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A set of these just arrived that I ordered a few days ago, so a nice quick service. Also only £35 with the discount code they were running over the bank holiday. My other bike has Exotic Carbon Cycles alloy pedals which are a similar price to threes at the discounted price. I thought I’d buy some to compare.
Surprised to find the Nano’s have arrived with no pins in the body of the pedal - they come with pins in a separate packet. That’s a little annoying as it’s going to take a while to screw them all in - should I be using locktite / grease / copper slip on the threads?
The bearings also feel exceptionally tight - if they were cup and cone I’d think they’d been done up too tight. Has anyone else had this / have they loosened up with use?
The exotic pedals just came really smooth feeling and despite one of the seals looking worse for wear they’re still smooth a year and a half later. I will need to get their £10 rebuild kit at some point to change the seals as they aren’t available seperately.
Thanks! I considered buying SStar ones as the Exotics I wanted are out of stock. I think I'll wait. 🙂
Have some Exotics on my son's bike that have stayed smoooth for ages.
On first impressions I’m more impressed with the exotics, but we’ll see if the bearings loosen up a bit on these and how well they grip once I’ve put the many pins in!
I like that the Superstar ones are machined in the uk rather than mass produced in the Far East, but they do need to work properly so fingers crossed.
While yes it's a pain that they don't come pre-inserted, you will notice that there are actually two different pin lengths included. So it's a whole lot quicker than potentially having to remove an entire set before you can fit the pins you actually want! I thread-locked mine in with some of that medium strength Loctite Pritt Stick type stuff (the blue one).
I'm sure there's a little note in the box with the pedals which explains that the reason they feel stiff when they are new is because of the close tolerances on the bushings (to keep dirt out) but that they will loosen up after a few rides.
Loctite, blue prit stick one here, choose the length pins or mix n match. I find the short ones plenty on my non evo nanos with 5.10 or Adidas Terrex. The bushings/bearings will losen up with a bit of use.
I'm running Nano Evos on both bikes and would echo the above - they're quite stiff to begin with, but bed in quickly. It's not that much effort to sit and bolt in the pins, with the added advantage that you can set them up with long/short or a mix as you prefer. Little bit of blue Loctite on the pins will reduce the likelihood of them coming back out.
While yes it’s a pain that they don’t come pre-inserted, you will notice that there are actually two different pin lengths included. So it’s a whole lot quicker than potentially having to remove an entire set before you can fit the pins you actually want! I thread-locked mine in with some of that medium strength Loctite Pritt Stick type stuff (the blue one).
Agreed....
I’m sure there’s a little note in the box with the pedals which explains that the reason they feel stiff when they are new is because of the close tolerances on the bushings (to keep dirt out) but that they will loosen up after a few rides.
Not sure.or convinced... they spout a LOT of bumpf.... but this was never an issue they felt they had to inform us before.
My new Evo's didn't loosen up yet... my older Nano's came half tightened up... developed a creak after 1 mile... I then tightened and have been fine for hundreds of miles since ???
SS Nanos are good value, I've a couple of pairs of the Nano X and hopefully the evo has better sealing for longer bush life. Worst problem I had was when new one pedal unscrewed from its axle and came loose. Never happened again after I reassembled with a little thread lock but ideally the threads would be left handed on the right pedal.
Ok, so I’ll have to buy some locktite before I can do the pins. A little annoying. I can’t see an obvious difference between all the pins in the pack, I’ll have to get them all out and have a sort through. Guess I’ll compare them to the length of the ones on the exotics I’ve got already and go with those. With 5-10’s you almost can’t readjust your foot on them whilst riding as it is - I don’t want more grip really.
Will see how the bushing / bearing goes. Seems an interesting claim that it’s due to tight tolerances (I can’t see anything in the box that says this) - an both my other sets of flats (Wellgo mg1 and exotic) came smooth as silk out of the box and are still the same now).
Ok, so I’ll have to buy some locktite before I can do the pins.
Not unless you know how you want them....
Stick them in and give it a try ... see how it feels and then adjust if you need. (Based on your shoe size)
They are not likely to come out on a few rides without loktite...
My last set I just copied the others so I loktite'd straight off ... but TBH I would probably/light even slightly change the pins between the super-sticky and normal 5 tens... (I wear both)
They’re just pedals. I want pins in all the holes that are in the platform. And ones similar length to my other pedals. I won’t be playing about with what pins are where etc, there’s not enough time in my life for that......
