EggBeater Failure



Z

Zoot Katz

Guest
Like most sealed bearing pedals, the Crank Brothers' EggBeaters use a
bushing and O-ring on the inboard end of the pedal body and a sealed
bearing at the outboard end. The sealed bearing fits over the pedal
spindle and is attached with a screw through the center of the
bearing.

Wearing shoes with sloppy cleats I was able to pull the pedal body
completely off the spindle when the bearing failed. The center of the
bearing stayed attached to the spindle while the pedal body came away
with my shoe.

There were no noticeable warning signs of its imminent failure. It
merely came apart when attempting to disengage the cleat.

I'm ~145 lbs and recovering from a broken leg so you know I wasn't
overwhelming the equipment with brute force. The pedals are about two
years old though they've not seen constant service during that time.

Question is whether this is the normal failure mode for typical sealed
bearing pedals or is it unique to EggBeaters? How can it be prevented
if there are no previous signs of its happening?
--
zk
 
Zoot Katz wrote:
> Like most sealed bearing pedals, the Crank Brothers' EggBeaters use a
> bushing and O-ring on the inboard end of the pedal body and a sealed
> bearing at the outboard end. The sealed bearing fits over the pedal
> spindle and is attached with a screw through the center of the
> bearing.
>
> Wearing shoes with sloppy cleats I was able to pull the pedal body
> completely off the spindle when the bearing failed. The center of the
> bearing stayed attached to the spindle while the pedal body came away
> with my shoe.
>
> There were no noticeable warning signs of its imminent failure. It
> merely came apart when attempting to disengage the cleat.
>
> I'm ~145 lbs and recovering from a broken leg so you know I wasn't
> overwhelming the equipment with brute force. The pedals are about two
> years old though they've not seen constant service during that time.
>
> Question is whether this is the normal failure mode for typical sealed
> bearing pedals or is it unique to EggBeaters? How can it be prevented
> if there are no previous signs of its happening?


I've had the same thing happen on a pair of Wellgos. It only happened
the one time, and I've used several pairs of similar pedals for 10K's of
miles. The good news (I think) is that this type of failure doesn't
typically threaten with a crash.
 
Zoot Katz wrote:

> Question is whether this is the normal failure mode for typical sealed
> bearing pedals or is it unique to EggBeaters? How can it be prevented
> if there are no previous signs of its happening?


That happened to a Ritchey spd pedal about 7k miles old, just a few
weeks ago. Also no warning signs. FWIW, it was the right pedal, the
side I clip/unclip about 90% of the time while staying clipped on the
left.

I'm taking that as a cue that it's time for me to become more, um,
ambipedalous. Mostly because of the indication that I lack left-side
skills I might need in an emergency.

RichC
 
Peter Cole wrote:

> I've had the same thing happen on a pair of Wellgos. It only happened
> the one time, and I've used several pairs of similar pedals for 10K's of
> miles. The good news (I think) is that this type of failure doesn't
> typically threaten with a crash.


When mine broke (or at least, when the pedal started coming off the
spindle still clipped to my shoe) I was accelerating hard through a
left turn on a 6-lane road in rush hour traffic. I could feel something
was wrong, but couldn't look down. I was lucky it was the right side;
since I was turning (and therefore leaning) left, the left pedal might
well have come all the way off the spindle had it been the broken one,
and I would surely have gone down right in front of the vehicle
following me in the left-turn lane.

As it was, I felt something wrong but the pedal stayed on the spindle.
I ended up riding the rest of the way in on the spindle (no fun), and
borrowing somebody's BMX pedal at work (off an unused bike) to get home
on.

RichC
 
Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:

>Question is whether this is the normal failure mode for typical sealed
>bearing pedals or is it unique to EggBeaters? How can it be prevented
>if there are no previous signs of its happening?


I prevented it by switching to the better designed (IMO) Look version
of the pedal, with needle bearings

http://www.lookcyclesusa.com/pp-4x4.htm


--dt
 
3 Aug 2005 06:21:07 -0700,
<[email protected]>,
"rdclark" <[email protected]> wrote:

>> Question is whether this is the normal failure mode for typical sealed
>> bearing pedals or is it unique to EggBeaters? How can it be prevented
>> if there are no previous signs of its happening?

