DMR Vault – Replacement Bushes?

My Vaults rattle more than an 90yr old’s arthritic hip, so need a bit of love.

The bearings are fine, as they always tend to be, but it’s always the bushes that go first. Has anyone had any luck in using a steel bush on these? I’m loathed to spend £25 on a kit (which has 90% parts I do not need) only for the wear to come back in a matter of weeks.

I can buy steel bushes in the right size – am tempted to give them a go to see how they pan out. Any issues i’m missing?

Bushes should be sacrificial, not steel, steel will wear out the axle.

How about brass or bronze bushes? Steel ones will destroy your axles.

Brass would be better than the super soft cheese that DMR use. 6 weeks before there is visible play between the peda and axle.

I wonder if a better solution would be some kind of lipped bushing with a grease port that you close with a grub screw?

It must be a fairly standard bush, can anyone find a source when you could just buy a bag full?

Found some, juicy prices at £3.50 each for a plastic bush is taking the piss a bit, but more cost effective than a £25 kit that i will end up throwing most of the bits away for.

Share then you bugger.

See here: http://www.bearingboys.co.uk/G-Sleeve-Bearings-2218-c

Just put the relevant sizes in & away you go.

Cheers :D. What size are the dmr ones? Save me having to strip a pedal.

According to the DMR site they are 14mm OD, 12mm ID, 12mm wide.

I’ll get some ordered soon too,

Good find. I’ll give these a go too.

I put new axles and internals in mine 4 weeks ago and they’ve already developed play 🙁

Your bushings would last longer if you didn’t spend every spare minute riding your bike! 😉 (Not jealous…)

If that’s aimed at me, I wish! Chomping at the bit recently due to injury!

I’ve wondered why my old Nukeproof pedals haven’t developed play in years of use, having a look, they use a metal bush. I might try and find the spec of them to see if they would fit.

IGUS have a web store and a selection of bushing materials. Maybe one of those might be harder wearing.

No, my ex-Brighton compatriot, Mr Atkinson – twice the mileage and four times the ascent I’ve done this year, despite me riding to work. I’d like to hope you ride much more than me too Hobnob, to justify how much slower I am! 😉

Thanks for the bushing link, I shall order a load.

I’m going to go with some metal bushes I think, we must have 4 or 5 pairs of Nukeproof pedals that have been kicking around, literally for 6 or 7 years, been used and abused, never had any bushing play, or worn axles.

They are cheap, and should last. I’ll pop them open to see if they are wearing every so often.

Love the pedals apart from the terrible bushing life on them.

I’m almost certain that I put metal bushes in mine, I also think that I used a DU bush but I can’t remember what shock the bush was for. I was also working on the basis of not buying a kit so just bought bearings n bushes, I’ve had to buy a kit since then anyway though due to snapping an axle. Ho hum.

Mad. All I’ve ever done with my vaults if they develop play is strip, clean and re grease. And that’s only one set out if three which are five years old or nore

If you put metal ones in… are you going to be able to get them out again?

Yep, why not? If the threaded bar I’ve got won’t get them out I’ll just use a drill bit instead.

Did anyone use these bushes? Just about to order 2 pairs but would like to be sure before spending 30 quid on 4 small pieces of plastic!

I put the metal bushes in mine.

They broke in just about to the point of ever so slight play & haven’t changed since.

I’d have gone through a couple of sets of normal bushes by now so I guess they work.

No wear on the axle either.

I’m not using them at the moment, due to having a bike with a super low BB & need something with smaller surface area to stop me smashing pedals everywhere…

I bought some of the plastic ones and they’ve been working just fine. May well be a fluke but I’m sure they’re lasting longer than the ‘official’ ones.

I meant to post this at the time, but didn’t get round to it…

I’ve fitted a grease port to mine – basically drilled and tapped a hole in the body near the bearing end to take one of the short pins. An occasional squirt of grease through this until all the nasty grey gunge has come out the axle seal, and it’s been yonks since I needed to do the bushes.

Just fitted some metal bushes to two sets and so far (albeit a few rides) they seem to be OK. Not sure how I’d get them out if I wanted to change them though.

I think the key to reducing wear will be regularly removing and replacing the grease / grit

How about these metal/PTFE ones for a tenth of the price?

http://www.onlinebearings.co.uk/DU-Series.html

Any long term reviews from those who moved to metal bushes?

I’ve been trying Igus W300 bushes as they are manufactured from tougher material, been on for 3 months now and no noticeable play yet, a bit pricier at a cost of £22 for 10

I just put some metal ones in my v12s, the previous pedals I’ve had had metal bushes so it should be fine if kept greased.

Mine still have metal bushes, don’t use them so much now, they are in the spares box – kind of got annoyed around the time I put this post up and purchased some of the Nukeproof Horizon plastic pedals.

They have been on since, probably 2000km in. No play, no rattles. The Vaults are crap in comparison.

I got a service kit in December and noticed that they changed the rubber seals. Anyone know which way they go on? A or B facing the pedal body?

Side B towards the body. Rubbish design though, the seals won’t stay in place for long. I fitted brass bushes to mine and even those have developed play now.

Cool. They did protrude a bit after inserting the spindle, so I pushed em back in. I’ve resigned to the fact that I just need to open, clean & regrease every once in a while.

I do like the Vaults but I have 3 or 4 pairs of Horizons too (plastic flats and various clipless) and they never seem to wear no matter how much abuse they get…