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Just wanted to share a little trick I learned not that long ago which might come handy through winter muck.
This works on pedals with an end cap construction, like most popular flat pedals and some clipless ones (Nukeproof).
Conventionally, one disassembles the pedal to regrease it. But there's an easier way:
- remove end cap
- fill end cap with a grease of your selection
- screw in the end cap. This pushes the grease within the cap through the axle
- repeat until clean great starts coming out of the inboard pedal axle seal. Generally about 3 or so cycles are enough.
- don't worry of the pedals become stiff after this process (maybe because of pressurised grease), they'll loosen up after a little use.
Won't be surprised if many already knew this trick, but for the ones who didn't, enjoy easy pedal maintenance
If they and droppers had zerks fittings life would be great
Yep, works great. Not as good as a real stripdown but great as a between-services or "aargh this has gone flappy" thing.
Do be careful with plastic pedals though, they're much easier to strip.
Just remember that grease will keep oozing out for a while so your shoes will probably pick it up, just in case you intend to walk on the nice patio of any anal-retentive types who get all wound up about greasy footprints.
This has been working well since the 1st spds...1992?
I'd say it's as good as a strip down, which is often an utter pita.
This is an old trick, but I was cautioned by my dad, who's an old school cyclist and mechanical engineer, that with newer cartridge bearings you're forcing the grease past the seals, so may end up damaging them.
@ajantom that would be true in case of true sealed cartridge bearings. However, almost every pedal in the market uses shielded, not sealed, bearings. With shielded bearings this process is fine.
Ah, that makes sense. Just worth checking which type of bearings are in there first.
I've gone one step further and cut a small cross shaped hole on the end caps. Just pop the grease gun on and pump away. Sure I read about that trick years ago in one of the MTB mags.
Yup, an old trick but thanks OP, this is how the knowledge gets passed down 🙂
I seem to remember buying a kit where I drilled a hole in the pedal end caps and installed a grease-port.
TBF It's only takes a couple of seconds to remove the nut at the end of the axle and whip the pedal body off and give it a proper clean and grease ! That is if you have the right socket.
My few years old Nukeproof Horizons eat bushings (pedal body probably worn) so usually change them at the same time..
On some pedals, the pressure can force the bushing out which then means the seal doesn't sit properly. Ask me how I know it happens in the DMR Vault.
@binman I will never argue that the method I mentioned fully replaces a full pedal stripdown. But it's way quicker, and does a proper job. Most industrial equipment have periodic full rebuilds but frequent greasing injection through grease nipples.
@Onzadog , that's interesting
Irony is, I'd stripped them down and done it the conventional way, so while there was a slight over fill of grease in the end cap, I wasn't intentionally purging.
Luckily my thumbs are so fat they can create a seal over the pedal end so I can manually push the grease through & don't have to bother with taking the cap on and of 👍
But you miss out on the pop/fart noise you get when purging the grease in the conventional manner....
Huh, never done this before until last night - that was rather satisfying. Excellent tip!
Used to do this years ago with the original SPD pedals; drill a hole 2mm in the outside end of the pedal and use a grease gun with a pointy nipple to push grease through until it squidges out at the crank side. The grease blocks the hole until you do it again.
I use an old pedal end cap with a grease nipple fitted to it. Whip out existing pedal end cap, screw in the bodged one with the grease nipple & fill with clean grease. I'm surprised at the filth that comes out in the old grease. The thread on the cap seems common to a few different makes of pedals.
Oh for the return of WTB GreaseGuard.