Don't know my own strength?

rjsterry

Yesterday, as I got into central London, I noticed that my right foot seemed to be shifting slightly in the pedal (double-sided MTB Shimano SPD clones) as I pulled away. I couldn't say anything at the side of the road, and a look in the office didn't reveal anything wrong with my cleats. However, when I got the bike off the rack in the evening, I noticed that the head of the front bolt that secures the hooked plate to the pedal was missing, with the shank of the bolt still stuck in the pedal. My upstroke had pulled the head off the bolt :shock: .

This morning halfway in I lost the use of my big ring, and an inspection in the office revealed I had pulled the head off the cable in the shifter. Presumably by mistakenly trying to change up when I was already in the big ring.

Are either of these unusual, or is it just a combination of leverage and winter corrosion taking its course?

mudcovered

rjsterry wrote:

However, when I got the bike off the rack in the evening, I noticed that the head of the front bolt that secures the hooked plate to the pedal was missing, with the shank of the bolt still stuck in the pedal. My upstroke had pulled the head off the bolt :shock: .

That would be unusual unless you are using no-name cheap clipless pedals. I've had that happen once on a very old set of cheap SPD clones (in the days before shimano ones were cheap anyway).

rjsterry wrote:

This morning halfway in I lost the use of my big ring, and an inspection in the office revealed I had pulled the head off the cable in the shifter. Presumably by mistakenly trying to change up when I was already in the big ring.

I think this is not even remotely unusual. I've seen it twice on my rear STI usually because the cable eventually gets very gummed up on a CX bike. Never seen it on the front chainrings but that's probably because I don't shift that very often.

I usually check both shifters every couple of months to catch this as the cable starts to fray before it actually breaks.

Mike

dav1

I did ot this winter as well. Front mech sized and cable filled with grit. Tried to shift and ripped up the cable.

rjsterry

mudcovered wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

However, when I got the bike off the rack in the evening, I noticed that the head of the front bolt that secures the hooked plate to the pedal was missing, with the shank of the bolt still stuck in the pedal. My upstroke had pulled the head off the bolt :shock: .

That would be unusual unless you are using no-name cheap clipless pedals. I've had that happen once on a very old set of cheap SPD clones (in the days before shimano ones were cheap anyway).

rjsterry wrote:

This morning halfway in I lost the use of my big ring, and an inspection in the office revealed I had pulled the head off the cable in the shifter. Presumably by mistakenly trying to change up when I was already in the big ring.

I think this is not even remotely unusual. I've seen it twice on my rear STI usually because the cable eventually gets very gummed up on a CX bike. Never seen it on the front chainrings but that's probably because I don't shift that very often.

I usually check both shifters every couple of months to catch this as the cable starts to fray before it actually breaks.

Mike

Thanks for that mudcovered. They weren't particularly cheap, but they are about 12 years old. VP-104's which at the time, were about the same price as the Shimano equivalent, but had much smoother running bearings (actually remember doing a 'spindle twiddle test' in the shop. Looking at the stump of the bolt left in the pedal, I think it's mainly down to corrosion and/or fatigue. Despite all the nonsense written about pedalling technique, I do pull up on the return stroke quite strongly, particularly when setting off. I guess once some grime has worked its way in under the head of the bolt, it's just a matter of time.

mudcovered

12 years might be long enough. Don't think I've ever kept a set of pedals that long before replacing them.

Mike

Headhuunter

I had a pair of cheap Decathlon pedals on one of my commuting bikes. They lasted about a year before they just couldn't take the abuse and started to fall apart. I don't think this is too unusual with cheap clip in pedals

rjsterry

mudcovered wrote:

12 years might be long enough. Don't think I've ever kept a set of pedals that long before replacing them.

Mike

Probably fair. The bearings still feel fairly smooth, and I'm only on my second set of cleats :shock: , but that does work out as a very good value £4ish a year so I can't complain.