EggBeater question answered

In article <[email hidden]>, Chris Zacho

The Wheelman said:

My Brother got me a pair for christmas, the plain no cage variety.

I loosly attached the cleats to the bottom of the Lake CX 115 shoes and
there was no interference problems with the pedal shaft and the shoe
lugs, as the cleat mounts behind the lugs on the shoes. Engagement is
simplicity exemplified, as most of the shoe bottom is smooth.

Excellent ground clearance between cleat and ground with these shoes as
well, nearly two millimeters! No more crunching sounds when walking WOO
HOO!

- -

"May you have the wind at your back.
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

Chris, here's a caveat concerning the beaters. I've used Egg-Beaters
for several years and continue to do so. Both the original Chromo
spindle version (w/o grease fittings), and current stainless spindle
incarnation (designated as 'SL'😉 are installed on three of my bikes.
Over the years I've suffered two instances of the same (what I'd
categorize) catastrophic failure: While riding the winged housing
assembly has completely detached from the spindle.

Assuming you've familiarized yourself with the internals of the pedal,
I'll explain the cause. The Beaters have a journal bearing at the
threaded end of the spindle (where it meets the crankset) and a small
cartridge bearing at the other end. The cartridge bearing is held in
place in the interior of the Beater's body assembly by a snap ring. And
the body assembly is affixed to the spindle by a small Allen bolt that
passes through the center of the cartridge bearing and threads into the
end of the pedal spindle.

Essentially, the cartridge bearing has two functions: a) to allow the
pedal housing assembly to rotate about the spindle; b) to laterally
(right word?) secure the assembly onto the spindle, and preventing it
from slipping off the outer end of the spindle.

If the cartridge bearing is excessively worn the inner and outer races
of the cartridge WILL detach; tiny ball bearings will spill out; and,
since the housing assembly is no longer fastened to the spindle, either
one of your feet or your entire body will soon be turning circles in
the air, depending on your luck. At this point, the naked pedal spindle
will have the cartridge bearings' inner race still (Allen) bolted to
its end, while the separated housing assembly (still clipped to the
shoe) will have the snap ring and the debris of the dissolved
cartridge's outer race within its hollow middle.

Now, to be honest, the two times I suffered this fate (when the Beaters
were installed on my messenger bike) can be attributed to a combination
of heavy use and a lack of maintenance. Upkeep of the Beaters is by no
means onerous and I urge you to be attentive to their state of wear. If
the Beaters exhibit excessive lateral play or do not spin smoothly get
a rebuild kit and attend them directly. Do not, like I did, put the job
off for another day.

luke

Quoted message said:

Essentially, the cartridge bearing has two functions: a) to allow the
pedal housing assembly to rotate about the spindle; b) to laterally
(right word?) secure the assembly onto the spindle, and preventing it
from slipping off the outer end of the spindle.

Would it be possible to put some kind of washer between the cartridge
bearing and the bolt to keep this from happening?

Thoughts?

--

Let the bridges I burn light my way...

In article <[email hidden]>, Wasatch5k

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Essentially, the cartridge bearing has two functions: a) to allow the
pedal housing assembly to rotate about the spindle; b) to laterally
(right word?) secure the assembly onto the spindle, and preventing it
from slipping off the outer end of the spindle.

Would it be possible to put some kind of washer between the cartridge
bearing and the bolt to keep this from happening?

Thoughts?

I suppose it is theoretically possible. I did contemplate such a
preventative but abandoned it: A washer positioned there would risk
interfering with the rotation of the bearing retainer (between the
outer and inner cartridge races) and possibly the snap ring (tolerances
are tight). To my mind, it would accelerate wear.

I suspect that's the reason why the Allen bolt securing the Beater's
housing assembly (via the cartridge) has a head that doesn't protrude
past the inner bearing race. If it did, it would butt up alongside
rotating parts as a washer would; and, the cartridge wouldn't last
long.

I must emphasize that separation of the Beater's assembly is not a
common occurrence; it happened twice in several years over tens of
thousands of kms. And once the cause was identified the fix was easy.
Just be vigilant in monitoring wear.

luke