# Speedplay Zero's... Cromoly vs stainless



## ZoSoSwiM

Chrome-Moly pedal each - 105g
Stainless pedal each - 103g
Are the stainless pedals really worth a $70 price jump? Seriously 2 grams isn't that much. The site doesn't really make much distinction between the 2 sets. I wanted black anyways... black with a black spindle is pretty cool so I'm thinking of saving $70 and going the cheap route. Any thoughts?

Is the $70 upgrade really worth it..


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## Pancho's Balls

The chromoly spindled Speedplays have black spindles and look like cheap-spindled pedals. So, if $70 makes the difference, you made your decision. Man up and get the Nanos.


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## ncvwnut

I think that the stainless is American made or has something like bearings are different. I don't think it's worth it unless you are out for looks.....


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## MarvinK

I think you can get third-party ti spindles for less than the $70 stainless cost.


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## jpdigital

Chromos are made in Taiwan, Stainless made in USA, if that kind of thing matters to you. I'm sure some of that (emphasis on _some_) may factor into the cost as well.


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## alias33

the stainless have a more durable bearing set-up on the inboard and outboard sections of the axle, the basics have a less refined bearing on one of those, can't rememeber which one it is though


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## randyharris

I run Frog's on both my road and MTB, on the MTB I use the stainless version because they are stronger, on the road I use the chrome-molly since they don't take the same abuse.


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## jmlapoint

I have both, and performance and weight difference is not worth the cost difference.
The Chromoly Spindles can actually be installed with a 15mm Pedal Wrench or an 8mm Allen Wrench, which I like. The S/S Spindle can only be installed with a 15mm Pedal Wrench.

If you are unhappy with the Black colored Spindles, you can easily buff them Silver with Sand Paper or ScotchBrite strips which I have also done.


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## ZoSoSwiM

The black spindles don't matter to me much. I'm more concerned with performance. If the cheaper pedals wear out sooner than I'll get the more expensive ones. It's the same cleat for either set and by all appearances they're the same pedal except the spindle. 

Thanks for the input so far!


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## asad137

jmlapoint said:


> If you are unhappy with the Black colored Spindles, you can easily buff them Silver with Sand Paper or ScotchBrite strips which I have also done.


They will rust if you don't clearcoat them, though.

Asad


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## Tommy Walker

ZoSoSwiM said:


> The black spindles don't matter to me much. I'm more concerned with performance. If the cheaper pedals wear out sooner than I'll get the more expensive ones. It's the same cleat for either set and by all appearances they're the same pedal except the spindle.
> 
> Thanks for the input so far!


I think the main think about the more expensive pedal is the weight. I imagine the wear is about the same on the pedal, pretty sure it would be the cleat to wear out.


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## JimP

The black paint on the chromemoly spindle wears off and looks cheap. There is a difference in the bearings between the ti and chromemoly, at least on mine.


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## ZoSoSwiM

Hmm... I don't want them to wear out and rust... Erg.. guess I'll pony up for the stainless..


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## Kuma601

They don't rust that easily. Now if you are seaside, the paint has worn away and it routinely gets wet, it may be more of an issue to watch.


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## ZoSoSwiM

I don't ride in the rain very much... prefer not to. I'm fairly anal about cleaning my bike so I'm sure they'd hold up well enough. However if they get scuffed up they'll look like crap. Which I won't like.


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## Kuma601

My cromo version has the paint worn away close to the pedal body.


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## EDUC8-or

I've got both and can't tell the difference, I'd save the cash and spend it on something else.


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## innergel

If the spindles get scratched up, you can easily touch them up with a little sandpaper and some black spray paint. They'll look good as new in about 15 minutes.

I'd save the $70 and get the chromo's. I've only run chromo's for 9 years and they have been fine. I've never once thought they looked cheap or crappy.


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## fazzman

Im going to go with the chromo pedals myself and toss some ti spindles on them.


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## Gearhead65

Do this...repost of something I put on the Weight Weenies forum.....

Long time troller, first time poster. Thought I'd share a Winter project on some Speedplay Zeros. Wanted to switch from Keo Sprints to a nice set of Zeros. The total cleat/pedal weight on the SS and ChrMo Zeros was more than the Sprints. So bought a slightly used pair of Chromoly Zeros/cleats for around $90 on Ebay and bought a set of titanium spindles of a nano design, but machined for std Zeros for around $60. (Mr. W....does VERY nice work.)

Anyway photos tell the story. Got a set of Zeros that look like Nanos, weight slightly less than stock Zero Ti's for around $150. Happy.

STOCK Zero Chromoly 









Chromoly Spindles









Titanium Spindles









Assembled pedals


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## ZoSoSwiM

Good information. I think you guys have sold me on saving the money. I think I'll put that towards the new shoes I also need. Now to figure out shoes.. haha. I'll have to post back at some point once I'm all set up. 

