Speedplay Pedals - Wear to pedal

dizzyblonde82

I recently fitted a pair of speedplay pedals and have only clipped in/out a few times on one pedal and have noticed that on the edge of the pedal next to the metal part is it seems to have worn the plastic edge - is this normal????

sungod

doesn't sound right, on my commute bike mine they get thousands of clips in/out without any real wear on the plastic, can you post a picture showing it?

assuming it wasn't caused by catching the pedal on something when storing/leaning the bike, then have a good look at the cleat to see if it's damaged or if there's been a bit of glass/grit caught in there

dizzyblonde82

Here is a picture, the wear is in the bottom right of the photo:

wishitwasallflat

Hi - I can't quite see any wear looks to me like the camaera flash caught the metal and the palstic is dark so you can't see it clearly enough - if you can post a clearer pic it might help. I could check my speedplays and see if they are worn the same (mine are two years old right enough!) if you want?

sungod

it's a bit dark, i tweaked it a bit to see better, if you mean the area the arrow points at...

if it's the left pedal this area would be on the rear edge when clipping in, it it's the right pedal, it would be on the front

if your foot was at a big enough angle, and you really mashed it to clip in, you might catch that bit on the cleat spring

i'm guessing it's the left one, as to get a large enough angle to catch the spring you'd need to be heel out, if it were the right pedal you'd need to be heel in so far that your heel would hit the bike first

imho it shouldn't affect things, assuming the above was the cause, just try to have your foot a bit more in-line when clipping in

dizzyblonde82

This is a photo of the left pedal, wear is at the left hand side of the picture.

The wear is on both pedals, I think it happens when I twist my heel outwards to unclip from the pedal.

sungod

this is both sides of my lefthand pedal on my commute bike, it's easily had > 5,000 clip-in/outs, there's no significant wear, certainly nothing like what you've got

so i think there's something amiss, either with your cleats or how you are clipping in/out

dizzyblonde82

I have had an email conversation with Speedplay and it would seem that the wear is nothing to worry about, it has been caused when I twisted my heel to release from the pedal. I thought it was difficult to release but it seems that I missed reading the part about lifting the foot whilst twisting to release from pedal.

Had a little practice with my left one and seems great when lifting the foot.

wishitwasallflat

Glad to hear that dizzy - I had a look at mine and I must say I can't see a great deal of difference (mine are two years old though). The plastic immediately adjacent to the bit on the pedal where the cleat spring clips in does get scuffed up - once the metal of the cleat spring releases from the metal part of the pedal it springs back in and so is drawn over the plastic bit as you turn to release. I suppose if you weren't lifting your foot at the same time that tendency to wear there would be exacerbated. The security of the clip and the release/entry mechanism is from the metal to metal contact only.
I wonder if this is a case of that bit tends to get scuffed up and you notice it when it's new cause it was shiny and the suddenly it isn't - but - it doesn't get any worse with use once the initial change ha happened (i.e. its wear and tear)? Speedplay have a super customer service rep so I would think if you keep the email chain with Speedplay and check it in a few hundred miles and if it's worsening or affects the mechanism contact them again (my bet is it won't though and you will soon forget about it).

sungod

^^^ this

looked after, they'll last a long time

you need to pump fresh grease through them every now and then, and the cleats should also be lubed every few rides, a ptfe dry lube is ideal, only takes a minute

if/when there's enough wear or damage, you can get replacement bearings and rebuild kits

when you do have to service them, keep any old bits that aren't too worn to re-use, especially cleat springs for instance, then if you ever break one you've got a spare instead of having to buy a whole new pair of cleats