>
>That happened to a Ritchey spd pedal about 7k miles old, just a few
>weeks ago. Also no warning signs. FWIW, it was the right pedal, the
>side I clip/unclip about 90% of the time while staying clipped on the
>left.
>
>I'm taking that as a cue that it's time for me to become more, um,
>ambipedalous. Mostly because of the indication that I lack left-side
>skills I might need in an emergency.


I'll readily unclip either side depending on the circumstances. Given
the road crown, the left foot is usually dabbed unless I'm at the
curb. Lately I've been unclipping the left foot (injured side) before
unclipping and dabbing on the right side. I still can't trust the left
ankle to not collapse.
--
zk
 
Wed, 03 Aug 2005 07:52:48 -0400,
<[email protected]>, Peter Cole
<[email protected]> wrote:
\
>> Wearing shoes with sloppy cleats I was able to pull the pedal body
>> completely off the spindle when the bearing failed. The center of the
>> bearing stayed attached to the spindle while the pedal body came away
>> with my shoe.

\
>> Question is whether this is the normal failure mode for typical sealed
>> bearing pedals or is it unique to EggBeaters? How can it be prevented
>> if there are no previous signs of its happening?

>
>I've had the same thing happen on a pair of Wellgos. It only happened
>the one time, and I've used several pairs of similar pedals for 10K's of
>miles. The good news (I think) is that this type of failure doesn't
>typically threaten with a crash.


That's somewhat reassuring though not as reassuring as a cone, washer
and lock nut.

Mine failed while powering up a small berm in too high a gear I tried
un clipping when I started losing it. I was standing on the pedals and
leaning to the right at the time. It was the right pedal that failed
at the top of a stroke. The forces may have been unusual but not so
much so that one would consider a pedal failing.
--
zk
 
Wed, 03 Aug 2005 11:47:31 -0400,
<[email protected]>, Doug Taylor
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Question is whether this is the normal failure mode for typical sealed
>>bearing pedals or is it unique to EggBeaters? How can it be prevented
>>if there are no previous signs of its happening?

>
>I prevented it by switching to the better designed (IMO) Look version
>of the pedal, with needle bearings
>
>http://www.lookcyclesusa.com/pp-4x4.htm


What's different about how the pedal body is held to the spindle?

In my case, the inner race of the outboard bearing separated from the
rest of the bearing. It remained screwed to the spindle. The outer
race remained in the pedal body.
--
zk
 
Same thing happended to me a few weeks back. The pedal body came off
the spindle. This set of egg beaters was only a few months old
(purchased Dec '04). It came off without warning. Luckily I was
peddling in the saddle at the time.

Prior to that, I owned another pair of eggbeaters. I used them for
about 2 years (when they 1st hit the market) without any problem. One
of these pedals was lost in a crash. My crank arm snapped and so did my
collerbone. The pedal and crank were left behind while I was carted off
by ambulance. Hence the needs for a new set of pedals..

Anyway, the crankbrothers customer service experience was excellent for
me. They shipped back to me the next day my repaired pedal as well as
another pedal (gratis) so I now have two pairs of pedals. Good stuff.

Some other comments are: the original (stainless steel) model I have
required a 5mm hex wrench and had metal dust caps. The newer pair uses
8mm hex wrench (less desirable/convenient) and plastic dust caps, to
save weight I guess. The internal design for both looks the same as far
as I can tell.

On first thought, it is troubling to think that it's a tiny (5mm, IIRC)
retaining bolt that holds the pedal body to the spindle. Then again the
same was true for the (traditional, not eggbeater licensed) Look pedals
I rode for years without any problem. Chaulk it up to someone in the
factory not applying enough torque to my eggbeater pedal, I reckon.
C'est la vie!
 
Thu, 04 Aug 2005 20:55:58 GMT,
<[email protected]>,
? <?@?.?> wrote, in part:

>On first thought, it is troubling to think that it's a tiny (5mm, IIRC)
>retaining bolt that holds the pedal body to the spindle. Then again the
>same was true for the (traditional, not eggbeater licensed) Look pedals
>I rode for years without any problem. Chaulk it up to someone in the
>factory not applying enough torque to my eggbeater pedal, I reckon.


In this case the bearing itself came apart. The outer race and balls
are still in the pedal body. The inner race stayed on the spindle held
by that dinky lookin' screw and blue Locktite.

Pressing the remainder of the bearing out of the body is going to be a
challenge without the inner race.