I've been riding Crank brothers Quattro's for 2 years now. They're decent pedals but sloppy. They also make noise. I want smooth, silent, and dependable. The Egg design works great in the woods. After 2 seasons I'm not happy with them on the road. I'm demoting them to a future bad weather bike once the Zero's come in!


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## foofighter

I really want to try these out but have heard stories from one side saying they're great and from the other side saying they jacked up the person's knees and they'll never ride them again!

So it would be nice to try them out before buying them


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## ZoSoSwiM

I don't see how they could possibly mess up someones knee.. They're free range of motion at it's best.


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## Fordy

*Material Strength*

Consider the strength of material you are selecting. I did some very rough serching ASTM standards for materials. Heat treated Ti probably won't exceed 130 ksi ultimate strangth. Stainless, 200 ksi, and chrome moly possibly 250ksi, maybe as high as 300ksi.
These numbers are very subjective to alloy, heat treat process, and treacability certification. Just keep in mind the chrome moly spindle may be twice as strong as the Ti. How much do you weigh and how hard do you ride? Made in the US probably indicates better traceability on material standards. Of course, no manufacturer is going to pony up with these material specifications. Take you chances....


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## mendo

jpdigital said:


> Chromos are made in Taiwan, Stainless made in USA, if that kind of thing matters to you. I'm sure some of that (emphasis on _some_) may factor into the cost as well.


How do you guys always know where every little thing is made? Is it buried in the company websites somewhere?


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## jmlapoint

I used SpeedPlay X2's since 1996, and Zeros since 2008 and never had a knee problem or pedal performance problem except for occasional Spring Breakage in X2's; never with Zeros.
They are extremely well made, easy to use, secure, durable and low maintenance.
I squeeze a little Marine Grease into the Pedal Port until clean Grease flows out the spindle-side of the Pedal Body. I do this about once a month, and takes about 3min per pedal with cleanup and screw re-attachment.


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## Fordy

*Assumptions*

these are full of assumptions...When it comes to material specs. and traceability you take your chances. I would be amazed if Speedplay could produce a material certification for any given pair of spindles. If you go by industry standards you have the potential for a Ti spindle of half the stregth of a stainless spindle. Assume Speedplay (and all manufacturers) have done thier homework with material specifications and processing. That includes heat treatment. And also they are monitoring with quality control and certification processes. You have to believe them.....Never use a third party replacement part on something as stressed and critical as a peddle spindle.


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## ZoSoSwiM

I've lost a lot of weight.. Down to 175 now. I don't think I'll be worrying about the strength of pedals any time soon. I have no desire to buy TI... too much $$$.. It's certainly going to be a toss up between the 2 though.


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## jpdigital

*Actually....*



mendo said:


> How do you guys always know where every little thing is made? Is it buried in the company websites somewhere?


Yes, it _is_ on their website.  


http://speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=roadcompare.compareroad


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## Uprwstsdr

If you don't mind a red pedal body I recently bought a set at www.ubcbike.com for $159.00.
At that price I thought it was worth the difference. Also, I wanted red ones.


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## asad137

Fordy said:


> Consider the strength of material you are selecting. I did some very rough serching ASTM standards for materials. Heat treated Ti probably won't exceed 130 ksi ultimate strangth. Stainless, 200 ksi, and chrome moly possibly 250ksi, maybe as high as 300ksi.


Material is one thing. Engineering is another. Just because a given material is stronger doesn't mean that the PART is stronger. I'm sure they don't just change the material and leave everything else in the design the same.

Asad


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## acid_rider

i have both Zero pedals - stainless and chomoly - on my 3 bikes. I can't tell any difference when riding. Both are great pedals. Buy what you like and enjoy. I would probably choose chomoly now, since it's much cheaper and it does not appear to be any inferior to stainless. 15 grams of rotational weight per pedal is nothing between stainless and chomoly, i bet even Cancellara (long time Speedplay Zero user) wont be able to tell which Zero he is riding....


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## rbeirou

The guy from the LBS told me that the difference between the Chrome-Moly and Stainless is the weight but most importantly, it's the amount they flex.

The Stainless pedal is stiffer than the Chome-Moly one and you get a bit more power transfer.

However, I couldn't confirm this information on the Speedplay website which I find weird if this fact were true. Wouldn't you want to advertise this bonus so people upgrade to the Chromoly? The weight difference is so ridiculously small for the price difference.


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## wim

rbeirou said:


> The guy from the LBS told me that the difference between the Chrome-Moly and Stainless is the weight but most importantly, it's the amount they flex.


Complete nonsense. As a matter of fact, most "stainless" steels are not quite as strong as their non-stainless weight-for-weight counterpart steels because they give up a tiny bit of strength for much better corrosion resistance.


