To tell the truth I don’t really know when my pedals (Shimano M520) on my road bike have been taken off. A maintenance for them was strongly recommanded. A couple of weeks ago I had a pretty uncomfortable crash in a crossing. I had to stop quickly and the locking mechanism was not responding and I could not put my foot on the ground in time. An another paint spill has been occured… before selling the bike.
I was thinking about selling the pedals with the bike and buying a new one, but I didn’t feel the challenge. I have never maintained pedal before, this was a pretty good oppurtunity to learn this skill.
On the picture you can see the nesscessary equipments. Firstly you have to take off the pedals. You have to pay attention to the direction. If the pedal is stuck, you have to use a 15 mm wrench, a metal bar for more leverage, and a wooden stick. You put the stick between the frame and the crank arm and you are able to release extreme amount of force.
Next step is removing the axis of the pedal. You have to use a special tool (Shimano TL-PD40). It costs about 1-2 $, but you have to possess it. For more leverage you can attach a 36 mm wrench to the tool. For this purpose I bought an adjustable wrench. After that you can use an 10 mm wrench for the nut and 7 mm wrench for the counter nut. Pay attention on the direction before dismount, because most parts are directional. The bearings consists of 12-12 small bearin balls. Place a plate under the pedals, if you don’t want to loose any of them. You can change the balls or clean them, and put them back. I used WD40 for cleaning. With a rag, paper towel, cotton wool the cleaning procedure is easy. I ordered some bearing grease for the assembly.
As a layman the most difficult step task was the tightening of bearing. If it too tight, it won’t move freely, and if it has too much play it will wear out quicker. Because I don’t know how much play I need, I gave one pedal smaller, one pedal a bigger play. And after the first ride I will deceide which one feels better.
Without tools buying a new pedal, or a service shop is morelikely cheaper. But where is the challenge in that. 🙂
