I greased my pedals the cheap way, i used a syringe and grease that had teflon in it but what i noticed that the right pedal has lost all the grease that I pumped after one ride. i pumped in grease until the dirty grease was replaced by the clean grease then took a ride wherein the excess grease just came out the spindle area but after the ride expecting that the pedals will still be full of grease, it was already easy to spin and not like the feel of a newly greased pedal which is hard to turn. did i use the incorrect grease? The left pedal no excess grease coming out and turned slowly which meant it was still lubricated well.
Congratulations. With your improper way of lubricating the pedal - you took all of the contaminants that were near the seal and stuck in the prior lube (kinda like a fly paper barrier) and forced it into the bearing surfaces. You have done well in shortening the life of the bearings. So, now you can remove them, properly clean them and then properly re-lube them if you would like to correct your past err’s.
Congratulations. With your improper way of lubricating the pedal - you took all of the contaminants that were near the seal and stuck in the prior lube (kinda like a fly paper barrier) and forced it into the bearing surfaces. You have done well in shortening the life of the bearings. So, now you can remove them, properly clean them and then properly re-lube them if you would like to correct your past err’s.
Chip, Are you certain about that? Seems like he is doing the SOP method that drives clean grease though the bearings just using a syringe rather then expensive little grease gun. I’ve been doing the same with a tooth irrigation syringe for the last 10 years. See Speedplay directions below.
http://www.speedplay.com/pubs/instructions/grease.pdf
Hugh
I’m not sure what’s improper about the approach he used. That’s what the grease port is there for. The new grease pushes out the contaminants and old grease. This is Speedplay’s recommended approach.
Sounds like the grease was to thin, although not sure why it worked on one pedal and not the other. Maybe the inner o-ring on one pedal is bad, although that would be unlikely.
Did you put the bike on a roof carrier to get to the ride? A guy showed up to a ride with bags over his pedal’s, and said the reason was because in the past the wind sucked all the grease out. Never had that problem myself, but if your lube was thin I guess it could happen.
I must be the luckiest SOB on the planet. My first X series lasted from '95 until about 2001-02. Never greased them once. Went back to Time for a good chunk. My Zero’s have a good 25K on them and never greased them once. What the crap?
nope, i normally start my rides at home and trainer all week. just is odd after the trainer ride, the pedal was easy to turn. weird, i`ll go for a thicker grease, checked the seal and all so far nothing seems to be damaged or missing. Last time i had this greased was back in 2007 or 2006 i think.
I’ve had my zero’s for ~9 years (i think)…re-greasing is just preventative maintenance. i do it once a year. only takes 10 minutes (if that).
I must be the luckiest SOB on the planet. My first X series lasted from '95 until about 2001-02. Never greased them once. Went back to Time for a good chunk. My Zero’s have a good 25K on them and never greased them once. What the crap?
They go a heck of a long time if you don’t ride in the rain too much, ever pressure wash and keep the miles down.
Hugh
I greased my pedals the cheap way, i used a syringe and grease that had teflon in it but what i noticed that the right pedal has lost all the grease that I pumped after one ride. i pumped in grease until the dirty grease was replaced by the clean grease then took a ride wherein the excess grease just came out the spindle area but after the ride expecting that the pedals will still be full of grease, it was already easy to spin and not like the feel of a newly greased pedal which is hard to turn. did i use the incorrect grease? The left pedal no excess grease coming out and turned slowly which meant it was still lubricated well.
I do the same thing you do. I use a 20ml syringe from the hospital and it works great. As for grease, I went to the local hardware shop and got a $3.00 tube of marine grease (the dark green stuff). I happened to get the Castrol brand but they all looked the same. It’s thick and water resistant, so far it’s holding up like a champ with 2 seasons on both sets of pedals. The bearings looks brand new and feel like butter. You probably just ran into a too thin for the job issue. The marine grease is about the consistency of peanut butter. Hope this helps.
thanks, not peanut butter consistency as how you described what you used, i think the one i used which is grease specifically for bike bearings etc as what it says plus with teflon turns to smush when it heats up, does the pedal actual heat up? temps over here are in the 80-90s…room temp in the 75-80s even at night
There will no doubt be heating up from friction and outside temps, but not like hot to the touch heat. With bearings like the ones in pedals you (IMO) should be using something thick that will stay put. The marine grease works very well and offers water resistance while lasting for quite some time between servicing.
nice, will look for that kind. just is odd its the right side that`s acting like that. i have two pairs so i switched it up and greased both, both drive side pedals have the same issue whereas the left one was/is still fine.
I must be the luckiest SOB on the planet. My first X series lasted from '95 until about 2001-02. Never greased them once. Went back to Time for a good chunk. My Zero’s have a good 25K on them and never greased them once. What the crap?
They go a heck of a long time if you don’t ride in the rain too much, ever pressure wash and keep the miles down.
Hugh
My first pair I had for 5-7 years without greasing - they haven’t worn out, but they aren’t n the best of shape. My second pair wore out in less than a year. I believe it was due to a substantial increase of indoor riding without socks. It rusted into the pedal from the bottom of my shoes.
nice, will look for that kind. just is odd its the right side that`s acting like that. i have two pairs so i switched it up and greased both, both drive side pedals have the same issue whereas the left one was/is still fine.
Interesting, I have X-2s on 2 different bikes, and wore out another set before that… On mine, it’s always the left pedal that starts to develop some lateral slop and signs of the grease spewing out of the inboard seal while the right one appears airtight and solid. I attribute it to a biomechanical anomaly where my left foot/leg exerts more pressure side-to-side over the course of each pedal stroke than the right, but never really probed much beyond that…
odd as my left leg is stronger, my right leg was never able to catch up since i tore my knee up back in `88 so unconsciously favoring it since.
Congratulations. With your improper way of lubricating the pedal - you took all of the contaminants that were near the seal and stuck in the prior lube (kinda like a fly paper barrier) and forced it into the bearing surfaces. You have done well in shortening the life of the bearings. So, now you can remove them, properly clean them and then properly re-lube them if you would like to correct your past err’s.
isn’t this the same method that has been used for heavy equipment and auto parts for ages? Crawl under your Nova, hook up to the grease fitting and pump fresh grease in the ball joint until some gushes out. I guess Caterpillar should have posted in slowtwitch before they put those fittings on the D-10 bulldozer, their loss I guess.
I have some X1 pedals and have been using this grease, but it seems to break down fairly quickly. Any recommendation for a thicker grease? Thanks.
Speedplay pedals are lubed with polyurea grease (the translucent stuff that’s usually red or green). Just make sure not to use lithium grease (the creamy white grease), as the two are not compatible.
I’d just relube the pedal (syringe is fine…the pedal doesn’t know if you are using a grease gun). Be sure there are not air gaps in the syringe (you don’t want to replace grease with air), and that you slowly turn the pedal as you grease it (to get all the sides).
I’ve also found I need to wipe the pedal clean for a few rides after lubing, as some grease continues to weep out of the seal by the axle.
Perhaps a bit off topic, but anyone have experience disassembling and re-greasing after using the wrong grease?
Realized I had done this when I went to grease my pedals recently.
I don’t think you really to disassemble, the old grease (bad kind) will be pushed out when you regrease.