An experiment with pedals and 3D printing
04-26-23, 11:59 AM
#1
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An experiment with pedals and 3D printing
Hi everyone!
I have a set of old Suntour Sprint pedals. I got them for very little $ because they were in terrible condition. I cleaned them up and re-built the bearings, and they work great so I wanted to put them on my restored road bike. I use cycling shoes that do not have cleats on them at current, which work fine, but for those times where I just want to wear my ordinary shoes with soft soles the pedals were both slippery and uncomfortable.
I decided to make some pedal insert platforms using my 3D printer, and after a few iterations I believe I have something that might work.
In a previous iteration, the part of the insert that has the platform your shoe sits on was flat so I could print it without support material. That was fine, but kind of slippery and didn't have a natural curve like shoes tend to. The answer might be to have a slightly curved surface, but that would require support material. I normally hate supports because they almost always result in terrible surface finish. After my last iteration with the flat surface, I decided that I could exploit the rough surface finish and simultaneously improve the function by introducing a slightly curved surface instead of a flat one. Here's the outcome:
I'm using Zefal half clips and some MKS tabs on the back of the cage to make it easier to spin them into correct orientation. I need to do some testing, but that nasty surface finish from the support material makes one heck of a textured/grippy surface! The part is printed in PETG and the toe clip screws firmly secure it to the pedal. They work with my real cycling shoes but the advantage is, now I can take a quick ride with normal running shoes or whatever without getting sore feet. Time will tell if they hold up, but they're printed with pretty high in-fill % and are extremely strong. They also weigh very little. The bottom of the inserts contact the curved shape of the pedal body itself, so there is almost zero flexing of the plastic. I anticipate they'll hold up for a long time. If not, I can always print another! If I hate the surface quality, I can always sand them down too.
Anyways, it's an experiment I thought someone might find interest in. Enjoy!
I have a set of old Suntour Sprint pedals. I got them for very little $ because they were in terrible condition. I cleaned them up and re-built the bearings, and they work great so I wanted to put them on my restored road bike. I use cycling shoes that do not have cleats on them at current, which work fine, but for those times where I just want to wear my ordinary shoes with soft soles the pedals were both slippery and uncomfortable.
I decided to make some pedal insert platforms using my 3D printer, and after a few iterations I believe I have something that might work.
In a previous iteration, the part of the insert that has the platform your shoe sits on was flat so I could print it without support material. That was fine, but kind of slippery and didn't have a natural curve like shoes tend to. The answer might be to have a slightly curved surface, but that would require support material. I normally hate supports because they almost always result in terrible surface finish. After my last iteration with the flat surface, I decided that I could exploit the rough surface finish and simultaneously improve the function by introducing a slightly curved surface instead of a flat one. Here's the outcome:
I'm using Zefal half clips and some MKS tabs on the back of the cage to make it easier to spin them into correct orientation. I need to do some testing, but that nasty surface finish from the support material makes one heck of a textured/grippy surface! The part is printed in PETG and the toe clip screws firmly secure it to the pedal. They work with my real cycling shoes but the advantage is, now I can take a quick ride with normal running shoes or whatever without getting sore feet. Time will tell if they hold up, but they're printed with pretty high in-fill % and are extremely strong. They also weigh very little. The bottom of the inserts contact the curved shape of the pedal body itself, so there is almost zero flexing of the plastic. I anticipate they'll hold up for a long time. If not, I can always print another! If I hate the surface quality, I can always sand them down too.
Anyways, it's an experiment I thought someone might find interest in. Enjoy!
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04-26-23, 12:17 PM
#2
I don't know.
Join Date: May 2003
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That's a clever solution/design. Nicely done.
