Sealed vs. Unsealed Pedals

[MMcG]

I'm looking at some Odyssey Cielenki pedals and i noticed they come in sealed and unsealed.

these would be going on either my Haro F5 BMX bike or on my fully rigid Marin Nail Trail - what's the difference between sealed and unsealed and will it make a huge difference to go with the unsealed?

[zane]

I really don't notice a difference until the pedals start to get old:

Old sealed pedals will just blow out the bearings, and then you spend a few bucks on bearings and they feel like new again.

Old unsealed pedals will get rough as hell (either popping or looseness) and at that point there's nothing you can do about it but buy new pedals.

I say get whatever you can afford, but sealed pedals are better in the long run (as long as you can get replacement bearings...).

[zane]

Also, I'd put sealed pedals on your MTB before your BMX- sealed pedals last longer in the dirt and water, and your MTB probably sees that more than your BMX.

[Repack]

Ugh. Another vocabulary lesson. People and advertisers don't realize that "sealed" is not necessarlily the same as "cartridge" bearing. Like Shimano DX pedals. They are not cartridge, but they are very well sealed. You can have an unsealed cartridge bearing, a sealed lose bearing, a sealed cartridge bearing...

It all depends on the quality of the manufacturer.

[zane]

yeah, good point...

in my post, replace "sealed" with "cartridge bearing"

[supros88]

in my post, replace "sealed" with "cartridge bearing"
I argree totaly.

[D_D]

The difference varies quite a lot from pedal to pedal.

For mtb use I look for a body with all replaceable pins, parallelogram shape body and a screw in dust cap which keeps muck out better than the push in plastic one.

[dankk]

not sure i can justify spending more than forty bucks on a pair of pedals.don't think that it makes diff if they are sealed or not when you bash it into that rock.never h ad a set of pedals long enough on my mtb in order to actually replace the pins on the pedals.guess it depends how often and where you ride

[zane]

Originally posted by dankk
not sure i can justify spending more than forty bucks on a pair of pedals.don't think that it makes diff if they are sealed or not when you bash it into that rock.never h ad a set of pedals long enough on my mtb in order to actually replace the pins on the pedals.guess it depends how often and where you ride

I agree- I blow out the guts or bend the spindle before the pins wear down..... however, the replacable pins are nice for customizing your pin arrangement for maximum traction.