What is the difference between sealed and unsealed bike pedals

Good platform pedals come with raised pins on them. This is to help your foot from sliding off. This is great for all riders but especially mountain bikers who need to make sure they can get a firm grip on their pedals and bike when on trails. With platform pedals there is another question remaining, what is the difference between a ball bearing pedal and a sealed bearing pedal. This is a confusing topic. One that it was hard for me, a newly inaugurated adult bicycle rider, to find any easily understood explanation.

That is why I asked my colleagues who live and breathe cycling what this means in regards to a pedal. Below is a photo I found on Mission Bicycle Company website that helps to visually show the difference between the two. The one on the left in the picture are loose ball bearings. These bearings help to provide a smooth revolution or turn of your pedal. Loose ball bearing pedals require greasing for a smoother ride. On the right you have the sealed bearings, which means that the loose balls are enclosed in a cartridge, protecting them from road debris, dirt, gunk and weather, allowing the pedal to last longer and extending its life.

With ball bearing there is much more resistance in the spin of the pedal. This should smooth out with to rides and become linked to the usage of the rider. Sealed bearing pedals are smooth right out of the gate. Our answer is simple, we work with manufacturers to reduce cost so we can bring quality products at affordable prices for our customers.

For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. MMcG Ride till you puke! Dec 10, 15, 9 Burlington, Connecticut. I'm looking at some Odyssey Cielenki pedals and i noticed they come in sealed and unsealed.

Mar 29, 1, 1 Vancouver, WA. I really don't notice a difference until the pedals start to get old: Old sealed pedals will just blow out the bearings, and then you spend a few bucks on bearings and they feel like new again. Old unsealed pedals will get rough as hell either popping or looseness and at that point there's nothing you can do about it but buy new pedals. I say get whatever you can afford, but sealed pedals are better in the long run as long as you can get replacement bearings Repack Turbo Monkey.

Nov 29, 1, 0 Boston Area. Not "bulky" at all. They are the same size as the PC's obviously and no more "bulky" than a set of Odysseys. Vital BMX. Related: Edit Tags Done. Edit Tags Done. PANCHO16 wrote: yes it is worth it dont be like me and end with ratteling pedals that ruin your bikes noise lol. Daniel Wood wrote: haha thats what mine sounds like right now BMX riding Cop Subsequently, they sacrifice a small amount of performance because forces within these moving parts usually have a non-radial vector associated.

As a result, they have to compensate with decreased tolerances. Conversely, angular contact bearings require tight tolerances because they are directional. There is an inside and outside component, and they can be compared to the old-style cup-and-cone systems in terms of design.

They complement the radial and side-force loads exerted with the rotating components of a bike, but require extreme tolerances in mating bores to accomplish a precise fit and rolling performance.

For the most part, angular contact is the most appropriate application for hubs, cranks and suspension. In brief, the higher the number, the higher quality of the bearing. What the ABEC standard qualifies is bore diameter an acceptable variation of the size of the inner bearing hole , parallelism width variation , and the radial raceway run-out variations in the groove in which the balls sit.

The folks at Enduro Bearings argue that, for bicycles, the materials are far more important than ABEC ratings and that for most applications, ABEC 3 and 5 are appropriate for all things bicycle.

As for the 7 and 9 ratings, that level of precision is for equipment that sees rotations in the thousands or hundreds of thousands per minute — a tad overkill for cycling. They may sound like a dry and boring topic pun intended , but they have a big bearing eyyy on the overall performance of a bearing. Friction is a major point of contention for cartridge bearings, and while less is better, a little friction can be an indication of protection.

But once you have contamination, can you clean and service your cartridge without damaging the seal? Bearings are made from a huge range of materials. Some examples include chromium steel, C stainless steel, XD15 super nitrogen stainless, and silicone nitride ceramic bearings.

Generally speaking, the harder the material the better, but there is a point of diminishing returns. Like any moving part on your bike, bearings require servicing.