# crank bros pedals: bushing vs needle bearing, and durability



## seppo17 (Dec 7, 2008)

So I guess I'm ok with having to rebuild the pedals after a couple seasons of racing (or maybe after each season). But not after just a couple weekends of racing in the mud. So WTF?

Are the bushing based candy 2/ eb 2 more durable?

Or am I just suppose to take them apart and clean/re-grease them after racing in the mud?

After "rebuilding" an eggbeater and the bearing removal tool just destroying the needle bearing and leaving the bearing race stuck in the pedal body this weekend I'm tempted to switch to time atac's.


----------



## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

I have several of the bushing type, both old and new style.

I really like eggies for ease of entry, and use them on my rain/winter bikes.

The downside is a pretty poor design IMO of the seal that seems to allow plenty of water into the bushing area. I have had to discard pedals because of excessive corrosion (and this is on "stainless" spindles).

In your shoes (punny eh?) I'd be looking for something that can stand up the the water/dirt situation a little better. It's going to be constant maintenance otherwise.


----------



## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

inferior copy of Time ATAC. My ATACs are from the late 90s, haven't done much other than clean off the mud


----------



## davemess (Dec 26, 2008)

I was a die hard supporter of Crank Bros. (even on this site), until this year. I had 4 failures this year (one a broken axle!). I bought a ton of rebuild kits (I'd rebuilt a few before) which were incredibly hard to find for the older bushings models (I think I found a shop in Maine and bout 8 kits), and went about rebuilding three of them. I was only able to rebuild one (and about a week later one of the beaters broke off, granted the pedals were 8 years old), and had to send 3 sets into Crank Bros to get the broken bearing pieces out. After a bunch of hassles and missed phone calls, I finally talked to a tech there who told me only one of the three pedals was even worth rebuilding since they were older and they have such better designs now and would I like to trade/upgrade for a small fee! I was not pleased. Two of the pedals were only about 3 years old. I had him send me the pedals back after he told me that I should be rebuilding the pedals EVERY YEAR!!!! I still have a few rebuild kits so I"ll probably just throw them on my commuter etc. The next day I bought two pair of ATACS (I have had an amazing experience with my IMPACT road pedals), and sadly haven't yet been able to ride them. 

I love the design of CB's, and the mud clearance is second to none. But I live in the PNW, and I think it is utterly ridiculous to 1.) design a pedal where the only thing keeping the pedal to the spindle is the bearings and 2.) tell a customer that they should be expected to spend $20 PER YEAR to rebuild their pedals. 3.) Consistently have pedals fail within a couple years of purchase (and we all know that most CB failures are usually pretty catastrophic). I'd previously had good service with CB when I broke a beater years ago, but I finally threw in the towel this year. 

Now who wants to buy all these new cleats from me......


----------



## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

davemess said:


> I was a die hard supporter of Crank Bros. (even on this site), until this year. I had 4 failures this year (one a broken axle!). I bought a ton of rebuild kits (I'd rebuilt a few before) which were incredibly hard to find for the older bushings models (I think I found a shop in Maine and bout 8 kits), and went about rebuilding three of them. I was only able to rebuild one (and about a week later one of the beaters broke off, granted the pedals were 8 years old), and had to send 3 sets into Crank Bros to get the broken bearing pieces out. After a bunch of hassles and missed phone calls, I finally talked to a tech there who told me only one of the three pedals was even worth rebuilding since they were older and they have such better designs now and would I like to trade/upgrade for a small fee! I was not pleased. Two of the pedals were only about 3 years old. I had him send me the pedals back after he told me that I should be rebuilding the pedals EVERY YEAR!!!! I still have a few rebuild kits so I"ll probably just throw them on my commuter etc. The next day I bought two pair of ATACS (I have had an amazing experience with my IMPACT road pedals), and sadly haven't yet been able to ride them.
> 
> I love the design of CB's, and the mud clearance is second to none. But I live in the PNW, and I think it is utterly ridiculous to 1.) design a pedal where the only thing keeping the pedal to the spindle is the bearings and 2.) tell a customer that they should be expected to spend $20 PER YEAR to rebuild their pedals. 3.) Consistently have pedals fail within a couple years of purchase (and we all know that most CB failures are usually pretty catastrophic). I'd previously had good service with CB when I broke a beater years ago, but I finally threw in the towel this year.
> 
> Now who wants to buy all these new cleats from me......


kinda like the BB30. A BB system in cross where you rebuild weekly and folks call it a 'design improvement'. 
My Club had a CB sponsorship and I never switched over after hearing all the stories despite the sweet deals.


----------



## davemess (Dec 26, 2008)

atpjunkie said:


> kinda like the BB30. A BB system in cross where you rebuild weekly and folks call it a 'design improvement'.


To be fair I think their eggbeater design is an improvement in ease of entry (4 sided) and mud clearance. I just wish the rest of the pedal worked better, with less hassles.


----------

