Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => Folders => Topic started by: ian on 18 June, 2019, 08:31:52 pm
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So, I'm piloting my Brompton through the stop-start slalom of Southwark St and I note the right pedal is making a physical clunk when I give it some mash. It's quite annoying and definitely the pedal. Easing off relieves all symptoms. On investigation, the pedal wobbles around the axle in a way that doesn't look entirely intentional (there's a good couple of millimetre of play). Indeed, with a bit manhandling, the clunk can be demonstrated.
There appears to be an entirely inaccessible and recessed bolt on the other end of the axle, which I assume suggests a replacement is in order? Like most Brompton parts, the pedal seems to be part cheese plastic. They're only about £9 but it's the principle.
I shouldn't gripe, it's about three years old and it's the first part to fail. In other news, can anyone recommend a good place in SE1 for getting a Brompton serviced? It does a good 100 km a week these days. Come to think of it, I probably need a service too, I'm doing all the hard bloody work. Move to the North Downs, they say, it'll be lovely.
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I know it’s not SE1, but I’d consider giving Brompton Junction in Long Acre a call. You’ve a greater chance of getting the job done properly there than, say, at Evans (shudder) in The Cut.
ETA You have On Your Bike just next to Southwark Cathedral if you’re tied to SE1
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Ta. Long Acre isn't a huge hike, I wanted somewhere I could drop off in a morning and pick up in an evening. Nothing urgent, but as I commute on it three days a week, it's putting in the kilometres. It's evens which of us wears out first. I did a bunnyhop over a kerb the other day and, as an unneeded reminder of my advancing years, despite the effort it was something my younger BMX would have deemed deeply pathetic.
Oddly, the pedal seems to work this morning with no annoying clunk, despite my doing nothing other than remove it and put it back. Possibly this is the mechanical equivalent of turning it off and on. Still doesn't seem very sturdy though so I expect it won't last.
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Thought you were getting into home brewing. Just pedals. Huh.
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The idea is that someone who does 100 km a week should upgrade to SPD pedals.
Average weekly mileage for Brompton users is more like 20-30 km a week
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Surely it's not unreasonable to want to use flat pedals on a Brompton.
That said, the quick-release pedals (Wellgo QRD or MKS Ezy) favoured by clipless users may be more durable than the folding pedal? Platform versions are readily available.
My brief affair with (non-Brompton) folding pedals during my return to cycling in 2007 involved breaking a lot of disappointing cheese, before giving up and getting a proper bike.
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I'd go and have a chat in the Bicycle Repair Shop (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5039053,-0.10655,3a,75y,246.32h,84.49t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sQpJnK0QUd4nf4WBLgU1oiQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DQpJnK0QUd4nf4WBLgU1oiQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D143.66824%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100). Not a full on recommendation as last time I was there was a couple of years ago, but they were helpful and knowledgeable then, not afraid to say they didn't know about some things.
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Mines 10,000 miles in and still on the original pedals. They’ve had their moments of crunchiness that have come and gone, but they’re still spinning.
On the other hand my main frame snapped in half a couple of weeks ago.
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The folding pedal is actually fine, it's the right pedal which is cheap junk. You can replace it with a decent one, but normally they come in pairs.
For good quality flat pedals you need to look at stuff for BMX, as typically flat pedals are produced cheap. BMX flat pedals tend to be massive
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For good quality flat pedals you need to look at stuff for BMX, as typically flat pedals are produced cheap. BMX flat pedals tend to be massive
Seconded. Aslo consider the pedal-shoe interface, with regard to grip and durability. Sometimes what works well for BMX isn't kind to civvy footwear (or shins).
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.....but do remember that many quality BMX pedals have studs on them for ripping the flesh off your shins, or possibly so that your feet don't slip off, that don't work well in a folding environment.
(x-post with Kim)
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SPD is always the answer... there are SPD shoes which can be worn in all but a wedding/funeral scenario
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SPD is always the answer... there are SPD shoes which can be worn in all but a wedding/funeral scenario
Disagree (and I say that as someone who uses clipless pedals for 99.9% of my cycling, and has worn SPDs to a funeral). Sometimes you want to dress for your destination, and that correlates highly with the things Bromptons are good at.
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SPD is always the answer... there are SPD shoes which can be worn in all but a wedding/funeral scenario
Disagree (and I say that as someone who uses clipless pedals for 99.9% of my cycling, and has worn SPDs to a funeral). Sometimes you want to dress for your destination, and that correlates highly with the things Bromptons are good at.
Indeed.
I've attended a wedding wearing Look cleats.
ETA: And Barry Mason's funeral in the same cleats.
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In my view the best bike shop in all of London is Cloud 9 Cycles. it's not a typical shop in that it doesn't actually sell stock bikes, they solely do servicing, assembly, and whatnot. They are second to none in quality of work and customer service IMO. It isn't cheap but if you pay peanuts you get monkeys in this game.
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The idea is that someone who does 100 km a week should upgrade to SPD pedals.
Average weekly mileage for Brompton users is more like 20-30 km a week
Nah, I don't like SPD, I tried them on other bikes and I didn't go any faster or better. Plus I like to dress normal when I cycle and wear ordinary shoes, more so if I'm on the Brompton. I'm a get-on-and-go kind of guy.
Like I say, it seems to have fixed itself, leastways the wobble wasn't a clunk yesterday, despite a big climb (for me) up to Kenley Airdrome so I could pretend to be a spitfire. They're a £9 part anyway.
BMX pedals are less-than-fondly remembered by my shins. As a BMXer I learned a considerable tolerance for pain.
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Nah, I don't like SPD, I tried them on other bikes and I didn't go any faster or better.
[...]
BMX pedals are less-than-fondly remembered by my shins.
