[Spec7]

How often do you have to replace your clipless pedals due to mechanical failure?

I ask because as someone who has been riding for over 24 years, it seems that clipless pedals now are not as durable as they were 15 years ago. I first bought Time ATAC aliums 15 years ago and those pedals did not crap out on me until they were five or six years old. They were maintained during those years, but the bearings finally gave out. I bought a replacement set of Times for both bikes and the bearings in both sets gave out after about three years of use. I continued to purchase Time pedals, now it seems that I'm having to replace them after about a year and half of riding. Today's ride was made more technical with the threaded end of the right pedal axle breaking off. Yes I know I can purchase replacement axles, bearings, etc, but after only 1.5 to 2 years of usage I cant help but wonder if there are more durable pedal options out there.

What is your experience?

 

[aerius]

Still on my sets of Time ATAC pedals from around 12 years ago. One is an ATAC carbon and the other is a carbon Ti, the former is on its 2nd set of bearings while the other is still all original. I do clean & repack the bearings every year or 2 depending on how much I abuse them.

As for more durable pedals, Time is as good as it gets in the world of clipless pedals. If you're going through them every couple years, you will most likely kill any other pedal in well under a year. Best bet would be to hunt down a set of ATACs from around 10-12 years ago or a set of Shimano M747 pedals. I think those were the most durable pedals ever made, all pedals after that were compromised in the interest of weight savings.

 

[scatterbrained]

Rode a pair of Onzas for several years with no issues. When I got tired of the goofy urethane bumpers I moved to Times. Never had an issue with them (97-04) In 04 I bought a new bike and left the pedals on it that came with it (SPDs). I only just replaced those pedals with a pair of Times again, but only because they were so beat up looking. .. . . and I missed my old Time pedals.

 

[Procter]

Those onzas were great! My first clipless. Very durable. But, those were stolen with the bike so can't comment on longevity.

Next, my 2001 time Atac alium lasted only 500mi or so before they had bearing problems. But,i could probably have just rebuilt them, they're in my parts bin.

Recently I've put 600mi on my xtr trail and 500mi on my xt. No problems despite many pedal strikes and rough riding.

Sent from (redacted by nsa)

 

[Hang 21]

Not to jump on the Time bandwagon, but I've had a similar experience to aerius' with ATAC pedals. I have a set of carbon Ti's with about 8000 dry-weather miles on them. I'm ashamed to say they've had no maintenance, but are otherwise still functional and in decent condition. I usually only buy new pedals when I buy a new bike.

 

[sprunghunt]

I have a pair of shimano PD959s I've had for 12 years. I replaced my old shimano SPD pedals from 1993 with them because they're so much lighter. They didn't wear out.

 

[burtronix]

I replace bikes more frequently than pedals. I bought a new bike last year & moved my Egg Beaters from the old bike to the new one.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

 

[supersedona]

I still have my first and second sets of SPD 545 platforms. Commuting, racing, winter and just spin the body off to regrease every other year or so. No slop no issues. Also they were bought used from another racing friend since he thought they were too heavy, I think in 2001. While there are lighter models, not enough reason for me to change a very dependable part that I've put over 20k miles on.

 

[sgltrak]

I bought the red 1st generation Ritchey clipless pedals and rode them nearly 15 years before they started pre-releasing on me. During that 15 years, I bought 4 or 5 more pairs (both Ritchey and WellGo branded) to put on other bikes and now have one of those pairs beginning to pre-release and one pair with a broken screw on each side from rock strikes. I would say I get a good 10 years out of a pair of clipless pedals when riding them an average of 3-5 times a week on strenuous trails.

 

[telemike]

I replace them when I get a good pedal strike and bend the shaft. The pedal clicks although it's often hard to ascertain what is clicking. I use SPD pedals and get a bent shaft every couple of years. I get less when I watch the pressure in the rear shock!

 

[mbell]

I've had both Spd and crank bros and have had great luck with both. I prefer Crank Bros and have them on all of my bikes now.

 

[John Kuhl]

I broke one Shimano XTR a few years ago. I'm not a strong rider, but I was cranking hard on
a climb and blew the springs out of it.

 

[SandSpur]

Im on a set of shimano XT's m770's that I bought a few years ago.... No problems so far, but I also regrease them once a year.

Ive seen people ride pedals for longer without any maintenance whatsoever, but its not going to hurt having new grease every year in there.

 

[mimi1885]

I voted that I'm still using the first clipless pedals, yes they are still in good working order but in light use rotation. We all like new stuffs, sometime curiosity get the better of us and we upgrade to the better/newer models and same brands, sometime we try out other brands, etc, next thing you know we have a few pedals to put in the rotation.

I have tried and own many brands including flats, I like SPD the most. The are not the lightest, cheapest or most expensive, or offer the most float, or shed mud well, but what they offer just works great.

 

[shiggy]

How often do you have to replace your clipless pedals due to mechanical failure?

I ask because as someone who has been riding for over 24 years, it seems that clipless pedals now are not as durable as they were 15 years ago. I first bought Time ATAC aliums 15 years ago and those pedals did not crap out on me until they were five or six years old. They were maintained during those years, but the bearings finally gave out. I bought a replacement set of Times for both bikes and the bearings in both sets gave out after about three years of use. I continued to purchase Time pedals, now it seems that I'm having to replace them after about a year and half of riding. Today's ride was made more technical with the threaded end of the right pedal axle breaking off. Yes I know I can purchase replacement axles, bearings, etc, but after only 1.5 to 2 years of usage I cant help but wonder if there are more durable pedal options out there.

What is your experience?

I can not answer the poll. My pedals last more than 5 years and I have never used SPDs. Some of them are less than 5 years old, some more than 12.

I have retired several pedals (changed brands/models), wore out a few (but they never failed), one with damage that affects its use (but not a failure), and two that broke after many years of service.

 

[indigo_falconm40]

I have replace my Crank Brothers Candy eggbeater pedals with their eggbeaters 3 pedals due to wear and tear. The candy eggbeaters lasted good 5yrs and about 2,000 miles

 

[ghettocruiser]

The binders on my shimano pedals get worn from clipping in and out after about 10-12 years.

I never do any maintenance on them, ever.

 

[HitmenOnlyInc]

I have ridden SPD's for about 20 years and never had one fail and I've never had to rebuild one. I've upgraded to different models but that's about it. I recently decided to try CB Candy's but I already know that I will need to rebuild at some point. I like the float compared to Shimano but I can tell that they will never live up to SPD longevity.

 

[BrentP]

I've been riding on SPD's since they were first introduced about 20 years ago (paid a fortune for them, then) and I still have my first pair mounted on one of my bikes. I've had five other pairs of SPD's since then, on different bikes (still have them all), and I've never had a mechanical failure on any of them.

For a short time I switched to Crank Bros Egg Beaters on one of my race bikes but got rid of them quickly because (1) there is way too much float for me and I never felt securely held in, and (2) I broke them twice within two months due to rock strikes. SPD's, in comparison, are bombproof.

 

[tuffguy]

I've been commuting on a set of CB Candly 2ti pedals for roughly 4 years and about 21k miles. I had to buy a rebuild kit for them about a year ago, and after that they're just like new. On the opposite spectrum, I owned some Smarty's that died after just a few months, and I just opted to never deal with them again. Cleats however, die every year for me since they're commuter cleats.