Just for kicks, I took apart my Wellgo B-27 pedals today.
As claimed, they do use one sealed bearing and one bushing. The bushing appears to be pressed into the 6061 pedal body.
I found out that the 6mm plug/cover does more than just keep water/dirt out of the bearings. If this plug is loose or removed, the pedal body can slide along the axis of the axle about 1/16". Mine actually worked itself loose on its own (prompting today’s disassembly).
I’d recommend making sure this cover is tight and maybe placing a drop of blue loctite on the threads.
I had these pedals too. The ball bearings in my were ground down to little bits of metal. Also, in an attempt to fix them, i over-tightened one of the end caps, and rounded out the head. I think these pedals are good for MUni, but d’ont hold up to Trials.
Re: The best muni pedals ever just got taken apart!
It is common for the end cap to work its way loose on pedals of this design. However, I would not recommend using Loctite on the end cap. The hex key hole is prone to getting rounded out and using Loctite might cause you to round out the hex key hole when you try to remove it.
What I do is put a little grease on the threads. The grease lets you get the end cap snug without having to put too much force on the hex key hole.
You are correct that it is necessary to keep the end cap tight. Otherwise the pedal will be loose on the spindle. Also, riding with a loose end cap puts more strain on the bearing and will cause the bearing to wear out sooner.
Watch the bearing on these style of pedals. The end cap puts some nasty side forces on the bearing assembly. It can actually cause the bearing races to get pushed off. If the bearing races start to get wiggly and loose then it’s time to replace the bearing. If the bearing race gets pushed all the way off the bearing then it is possible for the pedal body to slide all the way off the spindle.
So, grease the end cap threads. Keep the end cap snug, but don’t go ape and round out the hex key hole. Check the bearing for looseness every time you take the pedal apart.
You may also want to get some spare bearings to have on hand. A bike shop may have the right size in stock. But different pedals use different size bearings so a bike shop isn’t going to have every size in stock. Otherwise you’ll have to find out what size bearings they use and get them from a bearing distributor.
Nobody said sealed pedals were no maintenance pedals.
I got a set of these pedals as well, when they were on sale. Four days after their purchase, at the Toque games, my dust cap came loose as well and the pedal body started sliding around a bit – I tightened it up, but things weren’t quite right. I think in the time the pedal body was loose I did a pedal grab or a drop, which stressed the bearing race. Things started to creak and click (and not having a 9mm socket, I couldn’t take things apart).
Tonight the bearings just gave up and the pedal body came off the axle. It wasn’t too bad, as I didn’t have far to ride to get home but ended up riding with my left foot on the axle – it helped me in getting an idea of what one-footed riding feels like.
The important question:
George, can you post the number and size and whatever other information you can garner about the bearing race so I can tell whoever I get the bearings from what exactly I need?
I would agree with Ryan on his assessment of their use: great for muni (the grip is wicked), but not so stellar when it comes to holding up for trials.
I would like to put forward the DMR V8 as being the best Muni and trials pedal, in terms of value, grip, durability etc. I never service my pedals, and they’ve just kept on going, both on a 20" onza, with both pedal grabs and grinds, on a 26" muni and also a trials b£"e
So there ya go
George, can you post the number and size and whatever other information you can garner about the bearing race so I can tell whoever I get the bearings from what exactly I need?
Sorry for the delay. I can and will do this… but I won’t be able to get it done until after I get back from spring break. Shoot me an email if you don’t hear from me during the week of the 24th.
I failed to note any markings on the bearings when I had them apart, so I’ll need to tear them down again.
It’s not easy reading those small numbers on the bearing.
The bearing has a marking 686Z
13mm OD
6mm ID
5mm wide
Boca Bearings has them
There are several flavors listed in the Boca catalog. I’m not sure which one you would want. The stock bearings have two metal shields which would mean 686ZZ rather than 686Z. Hmmm…
You might have to email Boca to find out how to decypher bearing codes or ask them which of the 686 size bearings would be best for a bicycle pedal. Fortuneately the replacement bearings aren’t expensive.
A local bearing supplier or maybe even a local bike shop may have them in stock too.
