A couple of weeks ago, I went for a ride at Bear Swamp. Everything was going along great when I unclipped my left foot and, well, I was left with only the spindle in the crank. I thought I'd lost the bolt that held everything together but when I got back home and investigated, I discovered seven years of mud and water works wonders on bearings. This happened just about the half way point in the ride and at the base of a long, fairly steep climb. I warned my friend I might possibly not make it to the top of said climb in one go due to the pedal situation. "Sure, blame it on the pedal" was just the challenge I needed to complete the climb in one go. Turns out it was the downhills that presented the problem. I couldn't keep enough pressure on the pedal to hold it on the spindle securely. We finished the ride without incident (at least pedal related) and I began my quest to find a rebuild kit.
After calling a couple of the Syracuse area shops most likely to carry the kit, which, big surprise, they didn't, I went right to the source. Jim at the Geneva Bicycle Center set aside one of the kits they had and Mom picked it up for me. Have I mentioned Jim runs the greatest bike shop I know of?
Three bearings in various conditions...
Yesterday I took apart the remaining pieces and put the pedals back together with new bearings and bushings. The only piece I am missing is the rubber dust end cap (the pedals I have are so old they don't make rebuild kits for them). I am hoping to rig something up but if all else fails, there's always duct tape.
I needed this cool tool, which Dad had, in order to remove the clip holding the bearing in place.
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