[Mamachari's darkness? ] It turns out that many modern city cycles are in a "poor maintenance" state even with new cars and are uselessly tired !?

■ Factors of fatigue hidden in unexpected places

● Isn't the pedal rotation astringent?

If you have a city cycle (mamachari), please try flipping the pedal of your bicycle with your finger. I'm not rowing. I only turn the pedal part.

It's OK if you rotate it many times. But if it stops in less than a single turn, your bike's bearings are in poor condition and you're wasting your energy when rowing.

Actually, there are so many city cycles like this now.

I noticed this when I changed the pedals on my home city cycle.

I have a Bridgestone city cycle that I bought 34 years ago. Right now, my son, a junior high school student, is mainly riding, but the pedal of the bicycle broke, so I bought a new pedal at the home center for a little over 1000 yen and replaced it.

If you have a pedal wrench, it's better than that, but if you have a 15mm spanner or monkey wrench, it's often okay. If it is tight, it is effective to spray it with a penetrating lubricant and leave it overnight. If it is still hard, it is recommended to hit the end of the wrench with a plastic hammer.

That's all the tools you need. Please note that the left pedal has a reverse screw.

However, when the work was over and the pedal was replaced with a new one, the boy tried riding a bicycle and said, "It's getting heavier to row (angry)!" When I got on it, it was certainly heavy. Like a bicycle with an over-tensioned chain, it doesn't feel any play or rattling, but it has a lot of resistance.

So I noticed by turning the pedal by hand. It's astringent !! There is even a slight click feeling. Even if I try to turn it vigorously with my finger, it will stop at half a turn at most.

So I put it back in the old pedal that I just removed. This time, it turns lightly with a "sharp". Rowing is also lighter than before.

The bearing on the right is about to collapse, there is some play in the axial direction, and every time I row, I hear a "key" sound, but it still turns lightly.

I wondered, "Is the pedal I bought defective?" I went to the home improvement store and tried turning the pedals of the new bicycles on display from one end. Then, the only thing that turns lightly is an electrically power assisted bicycle (probably because the price is high, so you probably use a good pedal). Most city cycles that aren't electrically assisted have pedals that are similarly astringent.

yes. It was as astringent as the pedal I bought.

After that, I went to a bicycle mass retailer about two times and tried turning the pedals of the exhibited vehicle, but the astringency of the pedals was almost the same (there were some mass retailers that were a little better overall).

I thought, "I wonder if the new pedals are just awkward at first, and if you use them a little, you will get used to them and the rotation will be lighter." I returned the city cycle of my house to a new pedal again. The boy seemed dissatisfied, but he decided to let him go for a while.

However, even after using it for about a week, I didn't feel that the pedals became lighter. If you renew the parts and get tired more than before, it will be overwhelming. I'm a little angry.

So, this time, I went to a used shop such as Hard Off or Treasure Factory and tried to turn the pedals of the used bicycles lined up there.

Then, the pedal of the used city cycle was still astringent. There were many MTBs and sports cars that turned lightly. But most city cycles, like new home improvement cars, stop in less than a single turn.

I also turned the pedals of my acquaintance's bicycle, but it was still quite likely that it was awkward.

【ママチャリの闇?】現代の多くのシティサイクルは新車でも「整備不良」状態で、無駄に疲れることが判明!?

You know people over a certain age. Thirty years ago, city cycles were also more expensive. There was no such thing as the one that costs around 10,000 yen as it is now. At the time when most of the domestic manufacturers such as Bridgestone and Miyata were, probably most of the parts were also domestic.

Time has passed, and with cheap imported bicycles from unknown brands becoming the mainstream, isn't the cost-cutting squeeze on pedal bearings?

And many of today's bike riders are unknowingly wasting their physical strength more than they were 30 years ago. This was a little shocking.

-I was told that one pedal was "made in Japan!"

On the other hand, the Bridgestone bicycle that my son's friend just bought was lightly pedaled, which is unusual for a modern city cycle.

When I thought, "Then, what should I do with my bicycle?", I was curious about the "MKS" logo on the old pedals that often rotate. Looking at Gugu, it seems that Mikashima Industrial Co., Ltd. is currently the only manufacturer of bicycle pedals in Japan.

The pedals sold at home improvement stores are not made by this MKS. On the contrary, you rarely see this MKS pedal on a city cycle, whether in the store or in the city.

The reason I've been riding a bike 34 years ago is that this Bridgestone bike feels good. It's a cheap and simple city cycle without a gearbox, but I felt that the friction loss was small, and I liked it since I was a high school student.

So I decided to bet on this MKS, the manufacturer of genuine pedals at the time. Surprisingly, MKS has multiple lineups of pedals for mamachari, but I bought a model called "G-6000" that I found on the net. What a 964 yen on Amazon. I bought it cheaper than a home improvement pedal. By the way, pedals for city cycles have the same standard, and it seems to fit almost any of the east and west.

A few days later, I tried turning the MKS pedal that was sent to me by hand. "Kurukurukuru". As expected, it turns neatly! This was the feel of a domestic bearing. When I attached it to my bicycle, my son was happy to say, "It's back to its original lightness!"

● The problem with "modern pedals" was improper bearing adjustment.

However, what is not surprising is the "modern pedal". A friend who is familiar with bicycles advised me, "If it is new, grease will not be a problem, so the adjustment of the ball contact is not good."

So, if you look closely, there is a cap on the tip side of the pedal, and it seems that it can be adjusted. So I decided to give it a try.

Perhaps the ball hit is too tight? Isn't it possible to eliminate the astringency of the bearing by loosening it? I thought so.

It seems that the screw for adjusting the ball contact was 15 mm, and I didn't have a 15 mm socket, so I was wondering what to do, but it wasn't tight, so I could easily turn it with needle-nose pliers.

And as a result of loosening the ball hit ... "Shah". The pedal, which at first seemed to be defective, turned lightly.

yes. It wasn't properly adjusted, unlike a bad product. Perhaps the torque control during assembly is not properly done and it is overtightened.

Adjusting the ball contact is a delicate task. If it is loosened too much, the rotation will be lighter, but there will be play in the axial direction. I'd like to turn it lightly as long as it doesn't play, but it can change a lot just by turning it 30 degrees or 45 degrees.

Adjust and turn the pedal, and repeat to find the right place. It's a little troublesome, but it was a lot of fun when I did it with my son.

So, I found three things this time.

First, many modern city cycles have poor pedal bearing adjustments, wasting physical strength.

Second, if you use a pedal from a proper manufacturer like MKS, it will be comfortable.

Third, or by adjusting the ball contact of the pedal bearing, the astringency can be eliminated. Perhaps even a bicycle shop will respond if you consult.

Some people may have thought that "Mamachari is like this" while pedaling a pedal with high resistance, but the weight when pedaling is the same for a pedal that is properly adjusted and a pedal that is not. Was clearly different.

Wake up to all the Mamachari owners nationwide! It's a waste to have the pedals on a "poorly maintained" bike!

(Mamezo)