are look pedals serviceable?

[alecstilleyedye]

my look pedals have a bit of play in the axle, and have been making a clicking noise. i have been told by one lbs that it's not worth fixing pedals, and just replace them (they aren't proper look stockists).

although that's ok for £30 pedals after a few years, if i'd bought the £50 variety with the same chromo axle i would be a bit miffed at this advice.

the other lbs in town was shut today, so haven't been able to ask. has anyone had look pedals overhauled for a viable amount?

[Biggsy]

What model?

I haven't looked into Keos yet.  The older PP396/357 on each axle has a small cartridge bearing (that cannot be changed easily) and a set of needle bearings that can be greased.  There is a special tool to remove the axle.

It's normal for Look pedals to have some play from new.

Play or clicking when pulling up can be to do with the cleats rather than the bearings.

[alecstilleyedye]

sorry biggsy,  they are pp206s. i'm assuming that they are to blame for the clicking noise as the set of flat pedals (with no play in the axle) i put on the bike has cured the noise. i also tightened the cleats and tried two different pairs of shoes with the same pedals.

[Biggsy]

Let's see if anyone knows 206's.

In any case I wouldn't attempt to service unless the bearings felt rough, stiff, dry, or had a lot of play.  A small trace of play should be no problem and wouldn't cause clicking.

[alecstilleyedye]

they do feel a little stiff and dry, a bit indexy almost. i noticed that the clicking was only apparent when cycling normally, not when out of the saddle for uphill honking or when really on the rivet trying to go quick. i assume (maybe wrongly) that the extra load on the bearing is stopping the noise.

[TimO]

The LBS will also not be interested in doing any maintenance on a £30 pedal, it's probably going to cost more than £30 to do the work, and since they aren't new, they're no longer worth even £30.  On the other hand, it may be worthwhile for you to work on them, if the spares are available, and you don't mind doing a bit of fettling.

[valkyrie]

My LBS said the same thing about my cheap Shimano SPD pedals. I've been trying to find the tool you need to take them apart but it seems nobody wants to stock it when they can sell you another pair of pedals for £20 instead.

[Biggsy]

I've had PP357 and PP396 pedal bearings with that dry indexy feeling when turned by hand - but they never actually caused a problem when pedalling.  Any clicking I've had has been from play between cleat and pedal, or a crank or BB.

If you do want to look inside......

Tool from Wiggle: http://tinyurl.com/5okekt

[OliverBendix]

My LBS said the same thing about my cheap Shimano SPD pedals. I've been trying to find the tool you need to take them apart but it seems nobody wants to stock it when they can sell you another pair of pedals for £20 instead.

Assuming they're similar to my SPD-SL pedals (PD-R540), my LBS ordered me the tool from the Shimano importer here in NZ for $8. If you do manage to get the tool they're really easy to service once you get them apart - you can adjust the bearings with a pair of tiny spanners, 7 and 10 mm I think, then fill the body with grease and reinstall the spindle, to force new grease into the bearings and the old grease out along the spindle. The trouble I've had is getting the plastic body covers at a reasonable price so I've just yesterday replaced them with a pair of home-made stainless steel ones.