SPD pedals service interval?

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eyedrop
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:33 am
Location: Prescott, AZ

by eyedrop

I use Shimano XTR PD-M980 pedals on my road bike, and have about 5,000 miles on them. They have been working great so far, no issues and still work like new...

I am just wondering if there is an official service interval for these pedals. According the owners manual, my old speedplay pedals needed service every 2000 miles. My XTR pedal manual doesn't have any information on maintenance, and its only recently I realized my pedals might be due for servicing :oops: . I hope I haven't damaged them...

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11.4
Posts: 1095
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 4:33 am

by 11.4

Speedplays can be good pedals but from an engineering standpoint, they have lots of surfaces and bearings that aren't really protected from abuse, so it's pretty easy to define a service interval. For SPD's, the opposite is true. They are engineered for durability and the springs, bearing surfaces, the bearings, and so on are all designed to be pretty self-sufficient. Most people who disassemble SPD's find they didn't really need to. The rest don't disassemble them until they stop turning and then, yes, they needed help a long time ago. The keys to maintenance of SPD's are to clean them after use so grit doesn't have too much chance to get inside, and to check for smoothness of bearings,spring action, and so on. If it's all clean and working smoothly, all is good. If you should miss and let the bearings deteriorate, the advantage is that -- like with most Shimano --the bearings are replaceable, a cleaning and re-lube does an amazing job of restoring performance, and they are thankfully not expensive pedals to begin with.

Briscoelab
Posts: 1513
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:01 pm

by Briscoelab

XTR980 and the new 9000 do neeed attention form time to time. The new 9000 do better, but the M980 were notorious for having hte seal come out.

So it would be a good idea to work on them from time to time.

If you have a XT pedal, or something like an M540, M520... you basically never have to service them. I mean for YEARS of use.

RussellS
Posts: 916
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:31 am

by RussellS

I only use the cheaper Shimano SPD pedals. Pretty sure the service interval, or life expectancy, is after 50 or so years of use, they might, maybe stop being smooth, and then you throw them away. Or replace the bearings as the other guy said. Then ride them for another 50 years. The SPD cleat on your shoes might, maybe wear out once in that 50 years. So you would need to buy new cleats. I'd suggest putting a whole dollar into your savings account. With compound interest over the next 25-50 years, it should grow enough to buy a new pair of cleats.

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