RS means rubber (or plastic) shield. Z means metal shield. 2RS means two rubber (or plastic) shields, one on each side of the bearing. ZZ means two metal shields, one on each side of the bearing.
The RS shields are not waterproof or even water resistant. Water and grime can (and will) still get in. Rubbing grease on the outside of the seals around where the edge of the seal meets up with the bearing race will seal them up a little better and keep the inside of the bearing a little bit cleaner and a little bit dryer. When that grease gets dirty wipe it away and apply new grease outside the bearing. You need to use thick grease for that.
The problem with the Z shields is that they have crevices around the edge where the metal is bent to fit in the bearing races. Those crevices hold dirt and allow more dirt and water into the bearing than RS shields. Z shields are also more vulnerable to being bent and ruining the bearing. The advantage with Z shields is that they have less rolling resistance so they roll smoother.
I use RS bearings for the hub for outdoor unicycles. Z bearings are good for indoor freestyle unicycles. For pedals I use what I can get.
Here’s a pic of my KH muni sporting my new Atomlab “Aircorp” pedals! These are the latest, greatest version, which uses a “quad-ring” instead of the former o-ring, or steel “wave ring”. These are the thinnest, most awesome pedals out there and customer service was fantastic! I spoke on the phone with the owner of atomlabs and he told me if I EVER have any problems with the pedals, that they will take care of it promptly! I’m very happy to have also gotten a great deal on price from “Beyondbikes.com”. Regular price ranges from $98-$120 everyhwere else, but I paid only $79! They’re grippy as heck but you can still easily repostion your feet! They’re simply da sh#t!
Hi,
I need new pedals for my Muni and was considering Atomlabs also. Does anyone have any opinion on the Aircorp vs the TrailKing. I am not sure what will be best for Muni. I went to www.atomlabs.com and I did not really find out much about the pedals. Also the pictures of the aircorps in this thread look different than the pictures on the atomlab website. I like the looks of the ones in this link below. Very cool looking.
Mike from atomlabs told me that I have the latest aircorp pedal, as in my picture above; same as their website. Only thing they haven’t updated is that now they are using a “quad” ring instead of the “wave” ring as listed, which replace the earlier “o” ring. These peds have gone through MANY changes indesig and appearance, but the new ones are really nice…and THIN! As for the “trailkings”, I don’t like the design. The bearing caps are on the very outside of the pedal which means they’re gonna get bashed up,unlike the aircorp. And the the trailkings don’t have nearly as much foot contact area. Hope this helps. Btw, Mike is the owner of atomlabs, and was very accessible and helpful on the phone.
Magnesiums are light but wear a lot faster if you do pedal grabs and such…
I don’t like the off-set platforms… maybe it’s just me, but I like both sides of the pedal to be centered around the spindle.
I have really big feet(14 EEE). I wouldn’t want to go any smaller or much heavier than my current Wellgo B-36s. Which by the way are an excellent and fairly resonably priced pedal at $76 bucks from Bedford.
A lot of the pedals so far on this post are ugly. I’m not terribly picky, but c’mon, I’m a unicyclist, not a treki.
I love having one side of my pedals smooth(pins removed) and one side pinned. The problem is, I love having both sides pinned too. Dang.
Aside from those minor issues, picking the perfect pedal should be easy.
They are starting to show the almost 3 years of abuse I’ve put into them. They click around a lot and I’m missing a lot of pins. Even though they are sealed I’ve broken the bearings right out of both of them. I’ll still keep them around for when I feel like abusing picknick tables or grinding. I think I might just end up getting another pair the same, they’ve been really good to me.
