Folding pedals failure.

[ericmark]

The bike is only a week old, took it for a spin, and the folding pedal broke and folded, as long as right way around it still worked, and so since an e-bike with max assistance got home, located a replacement left pedal, went and got it fitted then the right one also failed.

It it just I am too heavy at 22 stone or as folding pedals weak?

 

[HMS_Dave]

The bike is only a week old, took it for a spin, and the folding pedal broke and folded, as long as right way around it still worked, and so since an e-bike with max assistance got home, located a replacement left pedal, went and got it fitted then the right one also failed.

It it just I am too heavy at 22 stone or as folding pedals weak?

As a former 27 stone bloke, i hope it is less offensive if i say you are probably too heavy for them. The pedals are probably of poor or at least unknown quality...

For now, id live with a set of non-folding ones.

 

[ericmark]

I just hope the guy who sells second hand bikes down the road can find me a right pedal. Lucky it was an electric bike.

 

[berlinonaut]

You do neither mention the brand and model of the bike nor the brand and model of the pedals, so not much to comment. Bt with the bike being just one week old this should be a warranty replacement with no questions asked.

 

[ericmark]

Bike is a SMLRO MX300 bought second hand but with only 1 km on the clock, poor guy has MS. The pedal shown in manual is not the one fitted to the bike, there is a spring loaded aluminium slide which locks the pedal, this slide has smashed. Seem to be this

design. At £7 a pair will not break the bank, standard set around £5 so £2 extra for folding is nothing, but I was lucky it was not too far from home and turning the pedal around it still worked.

Reliability is important, we no longer have driving licences, some problem with DVLA when I hit 70 with a paper licence and no valid passport all we get is more and more letters asking for proof of identity, an wife not a clue what has gone on, just a claim by the police that she was driving without a licence, which was news to us, we had no idea it had been revoked or even why. And she has sent it away for change of address so not even got the old paper one.

So train service will not take us to Welshpool due to Colvid restrictions so 16 mile round trip with e-bike only option. Too steep for standard bike, even the e-bike there are parts were I have to get off and walk. Actual pedals showing as it should look left and break right.

 

[Pale Rider]

Those pedals - sold under various brands - are cheap and not very cheerful.

I had an axle snap on one while riding under very little load on the flat.

Best solution is to use rigid pedals, unless you absolutely can not.

 

[berlinonaut]

Bike is a SMLRO MX300 bought second hand

A quick Google research shows that this seems to be a very cheaply constructed bike, so to say absolultely lowest end. As @Pale Rider says: Folding pedals are always challenged constructionvise - the cheaper they are the worse it gets. So in your case going for non-folding ones might be a good idea. The other thing to have in mind: If the bike is your main and only mode of transport it might be questionable to go for such an el-cheapo (unless you cannot afford a better one by all means). "I'm too poor to buy cheap" probably holds still true here.

 

[ericmark]

Yes cheap, paid £750 and wife's was double that, I hope using it will make me fitter and then will not need it any more. But main reason was wheel size, typed folding bikes with small wheels and found balance was a problem. And to carry bikes on holiday towing caravan one must fold, the bike rack limited to 40 kg and hard to find two bikes to weigh under that, and when reversing too easy to squash bikes when two on the rack, so one needs to fold.

It seems there is a massive jump, between cheap folding bikes and good quality. There is not much middle ground.

 

[rogerzilla]

Brompton folding pedals aren't great, either. The single-row bearing can't handle the off-axis force and doesn't last long, and they've made it so it can't be replaced. It's a terrible piece of design.

 

[berlinonaut]

Brompton folding pedals aren't great, either. The single-row bearing can't handle the off-axis force and doesn't last long, and they've made it so it can't be replaced. It's a terrible piece of design.

Build a better one and become rich. For me until now the average lifespan of a Brompton folding pedal has been 13 years of intensive use which I wouldn't exactly call "does't last very long" and the pedal in question still works, just that the bearings seem to be worn as it rotates pretty rough. On another one of about the same age (more or less one year older) the pedal does not rotate as freely as it is supposed to but also still works flawlessly. My younger Brompton folding pedals still work as they should until now. So while the construction is far from perfect I don't know any that would be better or last longer, especially given the constructive challenges of folding pedals. I would really love it if you were constructive in direction of a solution instead of constant moaning which seems to come to a very special level when it comes to Brompton related things - your bitter hate on the company seems to have reached you backbone already many years ago and seems to limit harshly the objectiveness of your statements.
So given all the problems that you have with Brompton and their parts you should maybe think about if there is any influence of or connection to the user regarding your problems instead simply to blame the maker. A lot of other Brompton users seem not to be hit by the problems you are suffering from.

 

[12boy]

I never used my folding OEM pedals. I went immediately to some Shimanos which are flat on one side and SPD on the other. They have worked well for years and allow for a large range of footwear from flopflops to Sorel snow boots to SPD mtn bike shoes.

 

[Ridgeway]

I fitted the same pedals to my wife's folder, they lasted about a month before one broke...

I've since fitted some MKS pedals and they what they should do although they are removable rather than folding pedals but looks like they'll last a lifetime.

 

[Pale Rider]

I paid about £30 for the VP folding pedals in this link.

Looks like they are no longer made, which is just as well because they also fell apart after a couple of months.

View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/VP-117A-Folding-Bike-Pedals/dp/B00TJASZRW


My next attempt was these Raleigh branded folders.

They've stood up (so far) to modest use on my least used bike.

https://www.onbuy.com/gb/raleigh-fo...GUxMh9f3AXYjIap3TK4aAvMyEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[ericmark]

Thank you, folding pedals are good with any push bike, it stops them hitting your shins when pushing it, so in rear terms more needed for non electric than electric, as tend to push the bike more often on these hills.

 

[cougie uk]

I'd not trust £8 folding pedals. It's pretty important for them not to fail. I've seen Bromptons with removable pedals - maybe they would work for you ?