Pedal bushings premature wear?

How long should the inboard (nearest crank) bushings last before you have 1-2mm fore/aft play?

Mine are lasting about 500 miles. Genuine IGUS JVSM bushing, 14mm outer, 12mm inner, 12mm wide. It isn’t noticeable when riding, but it’s clearly not optimal for it to be spinning under load in that state. The bushing at the outboard sides doesn’t really wear at all, presumably because it’s right next to the cartridge bearing.

These were the first decent pedals I got, and they were the first pedal this manufacturer made. So I’m not sure what I should be expecting; is that normal, or might there be something messed up in the design, manufacturing tolerances, or poor sealing etc.

My 2 pairs of Vaults are the same. Not helped by the pathetic sealing

What pedals? If Vaults, it’s because they’re a shit design. So many better options out there now

DMR V12 by any chance?

Not DMR. Small UK company which was all the rage 3 years ago but doesn’t get as much love nowadays. We’ve had threads on them before, I’d rather this thread not turn into another one of those.

I don’t think the sealing is good. They’re not dirty inside, and grease deep inside is always fresh, but I’ve never opened them soon after a wet ride. The seals aren’t a great fit; not tight in the body, and one pedal’s seal is tight on the axle so spins.

Really what I wanted to know is whether all pedals with an inboard bushing are like this. I see e.g. Hope have a bushing twice as wide, and two seals.

So many better options out there now

I have been looking but not found anything ideal:

• Threaded pins M4
• Decent crank clearance
• Not too wide
• Not solely bushings
• Not convex (I ride ball of foot on axle)
• Chamfered leading edge
• Not massively heavy

OK I think we can guess which firm.

I have no info on those, but IME some pedals the bushings last years (Time Atacs anyone?) – but others wear out in under a year.

The last gen of Superstar Nanos were terrible for this, but the original Taiwanese Nanos were amazing. #

And DMR  have a surprisingly poor rep for the Vaults (but my V11s have been great).

I think I know which pedals, really small name… I can’t offer any advice other than to say mine wear stupidly fast also, I think they’re just a bit of a shit design TBH.

On the other hand, I’ve got two pairs of these that are probably 10 years old and they’re as good as the day I bought them. https://www.merlincycles.com/wellgo-mg1-magnesium-platform-pedals-45615.html

Be nice to know what pedals we’re talking about. I’d quite like to avoid these.

I guessed Unite?

Since it’s out there now, yes Unite V1.

What specifically do people think is shit about the design that causes fast bushing wear? Seems most pedals have the same basic design of inboard bushing and outboard bearing.

Get some HT PA03 the bushing seems to last forever. Also light, cheap and grippy. Fit and forget.

Interesting they last, given same configuration of inboard bushing and outboard bearing (two here though).

They tick all my points above except for the M3 pins which all composite pedals seem to have. I don’t think they’re good for my soles, clothes, or shins, and judging by the state of my current M4s they wouldn’t stay straight for long.

Good call on the company though, they have a huge range including a few that might fit the bill https://www.ht-components.com/product

I like the also-made-by-ht pedals from gusset and tag. Same pedals different badges. Same axles as pa03s.

T3 Nylon Pedal

I also have the HT ANS 10 ? Or something which are a decent weight for alloy and not silly expensive. The internals have proved less durable than the plastics but only changed bushes/bearings once in many years.

Some good deals on the tag metals site Ben has linked. I’ve had some of those 40mm rise carbon bars for years and they’ve been great. Bargain at that price.

I don’t think the design of the Unite pedal is any worse than any other – its pretty much the same as other top end pedals – Igus bush inboard, couple of bearings etc, no different to pedals like a Pembree or Burgtec for example which seem to last very well.

All three above pedals use the same kind of seal – a small industrial oil seal, so should work very well if applied correctly, if the seal spins in the pedal body and is fixed to the axle though then the tolerances are all to whack on the body and the seal wont really work at all – it should be pressed into the body and free to turn on the axle.

How long the bush lasts will be a relationship between the size of the bore in the pedal body and the OD of the axle, Igus supply required tolerances, if they aren’t right somewhere then it will result in them wearing quickly, again from what I gather then Pembree pedals that use the same kind of arrangement dont wear out, neither do Hope’s for example.

We use a lot of Igus bushes at work and go to the trouble of having matched pairs of shaft / housing to ensure correct fit as of course parts vary slightly in terms of size during the manufacturing process, I imagine doing this could help.

At the moment im pretty happy with my Nukeproof’s, picked up a second pair when CRC started to go under but they do generate play after some time – if I was going boutique and wanted something to last it would probably be Pembree etc.

I’ve got the nano x Superstar pedals – the bushes seem to last ok. However the refresh kits have all the bearings etc in – but it’s normally just the inner bush that goes. You can find them on eBay usually just the bushes for a few quid.

if the seal spins in the pedal body and is fixed to the axle though then the tolerances are all to whack on the body and the seal wont really work at all – it should be pressed into the body and free to turn on the axle

Yep, loose fit in the body both sides, spins with the axle.

They do mention on the website actually that later versions have improved tolerances to improve longevity.

I wouldn’t describe making a bore that will have pretty wide tolerances to the correct size so a seal doesn’t spin inside ‘improved tolerances’ – Don’t we buy ‘UK Made’ because its meant to be better / made with more care than overseas stuff?

If the seal housing is that far out, it doesn’t bode well for the bore housing a bush that needs to be held to approx +-0.03mm tolerance.

I understand that Pinnd pedals use a bearing both ends to avoid the whole bushings wearing thing.

The inboard one being in the pedal body (rather than a bulge right near the axle) explains why they’re 22mm thick.