Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Piece of Mind

Right before KoB, I started having problems with my shoes coming unclipped from my Crank Brothers Eggbeater SLs. I thought it might be an issue with shoe interference, as I had recently replaced my shoes. After replacing cleats, trimming the shoe tread, trying different shoes, I determined it was the actual pedals themselves; comparing them to newer pair there was all kinds of play in the retaining bars.
After corresponding with Crank Brothers, they sent me an RA and I shipped them back for repair. Last night they responded they'd fix them for $20.
No thanks.
I don't mind that they need to be maintained, I do mind they need to be sent back to have that done.
I also wasn't crazy about the two times that the pedal body came off the spindle (different pedal sets, but within weeks of each other). First time I was able to get the body to stay on the spindle and limp out of the woods, second time I had to try and ride the greasy spindle out.
I wasn't crazy about the Eggbeater MXR pedals on my commuter being disposable either.
So that's it, going (gone) back to Time. I had made the switch back mid race season 2009 after the pedal off spindle incidents, but was lured back by the light weight.
Time's are heavy, at least the old school ATACs I like are, but they are bombproof.
Saving 1/4 doesn't do you any good if you can't pedal to the line.

1 comment:

Hill Junkie said...

I've lost track of how many times somebody I was riding with had an Eggbeater come off spindle. Do they still use a crappy bushing as one of the main bearings? That has to cost you a percent or two in lost energy due to pedal bearing friction. That alone was reason enough for me to not use them. I've been using Shimano SPD since I started riding. Some of the early SPD stuff had issues in muddy conditions, but the current pedal designs work well in mud. Shimano has always used full ball bearing systems in their SPD pedals. They are maintainable. I have a pair that are over 10yrs old now and still going strong. Bearing philosophy spills over into Shimano's hubs too. No cartridge bearings. Only maintainable ball bearings. Old school, but it is highly efficient and lasts forever.