The pedals were purchased in October 2002 so Crank Bros. don't have to
honour the two year warranty though I'm hopeful they may offer a
solution. I do like the pedals and they always attract comments.
--
zk
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
>The pedals were purchased in October 2002 so Crank Bros. don't have to
>honour the two year warranty though I'm hopeful they may offer a
>solution. I do like the pedals and they always attract comments.


I think the original design of the Crank pedals had known problems with
the bearings. Crank changed the design to be more durable in the
second model year. I seem to recall upgrade kits being made available,
though it may be too late in your case. New Crank pedals can be had for
$50 now days (try Performance or Nashbar); that may be a better deal than
trying to repair yours.
 
Thu, 4 Aug 2005 22:15:31 +0000 (UTC), <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (C) wrote:

>I think the original design of the Crank pedals had known problems with
>the bearings. Crank changed the design to be more durable in the
>second model year. I seem to recall upgrade kits being made available,
>though it may be too late in your case. New Crank pedals can be had for
>$50 now days (try Performance or Nashbar); that may be a better deal than
>trying to repair yours.


Ohh Great! I've three pairs of the originals and never heard anything
about upgrading them. I'll have to wait and see what Crank Bros. is
going to do.
--
zk
 
did your colarbone ever heal......???

"?" <?@?.?> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Same thing happended to me a few weeks back. The pedal body came off
> the spindle. This set of egg beaters was only a few months old
> (purchased Dec '04). It came off without warning. Luckily I was
> peddling in the saddle at the time.
>
> Prior to that, I owned another pair of eggbeaters. I used them for
> about 2 years (when they 1st hit the market) without any problem. One
> of these pedals was lost in a crash. My crank arm snapped and so did my
> collerbone. The pedal and crank were left behind while I was carted off
> by ambulance. Hence the needs for a new set of pedals..
>
> Anyway, the crankbrothers customer service experience was excellent for
> me. They shipped back to me the next day my repaired pedal as well as
> another pedal (gratis) so I now have two pairs of pedals. Good stuff.
>
> Some other comments are: the original (stainless steel) model I have
> required a 5mm hex wrench and had metal dust caps. The newer pair uses
> 8mm hex wrench (less desirable/convenient) and plastic dust caps, to
> save weight I guess. The internal design for both looks the same as far
> as I can tell.
>
> On first thought, it is troubling to think that it's a tiny (5mm, IIRC)
> retaining bolt that holds the pedal body to the spindle. Then again the
> same was true for the (traditional, not eggbeater licensed) Look pedals
> I rode for years without any problem. Chaulk it up to someone in the
> factory not applying enough torque to my eggbeater pedal, I reckon.
> C'est la vie!
 
This has happened to me with Shimano 737 pedals multiple times but I
used them five to six times a week for years. This also just happened
to me with the original EggBeaters but they sell rebuild kits for the
older models and once you get the brass bushing out of the body ( they
will do this for the cost of shipping it to them) it's pretty easy to
rebuild.
 
Zoot Katz wrote:

> In this case the bearing itself came apart. The outer race and balls
> are still in the pedal body. The inner race stayed on the spindle held
> by that dinky lookin' screw and blue Locktite.


On mine it's a dinky lookin' nut with nylon insert. Comes out with a
spin-tite.

> Pressing the remainder of the bearing out of the body is going to be a
> challenge without the inner race.


It's not that tight of a fit. You probably will be able to get it out
by tapping the body on a workbench or prying it out with a chip lifter
(looks like a dinky crowbar - used for electronics).

> The pedals were purchased in October 2002 so Crank Bros. don't have to
> honour the two year warranty though I'm hopeful they may offer a
> solution. I do like the pedals and they always attract comments.


They sell a rebuild kit, but in their warranty information, if you give
a good enough explanation of what happened, even out of warranty, they
may even ship you the rebuild kit gratis.

Tech tip: Don't bother with the grease fitting. Just unscrew the end
cap, unscrew the nut, pull the pedal off, wipe spindle clean, degrease
chemically or ultrasound the bearing, push grease into the bearing with
your thumb, use a swab to get grease on the bushing, and put some grease
on the spindle for good measure, slide the body back on with the
bearing, tighten nut, put dustcap back on. Done.

For a grease, I would recommend something water resistant, like Texaco
Starplex.

