Crank Bros Eggbeater SL Pedal Failure

[Carbon_Dude]

Just riding up a slight incline today and all of a sudden, SNAP!  The pedal was still connected to my cleat but not to the cranks.  Luckily no crash and I was only two miles into the trail so I rode/walked the bike out.

UPDATE: Crank Bros. will warranty the pedal if it is an Eggbeater 3, however this was an Eggbeater SL, much older design.  Instead I will just pay a nominal cost to upgrade the two pairs of Eggbeater SL's to Eggbeater 3's and they will service my third set of pedals (Eggbeater 3) for no cost.  Overall, a really good experience so far.

[MTB2223]

Thank God it didn't happened the way down on a downhill trail ....

[carbonazza]

If Crank Brothers don't honor their warranty, may be this can help:
http://ti-bike.com/TitaniumShow.asp?cls=15&id=163

When mine break(it is quite common apparently), I'll give them a try.

[Carbon_Dude]

Thank God it didn't happened the way down on a downhill trail ....

I agree, at least it was only on a slow uphill so I was lucky.

A while back another friend suggested how much he liked the new Shimano XT/XTR pedals and suggested I give them a try.  I am thinking it might be time to do so even though I am heavily invested in the Eggbeaters with three sets of pedals and cleats on all my shoes.

[Carbon_Dude]

If Crank Brothers don't honor their warranty, may be this can help:
http://ti-bike.com/TitaniumShow.asp?cls=15&id=163

When mine break(it is quite common apparently), I'll give them a try.

Yes, I have seen this option on eBay, $38 for a pair of Ti axles, and that includes shipping.  If I don't decide to go Shimano, this would be another good option.

[Oolak]

If Crank Brothers don't honor their warranty, may be this can help:
http://ti-bike.com/TitaniumShow.asp?cls=15&id=163

When mine break(it is quite common apparently), I'll give them a try.

Now that is interesting; Thanks for the link. $38 for Ti spindles shipping included is a good price. I remember pricing them a few years ago and it was going to cost me over a hundred bucks.. Makes me wonder why they don't just go ahead a make the whole dang pedal.

I don't know if I'd trust that Chiner Ti spindle Carbon_Dude. We all know that you should only buy the name brand stuff because it's more dependable and won't break on you mid-ride... oh wait 

[bdub]

I have always used Crank Bros Candy pedals in the past, for my Chiner I decided to go with some XT pedals and I really like them. The only thing I can say is better about the Candies is they are easier to get into than the Shimano's. The XT's look bombproof though and I can't imagine they are going to break anytime soon, in comparison with the Candies that are fragile as hell and have to be replaced every year.

[Carbon_Dude]

Looks like my Eggbeater axle broke right at the transition point from the small diameter to the next larger diameter.

They appear to be cast steel, I wonder if the Ti shafts on eBay are cast Ti or machined from rod stock?

[Sitar_Ned]

I wonder if the Ti shafts on eBay are cast Ti or machined from rod stock?

Which is stronger/better? I assume machined?

Also - Glad you weren't hurt! That would've sucked right after recovering from your last injury and at the very start of riding season.

[RS VR6]

Be careful when it comes to Ti spindles. Some carry a weight limit. Make sure you ask about that before you buy.

Bummer that the pedal broke. I've been using them for the past 10 years and have never had and issue with them. I hope CB takes care of you.

[cmh]

Looks like my Eggbeater axle broke right at the transition point from the small diameter to the next larger diameter.

They appear to be cast steel, I wonder if the Ti shafts on eBay are cast Ti or machined from rod stock?

You sure about that cast steel? A part like that would make no sense at all to cast, much more likely it's machined from wrought stock.

I ran eggbeaters for a while, and although I had pedals fall off - if you don't maintain the bearings it can work the little 8mm retaining nut off, which is what happened to me - I never did have them break. My wife had a pedal break like yours, although it was an earlier Ti spindle that had a sharp edge like the one in your photo. I contacted Crank Brothers and had NO problem getting them replaced, which was actually surprising considering I made no secret that I wasn't the original owner and didn't have the receipt. The new Ti spindles were a slightly different design. I think we might have those pedals, although I've been taking advantage of their pedal trade-in program and upgraded her to a pair of Egg 11s on her primary bike and Egg 3's on her backup.

I never rode eggs with Ti spindles - I'm 220 straight outta the shower, probably 240 with all my riding gear - that plus ti spindles = bad idea. Plus, eggs always pissed me off when I'd ground them out on a rock and they'd eject my foot. While Grace still loves her eggs, I'm all SPD all the time.

[Carbon_Dude]

CMH, you are right about several things in your post and I may have been incorrect in saying the spindle shafts are cast.  They are in fact forged steel parts according to Crank Bros.  The forging can start with a cast blank or from roll stock.  Looking at the broken spindle under our digital microscope at work under 20X and 50X magnification, it appears the part started out as a cast blank.

I called Crank Bros today and they did tell me that they changed their spindle design in 2012 or so and that the step (where my shaft broke) is not in the newer design.  They also said they have not had a failure of this type since the changes were made.  They were perfectly willing to replace the spindle shafts in all three of my Eggbeater 3 pedal sets along with bearings and seals.

So, in the end I will be able to rebuild all three sets for no cost and be good to go with little to no chance of this happening again.

I also spoke with a friend of mine who has owned a bike shop for about 10 years now and he has never seen an Eggbeater break like mine but he has seen a Shimano SPD pedal shaft break so who knows, maybe both companies needed to improve their designs.

[Vipassana]

That looks like a pretty textbook case of fatigue failure with the step in the shaft being the initiation point, either due to stress concentration or a preexisting flaw in the base material.

Here is an example of fatigue failure in a rotating shaft.  The only difference is that your final break is probably more of a bending moment induced break rather than a torsional overload I would guess.

I'm relatively certain the Ti spindles on eBay are machined from round stock and not cast.  Casting just would not make sense.  I don't even think the steel ones would be cast, but they may very well be cold headed/rolled like a bolt and then final machined for final dimensions on critical areas. 





Also, I had a cheap set of 2008 CB pedals that the bushings went out on after like 6 years of riding.  Crank Brothers took them back and let me upgrade to a nice new set (of the higher end ones) for a fraction of the cost of a retail set.  I ride CB eggbeaters on both bikes and really like them.  Its been years since I used SPD's, but they were great as well.

[Carbon_Dude]

Below is a picture from our digital scope at 50X magnification (pretty impressive if you ask me), most likely it was a fatigue failure as a result of a high stress concentration at the step down in diameter.  Hard to say of there was an inclusion or some other flaw in the material as well.  CB knows the failure mode well, they have changed the design and offered to replace any of my old spindles.  I figured out that the pedal that broke is most likely more than 4 years old, not less than two years old as I originally thought.

Once CB sends me the replacement parts I will be good to go, although I should call them and ask about upgrading my two older sets to the new style just out of curiosity to see how much that would cost.

[Vipassana]

That is a great picture.  Part of my job is to examine failed parts in a variety of manners including a scanning electron microscope.  With one of those, things get interesting.