Frog Pedal Clunk Sound Solved

Kenny said:

For the life of me I couldn't figure out why my left Frog pedal had
developed a clunk sound even though I gave it fresh grease twice a
year and hardly ever rode in the rain. At first I though it was the
cleat interface, but I tried pedaling without clipping in and the
clunk sound was still there. Always at the beginning of the power
stroke. I decided to take the plunge and disassemble it. Only one
problem, one of the two bolts that hold the two halves of the pedal
was stripped. It uses a smallish 3mm hex wrench. I had to ask someone
with a dremel tool to cut a gash into the bolt head so I could unscrew
it with a regular screwdriver. Well, with the minor drama out of the
way, I successfully split open the pedal. To my surprise there was no
grit or dirt inside and of course there was plenty of grease. At first
I suspected that one of the cartridge bearings had gone bad, either
the needle bearing one or the ball bearing one. Nope they were both in
pristine condition. The problem I discovered was the ball bearing
cartridge had lateral play because the retainer nut doesn't clamp down
far enough to placate it. I decided to put in a 3/16" washer between
the nut and the cartridge bearing. It got rid of the lateral play but
then during reassembly you find that the complete spindle assembly
won't fit back into the pedal body because the original plastic spacer
won't fit in due to the washer you had placed in to relieve the
lateral play. What to do? I decided to do away with the plastic spacer
altogether by using three 3/16" metal washers. Reassembled it and
went for a test ride. Damn, better than new. No, lateral play
whatsoever and no clunk sound. For you Frog owners thinking about
getting the refurb kit, I'd think twice about it. I am also a little
suspicious in that this may be an intentional design flaw to "you know
what."

This is very dangerous. Your left pedal now weighs more than your right
one; prepare to lean right to compensate.

GOOD LUCK!

Bill "and I mean that, man" S.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Kenny said:

The problem I discovered was the ball bearing cartridge had lateral
play because the retainer nut doesn't clamp down far enough to
placate it.

Suddenly I am reminded of "Posh Nosh."

In article <[email hidden]>,

Tim McNamara said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Kenny said:

The problem I discovered was the ball bearing cartridge had lateral
play because the retainer nut doesn't clamp down far enough to
placate it.

Suddenly I am reminded of "Posh Nosh."

Embarrass the sprouts in scalding water ...

--
Michael Press

"Kenny" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

For the life of me I couldn't figure out why my left Frog pedal had
developed a clunk sound even though I gave it fresh grease twice a
year and hardly ever rode in the rain. At first I though it was the
cleat interface, but I tried pedaling without clipping in and the
clunk sound was still there. Always at the beginning of the power
stroke. I decided to take the plunge and disassemble it. Only one
problem, one of the two bolts that hold the two halves of the pedal
was stripped. It uses a smallish 3mm hex wrench. I had to ask someone
with a dremel tool to cut a gash into the bolt head so I could unscrew
it with a regular screwdriver. Well, with the minor drama out of the
way, I successfully split open the pedal. To my surprise there was no
grit or dirt inside and of course there was plenty of grease. At first
I suspected that one of the cartridge bearings had gone bad, either
the needle bearing one or the ball bearing one. Nope they were both in
pristine condition. The problem I discovered was the ball bearing
cartridge had lateral play because the retainer nut doesn't clamp down
far enough to placate it. I decided to put in a 3/16" washer between
the nut and the cartridge bearing. It got rid of the lateral play but
then during reassembly you find that the complete spindle assembly
won't fit back into the pedal body because the original plastic spacer
won't fit in due to the washer you had placed in to relieve the
lateral play. What to do? I decided to do away with the plastic spacer
altogether by using three 3/16" metal washers. Reassembled it and
went for a test ride. Damn, better than new. No, lateral play
whatsoever and no clunk sound. For you Frog owners thinking about
getting the refurb kit, I'd think twice about it. I am also a little
suspicious in that this may be an intentional design flaw to "you know
what."

I've never seen the need to deliberately design in features like these.
They are always far outnumbered by the non-deliberate design nuances.

Phil H