Hello all!

I bought some nano-x by Superstar (UK company). They were really comfortable and grippy and fairly lightweight too but after 3,500 miles I’ve got a lot of freeplay and some serious clicking, grinding and other unpleasant sensations. I have ordered a replacement kit for them for 15 quid however looking at the internet people seemed to have complained about similar issue with these peddles. Now I’m looking at Shimano Saint MX80 which are currently pretty cheap on CRC. Anyone got any other recommendations? Am I expecting too much just to want smooth operation from a pair of pedals for several thousand miles?

Cheers!
FM

I own both, I doubt you’ll get 3500 miles out of Saints.

Interesting thanks – is there much difference in how they ‘feel’? I’m assuming the Saints are smaller? I mostly do cross-country ‘bikepacking’ so nothing too white-knuckle.

I’ve had two pairs of Saint pedals. 1st pair had a load of axle play straight out of the box and I returned them for another pair.
2nd pair lasted maybe 2 years before one of axles snapped.

Stuff needs servicing from time to time, it’s OK.

Dunno what you guys are doing with Saints but you do know that they have the same axle as the SPD pedals which is bonkers easy to adjust, regrese and service don’t you? They can be kept smooth and tight for years and years with a little care.

I hated the Saints I picked up cheap, too small, lots of play, poor grip. I got good mileage out of some Hope F20’s until I snapped an axle on the Fort Bill motorway – but after 3 years of DH racing thats probably to be expected.

I’ve also had poor experiences with the DMR Vaults and the Steele PO30s succumbing to play and notchyness within a couple of months.

The Nukeproof Neutrons I got about a year ago are lasting well on my hardtail – strava says 1700km so far, I’ve popped a bit of grease into them,and nipped up the internal nuts to take out a tiny amount of play about 4 months ago, still sweet.

I got a set of Mk4 Penthouse flats for Christmas, am excited to give them a run out.

There was no way the play in my problem Saint pedal could be adjusted, I took it in bits and it either had a bit missing or had been machined incorrectly.

too small, lots of play, poor grip

They’re not the grippiest out of the box, no (remove the washers on the pins helps) but like I’ve already said, they’re bonkers easy to adjust you know! It’s about 2 minutes per pedal.

There was no way the play in my problem pedal could be adjusted, I took it in bits and it either had a bit missing or had been machined incorrectly.

That could happen to any item. Warranty issue. It’s rare with Shimano pedals though, I’ve never seen it, so you’ve been unlucky.

They’re not the grippiest out of the box, no (remove the washers on the pins helps) but like I’ve already said, they’re bonkers easy to adjust you know! It’s about 2 minutes per pedal.

Even with the spacers removed, I thought they compared poorly to everything else I’ve ever used. One side (non-drive side from memory) kept trying to unwind the pedal body from the axle side nut while riding. Fixed with loctite. Wasn’t a fan.

Stevelol – Member
Stuff needs servicing from time to time, it’s OK.

*Looks at totally unserviced and heavily ridden ten+ year old pair of Time pedals and wonders where I’ve been going wrong.*

Yep, back when I rode clipped in I never had a problem with Time pedals (never serviced them). Same with a pair of Kona Wah Wah flats I’ve had for 6 years and probably ridden over 10000 miles.

How about Easton Flatboys, heavy but absolutely bomber.

I’ve had two sets develope play that won’t adjust out despite regular purging of the grease. I think there’s a reason Saints are almost always on sale at around 30 quid.
I still use a set but they were cheap and expect them to last as long as cheap pedals.

3500 miles to me is very good mine last about 1500 absolute max but I get sick of stripping them down to regrease etc. New style dmr v12 seem to be about the best for me out of neutrons, nanos, Saints, vaults, spank oozys.

How about Easton Flatboys, heavy but absolutely bomber.

+1 mine must be 10 yo and never been serviced! Still nice and tight.
They’re a bit ‘thick’ by modern standards though…

Wrong thread

Seems to me that the more you pay, the worse flat pedals get. Nukeproof Electrons work for me – weigh nothing, grip like glue, cheap as chips, reliable and comfy. I use them all year round in the Pennines on a P7 and Five.

Isnt it better to judge by your own usage/expectations – do you see bearing replacement as maintenance or a failure of the product? If these were loose ball bearings would you feel differently?

Most reliable pedals for me – small platform touring pedals, large ball bearings – regreased every 1000 miles or so

Close second – shimano 105 pedals – 15 000 miles, havent touched them

New pedals – superstar nano x – best flat pedal (for the price) I have tried, am expecting to replace the bearings – but I see that as maintenance rather than a pedal replacement (I would grease the bearings if I could like pedals of old)

3,500 miles seems like a vote of confidence for the Superstars TBH.

Superstar Nanomags have done about 10k miles and no probs yet.
Delta mags are the same at about 3k miles.