Worn R550 Pedals

dinyull

Left pedal on the commuter/winter bike (Shimano R550) has worn to a point that I'm unclipping as I'm riding along. Right pedal is fine as it's the left I always unclip at traffic lights, junctions etc.

Just wondering if there is anything I can replace on the pedal itself to repair instead of buying a new set of pedals? Would replacing the metal plate fix my problem - can you even do that?

If they can't be repaired, are there another set of pedals (SPD-SL) that won't wear down as quickly? I've had R540's as well in the past but seem to go through them both at an alarming rate, what with commuting every day. Annoyingly, right pedal is always fine, as too are the bearings.

shirley_basso

Trackstand.

Are you sure its the pedal and not the cleat?

dinyull

Not the cleats. Like I said in OP, I've had this problem before and tried new cleats which didn't solve the problem.

The reason I went to R550 was because of the metal base plate - but seems to be made of cheese and not metal. I'm assuming I'll have the same problem with 105, Ultegra etc...

Might just go back to R540 @ £27

super_davo

Reading your post, I can't help thinking if you've got a dedicated winter/commuter bike you'd be much better off running that on SPD and leaving SPD-SLs for your summer bike. I do exactly that because:
- Its miles easier clipping in and out, which you tend to need to do much more when commuting
- You can walk much easier, which I have to do to get changed in the office
- The cleats and pedals are metal so last forever (relatively speaking)
I know some people will moan about "stable platforms" and "hot-spots" or even "looks wrong on a road bike" but quite frankly none of that matters to me on my commute - you don't get hot-spots in 40 minutes of riding

I've had R540s and R550s and the latter are miles better for me. The plastic wear plate on the 540s wears quickly, so whilst you can still clip in and out, they start to creak pretty quickly.