IMHO (recumbents, fixies and funny knees aside) this is probably the strongest argument for clipless pedals. They only make you faster because you waste slightly less time crouched next to your bike clasping your lower leg in agony.
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The idea is that someone who does 100 km a week should upgrade to SPD pedals.
Average weekly mileage for Brompton users is more like 20-30 km a week
Nah, I don't like SPD, I tried them on other bikes and I didn't go any faster or better. Plus I like to dress normal when I cycle and wear ordinary shoes, more so if I'm on the Brompton. I'm a get-on-and-go kind of guy.
Like I say, it seems to have fixed itself, leastways the wobble wasn't a clunk yesterday, despite a big climb (for me) up to Kenley Airdrome so I could pretend to be a spitfire. They're a £9 part anyway.
BMX pedals are less-than-fondly remembered by my shins. As a BMXer I learned a considerable tolerance for pain.
After busting both arms when a pothole bounced my unsecured foot into the front wheel and jammed it between the fork and spokes I now wouldn't ride a bike without SPDs or toe clips.
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Honestly, I don't like the feeling of being effectively stuck to my pedals, I know, I can clip and in out, but it's a faff (as exhibited by the people in front of me at every bloody traffic light) and you need special shoes etc. I'm a big advocate of the get-on-and-go school of cycling which means I tend to avoid cycle-specific gear.
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Honestly, I don't like the feeling of being effectively stuck to my pedals, I know, I can clip and in out, but it's a faff (as exhibited by the people in front of me at every bloody traffic light) and you need special shoes etc. I'm a big advocate of the get-on-and-go school of cycling which means I tend to avoid cycle-specific gear.
Clipping/unclipping becomes second nature very quickly, but I appreciate you can't be bothered with the faff. If you cycle a lot, clip in pedals might avoid some chronic pains and injuries
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Just chiming in that I like these MKS Urban quick release. They are very smooth and always hang presenting the clip side up. The clips can be pretty snug without making unclipping hard.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190712/62a2c698fdf30bb7355c3872762e278a.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190712/25012a1b37165b06c102343b909f145a.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190712/6ce463b8dff676fca76a310d1075d065.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Has anyone tried the ACE pedals (https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/392336962217) available under various brands on Amazon and eBay? Very sensibly, they seem to have only the left removable (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081SLK7YC/), although the eBay link lets you order any of a range of combinations in that regard. Combined with a pedal holder that goes on the rear axle, it looks a good solution. But maybe MKS/Wellgo are more reliable?
I've had bearings in two of the horrid cheap Brompton right-hand pedals disintegrate now. The left, folding one has been OK, but I'm fed up with them. I've used the MKS FD-7s on my old Dahon, but I found that they chewed up the cranks when folded.
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I'm onto my second Brompton now but I don't recall any issues with the pedals on either of them. I'm with Ian, if he doesn't want clipless then he doesn't want clipless. I have flat pedals on two of my bikes and clipless on the other two. Depends what you are doing.
(If I say "show me high heeled shoes with cleats", someone will find some, won't they?)
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All of those plug-in pedals wear over time. The tolerance between the crank socket and pedal shaft changes, reducing from corrosion (can be difficult to remove) and increasing from wear (whether greased or not). Plated components lose their plating and so on.
HK has gone through multiple sets of Wellgo pedals (variously flat, SPD-compatible and Keo-compatible) that were retired when the play between socket and shaft became too great. The pedal bearings were still in decent shape. She has them on her Moulton and Brompton. Frankly I'm not sure plug-in pedals are worth the trouble for anything except a commuter bike that isn't ridden huge mileage (and possibly not then) but she doesn't like wielding Allen keys to remove Keo and SPD pedals, even on her audax bikes. My Brompton uses the stock pedals.
The MKS SPD-alike pedals aren't compatible with other brands of pedals, though the cleats are similar in shape to SPDs. I don't know about other brands.
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I'm onto my second Brompton now but I don't recall any issues with the pedals on either of them. I'm with Ian, if he doesn't want clipless then he doesn't want clipless. I have flat pedals on two of my bikes and clipless on the other two. Depends what you are doing.
(If I say "show me high heeled shoes with cleats", someone will find some, won't they?)
I'm pretty sure that Charlotte OTP posted such a picture here. Or it may've been in the previous place.
Anyway,
Here y'go :)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49227665032_ef6b04e04a.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i15DKo) (https://flic.kr/p/2i15DKo) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurekb/)
ETA - Those ACE pedals seem incredibly cheap, if they are indeed Titanium.
I've been using Ti Parts Titanium ones on my Brompton for around three years, and they've not shown as much wear as I would've expected. I took them apart when I first bought them - the bearings within are >< tiny. I'm surprised they've lasted as long as they have.
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I knew it...
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To be fair, my folding pedal has been fine, and I think it's a good solution. But on the right-hand pedal, the dustcap drops out and then the bearings fall to bits, and they're not of a quality that you can really service (which would be a waste of time anyway with no dustcap).
I wondered about just replacing the right one. Might do that. I have one and a half pairs of FD-7s lying around.
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Mine's doing it too and only had the thing for a year.
It's amazing how they put low quality parts on an otherwise expensive bike.
Shit really.
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All the parts are low quality. It's a £200 bike (or would be if it was assembled in the Far East, like everything else) sold for £1000. You're paying for London labour costs, a lot of marketing and a fairly decent profit margin. The latter is helped by aggressive IP enforcement (the patent is long expired, but the general appearance is trademarked) and highly dubious retail price maintenance; Brompton stop supplying dealers that sell at any meaningful discount, and always have.
It still folds smaller than anything else and holds up reasonably well. Except the wheels, which can be dreadful and usually need taking apart and rebuilding when new.