Warning: Don't cheap out on pedal washers like I did

Last month I tried saving $3 by reusing old pedal washers on a customer's road bike rebuild. Three rides later the crank arm started clicking and the washer had totally deformed, letting the pedal dig into the aluminum. Cost me $120 for a new crank since the threads were wrecked. Anyone else have a small part failure spiral into something expensive?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley_harris51mo agoMost Upvoted

The mechanic at my local shop told me he sees at least one ruined crank arm a month from bad pedal washers exactly like this. He said brass washers are the way to go just like @allen.william mentioned, they cost a few bucks more but save you from a headache down the road. I switched after hearing his story and it's been smooth sailing since.

allen.william1mo ago

You ever have one of those little mistakes that just snowballs into a total nightmare? I feel your pain man. I tried the same thing last year with a set of used plastic washers thinking they'd hold up fine. After about 50 miles one of them basically crumbled and the pedal started grinding into the crank arm. By the time I noticed the damage was done. Had to replace the whole crankset which set me back way more than the $8 I saved on washers. Now I use brass washers on everything they cost a little more but they don't deform or chew up the aluminum. Totally not worth skimping on those tiny parts.