Suntour XC Pro pedals

[BlackCat]

I picked up a set of these about 6 weeks ago in bad shape. Bent cages, rusted bolts, rusted axles etcetera. Think I paid about £29.50 for them.

Couple of hours work, some evaporust, citrus degreaser, a touch of MAAS and some new enduro bearings and they’re sweet.

Looking at used, but good condition xc pros on eBay etc., which these now effectively are, they are (I think), really expensive. Certainly £100-120 plus.. and NOS are fiercely expensive - maybe £350-400.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like the pedals and I like how they turned out.. but I am at a bit of a loss about the premium pricing. Have never run any Suntour components before so maybe I am missing something, but can someone please shed some light?

 

[doctor-bond]

They look so cool, are light and are built nicely. I have a disorder where I buy them, realise they are not double sided and are quite thick; keep them in a drawer for a year and sell them for what I paid. Keeps me off the streets ….

How much for yours?

(Xc compe double sided are the real deal)

 

[ishaw]

Scarcity and quality probably the reason. I used to have a couple of full groupsets and more. Regretfully sold them at a fraction of the price they command now, probably even then too as I'm too kind to fellow retro bikers.

Xc pro was in my opinion far better than the m900 of the period. Looked nicer, worked better, lasted longer. It had it all really, which didn't save suntour from disappearing.

The only weakness was the proprietary freehub which limited the fantastic hubs. If only they did a Shimano compatible freehub.

The grease guard aspect meant you could inject grease into the hubs, pedal bearings, bottom bracket and even headset to keep them freshly lubed without removing.

I'd love to do a build with xc pro, I'd even use canti brakes. Regret selling a pace with full xc pro that I had on the go at one time. Couldn't afford to do it now.

 

[greencat]

Pretty much this. Xc pro was rarely specced on bikes. As someone who loved technical hill climbs, I positively lusted after microdrive - and the possibility of pairing it's chainset with the rest of a shimano groupset. MD was an obviously good idea that was ahead of its time. Shame didn't take off in the face of Shimano's dominance.

I only saw it in person once on a mate's bike while mountain biking for three weeks in Scotland. It was pissing down with rain for much of the trip and the terrain was extremely wet, muddy and peaty. Horrible conditions for a bike. My mate at end of each ride would pump fresh grease through hubs etc until all of the crap came out. I was bloody envious. All of us were.

Regarding the pedals, finding ones whose bearings/cones/cups wouldn't crap out after a couple of months of hard riding in N Wales was an enormous challenge. A friend of mine took to simply stripping the bearings out of his pedals and riding them like that. Suntour had a ton of imitators pedalwise, and I went through many of them. Never even saw the real deal for sale - remember there was no internet ordering back then, it was what your local bike shop had in stock and they weren't stocking Suntour. I eventually ended up with XT (still have those pedals - cages battered to hell, but bearings perfect).

So yes, there's a certain mythos around Xc pro pedals - that is somewhat justified if you're of a nostalgic bent. But those that wanted them bitd must be approaching if not well over 50 now. I'd be surprised if many of them will still be wanting to pay premium prices in a decade or so's time.

 

[Tootyred]

The main benefit is the fact that the bearings are sealed, so they get less crap in them, plus the spindle has more support than in loose balls so lasts longer.

The grease guard is a bit of a silly idea on the pedals as it doesn't really work.....your trying to force grease down the spindle, through a tiny hole, back 2 ways along the gap between the spindle and the body, then through a sealed bearing!

It's easier just to push the bearings out and chuck them if they ever get full of crud....which they dont for a loooooong time in my experience.

The 9000 series are totally interchangeable. They have a different cage and lack the spindle hole... sorry "grease guard" . And are cheaper to buy.

This is all thats inside, if you have never seen them. Bearings are set by shims on end bolt that holds them together. Each pedal will need its own set of differing shims as every one has slightly different float. So keep the old shims if you ever scrap the pedals, as they are not available.....

 

[Tootyred]

As for why the price......As above really.

xc pro was the rolls royce of mainstream kit imho. Hubs were just a bad concept they should have let go....but the rest is built without compromise. The parts are just quality. Well made, engineered, great materials, lighter and better longevity.

Sorry shimano, even your "catch up" m900 was poor in comparison.

 

[BlackCat]

I knew you guys would come through. Thanks all.

Suntour is a year or two before my time bitd but I was lucky enough to pick up a Phoenix, so naturally i wondered if I should have a crack at a Suntour build…

Then… I read an extensive recent thread here on xc pro hubs, microdrive and the horrors of compatibility… and basically sacked the idea off. But I still got the pedals. They were fun to work on - and I find myself drooling over NOS ones on eBay Japan at trillion yen..

 

[Tootyred]

Other than hubs and cassettes the rest is golden...great kit.