Best pedals ever.
I never loctite mine, once you use them in winter it's hard to get them out again anyway. I just dip a bitof grease on them. Never had any come loose on 3 x pairs of nanos over 6 years or so.
I reckon greasing each pin it took about 10 minutes to get my pedals ready and on the bike and I am painfully slow at those things.
I think threadlock not only stops things unscrewing but also forms a barrier between the 2 metal parts so that when you do want to unscrew it you can. I’m tempted just to whack some copper slip grease on each one as I have some of that at home and I can’t easily find locktite to buy locally. I think Halfords might be the best bet, but not sure I can get there .
I preferred the older heavier model that came with the pins pre-installed. There's something about the bigger platform of the newer model I just don't like, it doesn't feel as comfortable.
Make sure the end cap is tight and has some thread adhesive on it, mine wasn't! The whole pedal comes off the axle otherwise!
Thanks Chester - I shall make sure it’s tightened to the 10nm quoted on the pedal before I ride it!
Copper grease would be fine. Maybe others are unlucky, but i do mine up tight and they stay that way without loctite. I'd probably use some if I had some, but I don't and once on, I forget about them.
They're great pedals, reckon you'll like them.
Never lost a post n. Never needed loctite. Pedals always loosen after a couple rides. Got 4 pairs. All work fine.
I’ll copper slip them then when I assemble them tomorrow. Cheers for the comments. Fingers crossed the bearings loosen up a bit / smooth out with use.
Ive had a Nano evo for about 2 months now, Arrived with one pedal axle too tight very easy to adjust though and both running very smooth. Didn't grease or lock tight the Pins and no sign of them coming loose. For the money very good pedals and from a uk company. You get short and long Pins in the pack keeps the cost down for the buyer.
Got the pedals built up with the small pins. Which are quite big. Which match the size of the platform - hey look huge! Expecting them to grip really well....can’t wait to ride this week one evening. Also popped on a Magic Mary for a first winter type ride - although it’s now been dry for nearly a week ffs.
I've had pedals before that needed the pins screwed in, it's kind of annoying but you can change lengths or add the threadlock of your choice or add washers to shorten pins or whatever. No biggie. Not unheard of for new bushings to be tight though imo if it was all about "close tolerances" that should mean better day 1 action rather than needing to bed in (and the bushings shouldn't be keeping dirt out, on account of they're bushings not seals)
Very good pedals though allround and good value. I've stuck with my horizon plastics as they're ace and light and cheap
My standard nano x or something are ok..
I quite like the fact they come with different length pins. I just did mine up with an Allen key .. No need for torquing or thread lock, they don't come loose..
Only takes 10 mins and allows you to customise the grip, although I just used the shorter pins and they grip very well.
The long pins might be better for hiking and biking if your wearing walking shoes with thick deep tread on the soles... Nice to have the option.
One pedal is stiffer than the other which spins freely though .. Always has been. It's fine for riding but if you spin it with your finger it'll only go round about 180 degrees ..
Is there a real need for loctite on pedal pins or grease for that matter???
My new ones don't spin at all at the moment. Will see how they go in the week. The long pins are pretty long, can’t imagine why I’d use them at the moment. My exotics work really well and they have shorter less sharp pins.
So I've been running a set of the latest Nano Evo X pedals since Christmas (these replaced a set of Nano Evo's)
Initially the pedals didn't spin that freely, but did loosen up - the right pedal definitely spins more freely than the left hand one
There is also already some play in both pedals, so it appears the seals aren't any better than the older design pedals they replaced
Mine developed an annoying creak in one pedal. Dismantled and cleaned, but it came back after a couple weeks. Consigned to my second bike now. As I never ride it, the creaking doesn't bother me any longer 🙂
On the ones less than a year old with a creak can’t you warranty then?
Hoping to get more than a year out of the pedals before having to rebuild them.....
Best pedals I've used to be honest, much better than the really expensive Hope F20's I have. Bought a few of these now in the sales. I use the longer pins on the front and rear, then the shorter pins in the middle to give the concave shape. Yes they turn up a little tight but the do ease off after a while.
Used them on Wednesday and they felt good. When riding you can’t tell the bearing / bushing is a bit tight. Feel much the same grip wise as my exotics.
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Had this on Facebook.