Sun Ringlé Zu-Zu pedal spindle: steel or aluminum?



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Zeeexsixare

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Which is it? The website says steel, but I have a strong feeling it's aluminum. I have a pair and is
the appropriate test the magnet test?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
"David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 00:04:22 -0500, ZeeExSixAre wrote:
>
> > Which is it? The website says steel, but I have a strong feeling it's aluminum. I have a pair
> > and is the appropriate test the magnet test?
>
> Pedal spindle? I've never heard of an aluminum spindle, and I would imagine that making one
> adequately strong would be impossible. Even ti spindles are usually restricted to light-weight
> riders, and, for a given size, ti is much stronger than aluminum.
>
> What would make you think the spindle was aluminum?

The color and the fact that when I torqued it down, it had slight indentations characteristic of
aluminum, while the other pedal spindles I have don't even show a hint of wear. Could have been my
own wishful thinking too.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
ZeeExSixAre wrote:

> Which is it? The website says steel, but I have a strong feeling it's aluminum. I have a pair and
> is the appropriate test the magnet test?
>
Magnets won't stick to most types of stainless steel, although s/s isn't strong enough for an axle
either. It will be some kind of steel or possibly titanium.
 
> Which is it? The website says steel, but I have a strong feeling it's
aluminum. I have a pair and is the appropriate test the magnet test?
>
> --
> Phil, Squid-in-Training
>
Steel. Never seen or heard of an Alu spindle. I just took apart my son's Zu-Zu's after they started
creaking. I was amazed to find no bearings on the inboard side of the pedals. Just a lubricated
sleeve. Cheap. The pedals I find on $10 yard sale bikes are made better than this.
 
> Zu-Zu's after they started creaking. I was amazed to find no bearings on the inboard side of the
> pedals. Just a lubricated sleeve. Cheap. The

Interesting, eh? They work very well for the design and I have had no problems while doing trials
and jumping.

> pedals I find on $10 yard sale bikes are made better than this.

Damn... cartridge bearings on yard sale bikes... you get some good deals.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
In article <[email protected]>,
"ZeeExSixAre" <[email protected]> wrote:

> > Zu-Zu's after they started creaking. I was amazed to find no bearings on the inboard side of the
> > pedals. Just a lubricated sleeve. Cheap. The
>
> Interesting, eh? They work very well for the design and I have had no problems while doing trials
> and jumping.
>
> > pedals I find on $10 yard sale bikes are made better than this.
>
> Damn... cartridge bearings on yard sale bikes... you get some good deals.

You'd be surprised. I've bought two bikes for $10. The first was a superb Mikado touring bike from
the early 80s, complete with triple rings and a tandem-spec rear wheel. It had some pretty decent
toe clips. The second was a Bianchi Sport, of similar or slightly later vintage, and that one came
with similar toe-clip pedals.

Dave does even better than me,
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club
 
> > Interesting, eh? They work very well for the design and I have had no problems while doing
> > trials and jumping.
> >
My son's lasted a year. Then the cheapo sleeve bearing wore out and the pedal started creaking
and developed unrepairable play. In contrast, my Atom 700 road pedals that had double sets of
ball bearings inboard and outboard were retired after 32 years of use. This service included a
bunch of crashes.

> > > pedals I find on $10 yard sale bikes are made better than this.
> >
> > Damn... cartridge bearings on yard sale bikes... you get some good
deals.
>
It's cartridge bearing stuff that I stay away from period. The best pedals (or hubs, or bottom
brackets) have 2 sets of cup and cone bearing with loose balls and forged races and cups. This
means that the manufacterer has enough size and skill to produce custom cones and races. As in
Campagnolo stuff. As in Dura-Ace and XTR stuff. Cartridges are used by small-fry or poor-boy
manufacterers who have to depend on standard off-the-shelf parts. Worst of all: stuff so cheaply
made that they have a "sleeve bearing", which means no bearings at all. Something I'd expect on sub-
$100 bikes from X-Mart.
 
> My son's lasted a year. Then the cheapo sleeve bearing wore out and the pedal started creaking and
> developed unrepairable play. In contrast, my Atom 700 road pedals that had double sets of ball
> bearings inboard and outboard were retired after 32 years of use. This service included a
bunch
> of crashes.

You may be right, but they work for me. I've had ball bearings fail on me many times in hubs and to
an extent in headsets. "Fretting" or brinelling as Jobst says in the FAQ.

> stuff. As in Dura-Ace and XTR stuff. Cartridges are used by small-fry or poor-boy manufacterers
> who have to depend on standard off-the-shelf parts. Worst of all: stuff so cheaply made that they
> have a "sleeve bearing",
which
> means no bearings at all. Something I'd expect on sub-$100 bikes from X-Mart.

They work fine for me, but hopefully I won't have a problem.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
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