembly on the right-side pedal.
At any rate, having a deep-well socket that will reach the cone allows loosening up the bearing by turning the cone counter-clock-wise, effectively tightening the assembly. There is much less fiddling to get the proper tightness.
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Old 05-24-21, 08:56 AM
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FYI: I bought a thin-walled 10mm socket. It's too big to fit in the hole on the Sunlite pedals. I took it to my LBS -- they couldn't figure out how to adjust the locknut either. And then, the tight bearings caused the left pedal to back its way out of the crank while my wife was riding the bike; on its way out, it stripped the threads of the pedal hole. My LBS was able to chase the threads, but I gotta say that these are the worst pedals ever. Don't buy them. It's too bad, because they look really nice on a modern city bike (a Priority Continuum). I've had much better luck with XLC pedals in the past and now have ordered the PD-C09 to replace them.
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Old 05-24-21, 10:44 AM
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Originally Posted by davidad
When those wear out get these. Much easier to work on and if cared for last a life time. Amazon.com : MKS Sylvan Touring Pedal Double Sided : Bike Pedals : Sports & Outdoors
I have a pair of those in my parts bin. I filed between the teeth to increase foot hold on them, making the grips into sharp points. Unfortunately, the aluminum is so soft the points kept wearing down so they ended up in the parts bin.
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Old 05-24-21, 12:27 PM
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Cheap deep socket and a bench grinder to make it whatever OD you need - Done.
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Old 05-24-21, 01:06 PM
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have adjusted many of these XLC bearings.are tight as well but the bearings are easily assailable with a common 10mm socket.good brand IMO for the $$$.
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Old 09-21-22, 12:37 PM
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9mm 11mm Pedal Tool

I will post on a tool that I have for adjusting the 11mm cone nut and 9mm lock nut for pedals. Since I am new to the forum I have to wait to post pics and I think it’s necessary to see them to get all of the details.
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Old 09-21-22, 12:56 PM
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I dimly remember from my bike shop mechanic days wedging the wide blade of a big flat-blade screwdriver against one face of a pedal's adjustable cone to keep it from turning while I was tightening the lock nut.
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Old 09-21-22, 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by dedhed
Cheap deep socket and a bench grinder to make it whatever OD you need - Done.
You must be related to my father. Break off the tip of a fillet knife (bench grinder), knock a chip out of his pitching wedge (bench grinder).
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Old 09-21-22, 01:52 PM
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Boozergut

Maybe the same concept but turned and bored on the lathe with a welded handle, nice little tool.
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Old 09-21-22, 01:57 PM
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Trakhak

I have used the screwdriver method, but never completely trusted that the nuts were tight. The tool I have makes the adjustment more precise and secures the lock nut.
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Old 09-21-22, 03:41 PM
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Originally Posted by dedhed
Cheap deep socket and a bench grinder to make it whatever OD you need - Done.
Yep, doesn't even have to be cheap. Ground a Craftsman spark plug socket to get a plug out.

John
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Old 11-01-22, 08:58 AM
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Just having dealt with a keyed washer that wasn't fulfilling it's function on a set of Miche Primato pedals, I am wondering if there's a solution that doesn't involve going through Shimano for tools. These pedals used the 15mm adjustable cone with a 12mm locknut, so Shimano doesn't produce a tool set that would accommodate these anyway. I prevailed when I found a cheapo spanner meant for a recessed lock ring (not related to bike work) that managed to fit into the bearing enough to hold the cone while I used another cheap 12mm spanner over it to finish tightening the lock nut.

I understand that a generic set of tools would be too costly to develop for the expected volume without the set costing more than any of us are likely to pay, but a tool to make the job easy and repeatable is a satisfying experience.
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Old 11-01-22, 09:14 AM
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Originally Posted by JohnnyRAD
Boozergut

Maybe the same concept but turned and bored on the lathe with a welded handle, nice little tool.
I had a similar thought, just a graduated set of sockets with 'peanut butter tool' style handles on them that can fit inside the socket 2mm larger to cover 7- 15 mm. Make the 7mm socket the tallest, and the 15mm socket the shortest and Bob's your uncle. Maybe instead of PB wrench style, just use the same stamped steel they use for cone wrenches and put a ring matching the bore on one end instead, then weld that to the socket to spread the torque out.
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