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## MarvinK

I dont think they're saying it is stronger--just less flexy. I don't know about stainless, but that's definitely true of Titanium. The titanium spindles are definitely not stronger--but they do flex less. Cromo pedals follow the 'bend but don't break' method... ti doesn't bend, but under the right circumstance it will snap.


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## asad137

MarvinK said:


> I dont think they're saying it is stronger--just less flexy. I don't know about stainless, but that's definitely true of Titanium. The titanium spindles are definitely not stronger--but they do flex less. Cromo pedals follow the 'bend but don't break' method... ti doesn't bend, but under the right circumstance it will snap.


All steels have the more-or-less the same modulus of elasticity. That means, given the same geometry, spindles made of different steels will flex the same amount -- whether chromoly, stainless, or mild steel. Titanium's modulus of elasticity is _lower_ than steel, by nearly a factor of two. Given the same geometry, a titanium spindle will flex more than any steel. 

However, it's unlikely that they use the same geometry between the different material types, as that would just be bad engineering. That would be throwing away the advantage of better strength-to-weight materials like cromoly and titanium.

(fun fact -- nearly all commonly-used engineering metals have the same elasticity-to-weight ratio).

Asad


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## jays35

The stainless spindles are a cheap stainless! Will go with Chromoly next time. Not worth the extra money.


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## wim

jays35 said:


> The stainless spindles are a cheap stainless! Will go with Chromoly next time. Not worth the extra money.


What in the world is "cheap stainless?"


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## jays35

Low Grade. 301


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## wim

jays35 said:


> Low Grade. 301


I see, thanks. Well, as far as I know, there have been no serious complaints with Speedplay stainless steels pedal spindles. And from a marketing perspective, you can't lose with "stainless". Many people believe that it's always "stronger" than "non-stainless" steels.


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## dhfreak

Get the Cromo ones and than talk to this guy about a pair of Ti spindles for your Speedplays; http://shop.titaniumspindles.com/main.sc. You will have to call him, but he has them. I've been running them for a while and they are great.

Mike


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## ZoSoSwiM

Interesting direction we're going here..

I'm sorta settled on my purchase plans at least.. Specialized Elite shoes with Cromoly Zero's.. Should be a decent combo!


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## Swish

Go chromo, and use the 70$ to buy 2 grams of blow.


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## MarvinK

I bought some aftermarket spindles like dhfreak--so far they have worked great and I think I paid less for chromo+ti spindles than stainless cost. They are a couple mm shorter than the chromoly ones, so I had to adjust my cleats to compensate and not ruin the finish of my crank.


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## Ibashii

Swish said:


> Go chromo, and use the 70$ to buy 2 grams of blow.


Dude...I know I've been out of the game a little while, but have prices really gone down that much?? I would've had to buy half a kilo to get that price.


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## rbeirou

So I thought to inquire at Speedplay themselves to see what's the different materials mean in the end. Here's their reply:

Thank you for contacting Speedplay.

The weight difference between our Zero Stainless and Chrome-Moly pedals is insignificant, unless you look at it on a gram scale. The inherent difference is corrosion resistance. While the Chrome-Moly spindles are anodized, the finish is subject to wear. The stainless spindles are solid 17/4 alloy and will not corrode. There is no measurable difference in performance.

If you would like to discuss this further, please call us at 800-468-6694.​
If I was shopping for pedals for a mountain bike, I would probably invest in stainless, but for a road bike, in my case, I don't think I'll be putting a lot of wear on the spindles themselves. And just to be sure, I can put a bit of lube on them to give them some extra protection from rust, if ever.


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## CliveDS

There is no real performance advantage to the stainless this has been established but something I have noticed about the CROMO is that the axels get scuffed up from the cleats at times and they don't look good after a few years.


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## ZoSoSwiM

rbeirou said:


> Thank you for contacting Speedplay.
> 
> The weight difference between our Zero Stainless and Chrome-Moly pedals is insignificant, unless you look at it on a gram scale. The inherent difference is corrosion resistance. While the Chrome-Moly spindles are anodized, the finish is subject to wear. The stainless spindles are solid 17/4 alloy and will not corrode. There is no measurable difference in performance.
> 
> If you would like to discuss this further, please call us at 800-468-6694.​





Thanks for finding this out. You just entirely justified me leaning to the cheap side!
​


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## foofighter

dhfreak said:


> Get the Cromo ones and than talk to this guy about a pair of Ti spindles for your Speedplays; https://shop.titaniumspindles.com/main.sc. You will have to call him, but he has them. I've been running them for a while and they are great.
> 
> Mike


BUMP 

got these in the mail today from these fine purveyors of all things Ti gorgeous machine work and i havent put it on the scale yet but they are very light.


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