Crank Brothers pedals – rebuild or replace?

I think I know where I’m heading with this, but interested if either I’m unlucky, or are CB pedals just crap.

I’ve got 3 sets of Mallet pedals (two currently on bikes, one spare), and all have tons of play in them and bits falling off or worn out (whatever they call those little plastic wedges).  Cleats are goosed too on my shoes.  I’ve gone through at least three CB Rebuild kits over the last 2 years, which seems to work for a bit, then they just go again.  At c£25 each, and facing having to stump up for two more kits now, plus new cleats, I thought I’d maybe take a look around for other options.

My boys are both on Shimano trail-type pedals and they never seem to miss a beat – sure, they can get clogged up a bit more than the CB ones, but engagement is more positive, and they don’t need rebuilding every 6 months or so.

Any other options?

I have up on them about 6 months ago. Rebuilds every 6 months and cleats about the same starts to get expensive.

I am trying Hope GC’s at the moment. I can’t say how they are for longevity, but I definitely like they way they feel and work.

Copy your boys. I have always been a shimano man, tried some mallets that fell apart and switched back. XT trail pedals all the way for me

I have CB pedals on 6 bikes. Because this spreads out the wear I only have to rebuild a pedal about once a year, and it take what – 15 minutes max? I’m happy with that, and I always keep a couple of rebuild kits in stock. If I could be organised enough to do a bit of preventative maintenance rather than wait until they actually fell apart I suspect they’d be fine.

My buddy’s XTR SPDs don’t seem to last much longer and they aren’t rebuildable.

Replace.

Shimano PD-M530 on my bikes – can’t remember the last time I replaced a set. Fit n forget. Think they’re superseded by PD-ME700: https://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/pedals-products/shimano-pd-me700-pedals

Perhaps you shouldn’t need to do it as often but it is simple and cheap to refresh CB pedals, I find the plastic bushing wears first so I always have a few spares. I’ve used this set before and it is good for the money.

Saying that, I have some Shimano pedals on my hardtail that must be 10 years old and they are still going strong with zero maintenance ever. Cleats seem to last longer than shoes too.

Give up and pop the Mallets on the Classifieds…. let me know when you do though (if they are DH’s) 🙂

It’s a shame Nukeproof have gone pop as the Horizon clipless pedals are excellent.

DMR make a set that look / are reviewed ok –  but other than that I think I’d go Shimano – maybe the Saint pedals that have a few pins in case you need to get a foot on the pedal but don’t have the time to click in before a feature and need to find some grip.

I have a rule of thumb that’s never really let me down: ‘Don’t buy any Crank Bros product that has moving parts’ which leaves me with shoes or tools. I’ve a CB trail tool that’s seen sterling service for years, not tried their shoes yet.

Bin them. I gave up on them years ago after having to walk back to the car at least once a year after a pedal had fallen off the axle.

The pedals last  months and the cleats about  the same time.

Went to Shimano pedals and while on paper the float isn’t as much, in reality I think there’s actually more ‘free’ float before the springs engage.  Shimano feel like you’re moving freely upto the pint they click out sharply, CB (and time) you’re gradually pushing against the spring from the center until a vague disengagement.

And maintenance wise, I’ve rebuilt 1 2nd hand shimano pedal in 25 years. And I wear SPD trainers around the office most days if I’m too lazy to change into normal shoes and I think these cleats have been in since 2019!

I’m not a fan of ‘platform’ SPD’s, I tried the Shimano ‘trail’ ones (M535?) and they were just worse in every way. The whole point of SPD’s is that the shoe is stiff so you don’t need a big pedal. Maybe they’d make more sense if I rode further in SPD trainers with more compliant soles but even 50-100miles wasn’t a problem when I’ve bike packed in them. CB’s Smarty platforms didn’t seem to have the same issue, but I mainly only had those to protect the workings from rocks.

 I think I’d go Shimano – maybe the Saint pedals that have a few pins in case you need to get a foot on the pedal but don’t have the time to click in

It’s a self fulfilling problem though.

Add platform -> makes clipping in harder -> add more platform.

Whereas just the bare pedals you stamp down in the general direction of the pedal and it just engages.

My Mallet’s always have a bit of play, leave it. I just strip mine down and fill full of grease every few months and they just keep going.

Sounds fab 🤣

Replaced several sets of CB pedals with times some years ago. Very similar action but faultless. The clip mechanism on times is entirely external to the pedal, whereas the eggbeater arrangement is rotating on the same spindle as the body, and has seals to isolate the moving bits that need looking after. The seals are not replaceable, so once they’re goosed you’re in for a very short service interval. Junk.

I’d go with rebuild but then I’ve never had any issues with CB pedals, and I have 5 sets. Although one pedal is currently seized into a crank arm, that was more user stupidity. The others are still being used on bikes. Only rebuild them once every few years, and replace cleats once a year on the MTB shoes. I do live and ride somewhere pretty dry now, though… 3 pairs of eggbeaters and 2 smarties (?)

Thanks for the replies – some interesting points.

The three pairs I’ve got are all Mallet-E, but it’s not just the cost of the rebuild kits, it’s also that I need to buy a load of the plastic wedges, as they’ve all worn away.

I’ve also found that even having CB shoes, I’ve got the Boa ones, so they weren’t cheap, which come set up with their cleat and spacer under the cleat, still doesn’t stop the sole of my shoes getting chewed by the pedal spring.

I think I’ve decided – Hope or Shimano and some new shoes

My Crank Brothers shoes work fine with the Hope pedals. It’s a bit of a faff to get them set up with shim height and pin height, but once set up they feel good.

How do you get to 3 pairs of CB pedals before realising they’re crap?

nickc
I have a rule of thumb that’s never really let me down:

Me too, mine is  – ‘Don’t buy any Crank Bros product’  

How do you get to 3 pairs of CB pedals before realising they’re crap?

Good question!

I’d been riding flats for years, but was XC Shimano SPD before that.  Switched back to clipless, so ended up buying two pairs for me, at the same time as one of my boys wanted to ride clipped for DH racing.  I got bored of rebuilding his pedals after about a year, so he’s been on Saints now for 14 months, hence why three pairs.

Having different shoes to wear with different bikes is a nice idea, but I’ve only got one ‘go to’ pair of shoes for MTB, so kinda need both my bikes to be running the same pedals.

I am trying Hope GC’s at the moment. I can’t say how they are for longevity, but I definitely like they way they feel and work.

Mine are a year old, and going strong

Are you guys jet washing? Do you lube occasionally? My CB Mallets DH last years. Best clip pedals you can get IMO, with the right shoes.

My buddy’s XTR SPDs don’t seem to last much longer and they aren’t rebuildable.

Generally because they don’t need rebuilding. Other than the batch of snappy XTR axles (mostly covered by warranty AFAIK), you probably only need to service the better SPDs (XT/XTR) after at least 5 seasons of heavy use. And even that is usually preventative.

You can get all the axle parts and i think the fixed jaw is available as a spare as well.

(FWIW. I hate Shimano pedals and absolutely won’t use them. But they are rock solid reliable.)

Selling them!

Job lot for £100 (for all three pairs) https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3863893/

I’ll possibly stick a post up in the Classifieds here, if I can figure it out.