I got the Assioma Duos for xmas, and have struggled to clip in due to how freely the pedals spin. This is especially bad when starting off on an upward incline, as you have to push off with more force, which causes the pedal to spin even more. I find myself looking down, trying to stop the pedal from spinning with my foot, and then clipping in. I had several close calls, usually in traffic, which has made me look for a solution. My previous pedals (Shimano 105 SPD-SL) would barely spin at all when pushing off. I wanted to make the Faveros behave the same way.
I ended up replacing the bearings with some cheap ebay bearings, which I packed with grease. This has increased the friction and the pedal now spins much less than before. It has made clipping in as easy as can be.
Here is a video that shows the results. I have next to no mechanical or DIY skills, so if anyone thinks I have violated some best practices, please let me know!
Parts list:
Thin walled 9mm socket to remove the spindle nut. I had 3 different 9mm sockets on hand, and none would fit the 13mm opening. I found this tekton socket, which has a 12.9mm outer diameter, and it fits.
Thanks for sharing. I just got these pedals a couple weeks ago and notice that they spin forever. Was doing isolated leg drills last night and was amazed how fast the empty pedal would be spinning when I went to switch legs. Might have to give your method a try.
I just finished my first long ride with the greased bearings in the left pedal. It works really well. No more clip-in anxiety.
No idea if that heavy grease will cause the bearings to wear out quicker, but at about $1 per bearing, even if it only lasts a few months I would be fine with that.
Curious to learn more about bearings – how did you know what kinds to buy? I recently replaced my Assioma bearings because they wore out after a winter of riding. The official Assioma bearing replacement kit costs about $50 and now I feel like a chump for not buying 10x the number of bearings for less than half the price.
Not the OP, but I picked up the same bearings after reading about them in someone’s post or video about replacing worn bearings with a sealed model from eBay. They’ve been on my workbench since September; I suppose it’s time I actually do the replacement – although I’m much better now at clipping in even though these spin more than my prev pedals:)
Was also going to do the SPD body swap, but never pulled the trigger on the less expensive XPedos before they got scooped up…
I could give you a whole list of stuff where I should have pulled the trigger right away and missed out on stuff
The main thing that matters in bearings is the size. I googled the Assioma kit, and found a site that listed the dimensions of the bearings. The ebay bearings I bought were an exact fit. In fact, before I greased them I installed them to see how they would perform, and they spun freely and smoothly just like the favero stock bearings.
No need to spend the $50 for the Favero replacement kit.
Many thanks for this. You just have to breathe on mine and they start spinning. A real pain on group rides as everyone is 100 yds down the road before I can get clipped in sometimes. I’ll give it a go. Only need to replace them on one side though
I never had this issue you are describing @JeffPeake. Just another proof that perception is individual.
I like your approach very much though (!no irony!). It would never come to my mind downgrading such an expensive accessory.
They do spin freely, but I just try to clip in smooth, don’t try to rush it and im fine. I feel like adding extra resistance seems kinda crazy especially considering they’re road pedals and when I race I clip in at the beginning and I stay in until I finish.
Where I would agree with this on a CX bike or something. But that’s a different way of clipping in with spd’s.
I get your point but I rather be half a second slower at clipping in on the road and then saving some in having less drivetrain loss.
I have tried packing the bearings as above, it helped a bit but the pedals were still spinning too much.
Then someone on Cyclingtips suggested to remove the axle end cap, pack it with grease, and screw it back in. Repeat 3-5 times until you are happy with how much the pedals spin. This worked great
The only time the pedal will spin and prohibit you from clipping in is if you try to clip in when the front of your shoe is not beyond the pedal’s axle. You simply cannot clip in this way anyways.
They are not dual sided pedals, so you have a 50-50 shot of having the correct side when you try to clip in. So if you put your leg down with foot in position to clip in (shoe to axel correctly) it will either work, or allow you to just turn the pedal and clip a second later when you realize it’s the wrong side. The spinning will be neutralized either way (correct side to clip or not). I don’t get how the issue here is mechanical…
There are scenarios where the pedal will be spinning at 200rpm+ coming off a standstill. It’s a pure crap shoot if you get the right side or not. Other pedals tend to be better about maintaining the preferred orientation for clipping in.
The pedals are already weighted (as all one-sided pedals are) to keep the front on top, rear at bottom, entry side facing backwards. All you need to do is get going, stop pedaling for 2 seconds, and they will stabilize. If you can’t stop pedaling (for example crossing a street), just keep going single-leg until you can. Adding heavy grease will prevent the pedals from aligning in the proper position.
