Pedals - Infesto/German Pedal Rebuild

 I've talked in the past about rebuilding Union pedals, MKS 3000 pedals, Raleigh pedals, and Torrington pedals. Each is similar, but has a few differences. 

This entry is to show how to rebuild an alternate style of German pedal, which is different from the more common Union. Several German brands, and perhaps some lesser-seen vintage Japanese brands, rebuild in this manner.

1. Use a thin, flat-bladed screw driver and a small hammer to wedge-off the dust cap. The dust caps on English pedals tend to be threaded, but on these German pedals and the Union bow models, the dust cap is a slip fit.

2. Remove the nuts securing the cage together. These are the little nuts at the end of the axles holding the rubber pedal blocks.

3. Now the pedal can be taken apart down to the core. Pull the cages apart and remove the inner base plate from the pedal core.

 

4. Place the flat of the pedal axle in a vise. Unscrew the lock nut and lock spacer. 

 

5. Unscrew the bearing cone nut carefully, so as not to allow the bearing balls (loose) to roll over everywhere. Keep a close eye on the inner bearings as well - once the cone nut is loose, it is possible to pull the bearing joints so that the balls escape and roll out everywhere. A magnetic catch bowl can be placed below the work if you are afraid of bearing balls escaping.

6. Carefully disassemble the pedal core, and clean and inspect all parts.

 

These pedals, when disassembled allow each bearing cup to be removed from the axle cover tube. NOTE: ONE CUP HAS A LARGER CENTER HOLE. That cup with the larger center hole is the one that mounts on the INSIDE, so that it runs its bearings against the base of the pedal spindle. 

 

Reassembly is just the reverse: re-grease everything, re-assemble the cores (see note above about the differing cups), mount the cages and secure the cage nuts, and final adjust the bearing tension, then put the dust cap back on by gently tapping with a rubber mallet.

 

Other notes:

-Bearing tension is standard - loose enough to turn freely, but not so loose that side-to-side play develops appreciably. Just a hint of play is OK.

-Again, note that the cups are not the same. The larger hole is the inside cup, the that works in conjunction with the spindle base/fixed cone. Do not try to force the small hole cup to slide all the way down the spindle.

-Some dust caps may be stubborn. Don't be afraid to line the dust cap with a little grease when reassembling, or to use a little WD-40 or Kroil when taking apart.

-Do not remove the rubber blocks from their axles if they appear to be solidly in place. There is no need to remove the rubber blocks from their axles unless you absolutely must repair something there.

Schwinn Cones - Surfacing and Smoothing

I wrote recently about my process for resurfacing and smoothing Sturmey Archer cones and Raleigh front cones. [See HERE]

The set up and work are fairly basic - take a spare or damaged axle appropriate for the cone you want to surface and smooth. Cut the axle in half so that the smooth center portion will go into the drill press chuck. 

Gather your materials - pencil stones, emery pieces, polishing tips, polish, rags, and oil. The surface is worked evenly from coarse to smooth. Some cones may not need help from the stones, and others will need more substantial work. Some cones can be saved; some cannot. But keep working the surface as evenly as you can. 

After final polish, de-grease with acetone and then apply some gun bluing and finally oil for storage. 

Schwinn cones seem a little softer generally than Sturmey or Raleigh cones. It's not a big difference, but the stones seem to work the surface a little faster than the British cones. All of the cones were reasonably well-made and seem to re-smooth pretty well. 

They may not end up lasting as long as new-old stock cones, but at least they can run awhile longer and are saved from the scrapper.

 

End of Season Rides - 1968 Raleigh Sports Three Speed

Back during the summer, a neighbor very kindly gave me a vintage Raleigh Sports that he had owned since new in 1968. Over the course of the summer and fall, I disassembled, cleaned, and returned the bike to riding shape. 

 

The results are pretty good - a well-made Raleigh Sports returned to the road, just in time for the last couple rides of the season. The clocks roll back one hour this weekend, and the daylight is getting shorter each day. But I was able to get this bike onto the road for the end of the season.

 

Over the course of this fall and winter, I plan to do a retro LED light set up on the bike, as I have done on many others in the past. I'll be using a Kiley LED retro headlight, and an an LED tail light that looks like it belongs on this bike. For now, it has temporary lights to finish this season.

It's nice returning old bikes to the road, and it's especially nice getting a bike that someone has held onto for many years, and then bringing it back to riding condition.