--
BMO
 
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In article <[email protected]>, C <[email protected]> wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>,
>Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
>>The pedals were purchased in October 2002 so Crank Bros. don't have to
>>honour the two year warranty though I'm hopeful they may offer a
>>solution. I do like the pedals and they always attract comments.

>
>I think the original design of the Crank pedals had known problems with
>the bearings. Crank changed the design to be more durable in the
>second model year. I seem to recall upgrade kits being made available,
>though it may be too late in your case. New Crank pedals can be had for
>$50 now days (try Performance or Nashbar); that may be a better deal than
>trying to repair yours.



_ This same failure happen with my newer design candy's
yesterday. However, I noticed it before it totally slipped
off and rescrewing the dust cap back in at least keep the
pedal together for the final 10 miles of a century. I was
pretty cautious on those last ten miles though.

_ It makes me wonder if the dust cap is somehow invovled in
keeping the bearing in place. Could a loose dust cap cause
this failure? I was pretty surprised that the pedal was
still usable with the outboard bearing trashed and I have
no real idea why retightening the dust cap stopped the pedal
from slipping off the axle and removed the half inch of play
that was in the pedal.

_ Booker C. Bense

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Fri, 05 Aug 2005 19:20:40 -0400, <8uSIe.9411$MZ6.8622@lakeread01>,
"Boyle M. Owl" <[email protected]> responded, in part to my:

>> Pressing the remainder of the bearing out of the body is going to be a
>> challenge without the inner race.

>
>It's not that tight of a fit. You probably will be able to get it out
>by tapping the body on a workbench or prying it out with a chip lifter
>(looks like a dinky crowbar - used for electronics).
>

With a screw driver, I was not successful in getting it out all the
way. It only raised it off the seat and my dental picks weren't strong
enough to fully pry it out. I finally bumped it out, from the inboard
side, using one leg of a Park Tool SPA-2 pin spanner.

>> The pedals were purchased in October 2002 so Crank Bros. don't have to
>> honour the two year warranty though I'm hopeful they may offer a
>> solution. I do like the pedals and they always attract comments.

>
>They sell a rebuild kit, but in their warranty information, if you give
>a good enough explanation of what happened, even out of warranty, they
>may even ship you the rebuild kit gratis.


E-mail from Crank Brothers' customer service said they'd send me new
bearings on warranty. That seems a fair enough, though cheap, buy-out
of a potentially litigious situation presuming somebody got hurt due
to defects in their material or design.

One thing I noticed when first digging into the pedal were the metal
bits under the hollow rubber dust plug. I'm betting evidence of metal
bits could be taken as a precursor to imminent bearing failure.
Tonight I pulled the plugs of four other pedals and found no metallic
swarf on a magnet passed around inside the body. I think a regular
pedal inspection might be prudent whenever oiling the chain.
--
zk
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:

> Fri, 05 Aug 2005 19:20:40 -0400, <8uSIe.9411$MZ6.8622@lakeread01>,
> "Boyle M. Owl" <[email protected]> responded, in part to my:
>
> >> Pressing the remainder of the bearing out of the body is going to be a
> >> challenge without the inner race.

> >
> >It's not that tight of a fit. You probably will be able to get it out
> >by tapping the body on a workbench or prying it out with a chip lifter
> >(looks like a dinky crowbar - used for electronics).
> >

> With a screw driver, I was not successful in getting it out all the
> way. It only raised it off the seat and my dental picks weren't strong
> enough to fully pry it out. I finally bumped it out, from the inboard
> side, using one leg of a Park Tool SPA-2 pin spanner.
>
> >> The pedals were purchased in October 2002 so Crank Bros. don't have to
> >> honour the two year warranty though I'm hopeful they may offer a
> >> solution. I do like the pedals and they always attract comments.

> >
> >They sell a rebuild kit, but in their warranty information, if you give
> >a good enough explanation of what happened, even out of warranty, they
> >may even ship you the rebuild kit gratis.

>
> E-mail from Crank Brothers' customer service said they'd send me new
> bearings on warranty. That seems a fair enough, though cheap, buy-out
> of a potentially litigious situation presuming somebody got hurt due
> to defects in their material or design.


Sometimes a company gets bad equipment from their
supplier. No, they are no less liable, but perhaps less
culpable.

--
Michael Press