Pedal repairs by post

[adamant]

I have a nice pair of Ritchey spd pedals, with titanium axels that are now around 15 years old. Yesterday one of them stripped out and the pedal detached itself from the axel. I would prefer to get them fixed, than replace them. Does anyone offer this kind of service? All help much appreciated.

[wirral_cyclist]

Which bit of the several threads in a pedal stripped? Crank, or axle end thread, or one of the outer retaining threads?

Crank threads (just about all female threads) can be helicoiled very easily - actual male threads on the pedal axle is a bit more of a challenge.

[adamant]

Sorry, no threads are stripped, that I can see, but the pedal has fallen off the axel. I can't tell if anything is missing. I am pretty sure that the bearings are fixed, but whether they are there, or not, I can't tell.

[broadway]

A photo would help.

[adamant]

Here it is...

[wirral_cyclist]

You need to ping the end cap off the pedal and see if the retaining 'gubbins' are still OK - may just need a new nut.

[andrew_s]

I'd guess that the cartridge bearing on the end of the axle has fallen apart.
If so, the inner race will still be on the end of the axle with a nut or bolt holding it on, and the outer race will be in the end of the pedal under the end cap. To fix, extract the remains of the old cartridge bearing, put a new one into the end of the pedal, poke the axle through the pedal and bearing inner race, fasten up the nult or bolt, and replave the end cap.
New bearings are cheapest from bearing stockists (yellow pages, watch out for minimum orders). You'll probably need to take out the intact bearing from the other pedal to get the bearing code or to serve as an example to the bearing stockist.

[adamant]

Brilliant, thank you all. I have now taken both pedals apart. The bearing on the right pedal has disintegrated. Hopefully a new one won't be too hard to find and I will be up and running again soon. Really touched that so many of you have given this thought and proffered help. My local bike shop advised that it was probably not worthwhile!

[531colin]

............................ My local bike shop advised that it was probably not worthwhile!

try this exercise; log how long it takes you to source, order/collect your bearing(s)
Add the time to strip and re-assemble the pedals (or maybe half that time, a bike shop mechanic will be quick)

The bike shop needs to charge you £30 per hour if they want to stay in business....makes it an expensive repair

[Trigger]

............................ My local bike shop advised that it was probably not worthwhile!

try this exercise; log how long it takes you to source, order/collect your bearing(s)
Add the time to strip and re-assemble the pedals (or maybe half that time, a bike shop mechanic will be quick)

The bike shop needs to charge you £30 per hour if they want to stay in business....makes it an expensive repair

Whilst I can sympathise with that, a good bike shop IMO would have said something like;

"It'll cost you too much for me to fix that, but if you really want to repair it rather than bin it you just need to take it apart, suss out the bearings needed and replace"

That would have taken about all of 10 seconds of his precious/expensive time.

[reohn2]

Sometimes things are worth the repair economically sometimes its better to buy new.
Shimano M520's cost £20 with cleats,they are very easy to service every 2to3years with the special tool (£5),the oldest pair I have still in regular use are almost ten years old and still sweet.

[adamant]

I am not unsympathetic to the harsh economic realities of running a bike shop. Having now repaired the pedal, I think that someone who knew what they were doing could have finished the job in 15 minutes – assuming that they had the bearing. The bearings, I discovered, are not in the least bit rare or unusual and ought to be the kind of part you would keep in stock. It cost me £3.

It is a shop that I am inclined to like. It sponsors a racing team and carries by far the best stock of better-quality bikes in the area and it is staffed by enthusiasts.

However, this the second time that I have left feeling slightly let down. Couple of months ago, I wanted to replace the micro-adjusters on a pair of drop outs. The staff, who are all in their 20s, told me with complete confidence that Campagnolo neither make, nor have ever made drop outs.

I frequently stop myself from buying on line and going to pay more in a shop, because I believe that we needs bike shops and I want to support them. It does not take too many experiences like this, however, before mail-order savings will seem too attractive to resist.