Mysterious Ticking Solved at Last!

[kfergos]

Why did taking the pedals off and putting them back on again make it go away?

How many miles do pedals usually last? I bought mine last July, and since then have put approximately 8,000 miles on them.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Why did taking the pedals off and putting them back on again make it go away?

Maybe because some of the oil/lube you squirted on the outside spinning part seeped into the bearings and helped them temporarily?
I'm not 100% sure but I think that (like rollerskate bearings) the pedal bearings need grease which will not evaporate or leak out like thin lube or thin oil will.

How many miles do pedals usually last? I bought mine last July, and since then have put approximately 8,000 miles on them.

My previous pedals had this issue after about 3,000 miles, on one pedal. Sholdn't have happened, but then it's not a perfect world.
I was lazy and ordered new pedals. But the old ticking one stills sits around waiting to be opened up and cleaned and greased. DH said he'd do it 'eventually'.

What kills me is that this a fairly common problem, and yet I keep hearing about LBS's that immediately have people change their bottom brackets first, without even checking the pedals. Why not check the easiest and least expensive possibility first?

Anyway, to me your symptoms sound like the inside pedal bearings.

[kfergos]

I checked with my LBS and they said it's $70 to overhaul the pedals. (I don't feel like have enough experience to take them apart myself.)

But I called Crank Bros. and they'll overhaul them for free! I just have to ship them to Laguna Beach for repairs. Sign me up!

When they get there, my pedals will have nicer weather than I will.

Now please excuse me; I have to go hunt down an eggbeater pedal-sized box...

[Flur]

Before you send them off to Crank Bros, have you tried greasing the bearings? They can be greased without even taking the pedals off the bike, and s/b greased about every 300 miles. All you need is bike grease, a grease gun (I got a Pedro's one that came with a tube of grease) and the little grease attachment that came with the pedals (if you don't have it you can probably get one from Crank Bros). You just unscrew the cap on the outside of the pedal and screw in the grease attachment and then pump in new grease. The old grease will come out the other side. When the grease coming out the other side is clean, you're done.