Bike Pedal Pins: Replacement Pins, Pin Pedals and How to Swap Them

What are pin pedals?

Pin pedals are flat pedals with threaded metal studs set into the platform, usually 9–11 per side around the edges. The pins sink into a soft rubber sole, so your foot stays planted on rough ground without cleats. Budget nylon pedals often have molded pins instead, which are part of the body and can’t be replaced.

For choosing the pedal itself, see flat pedals and platform pedals. This page is about the pins.

How to choose bike pedal pins

Start with your pedal model. Pins are made for a specific body, so the right replacement is almost always the maker’s own pin kit.

Top-loading vs back-loading pins

• Top-loading pins screw in from the platform side. They’re simple and easy to reach, but a rock strike can bend the pin or round out its hex, which then makes it hard to remove.
• Back-loading (rear- or bottom-loading) pins thread in from underneath, with the grip end poking up through the body. The tool fitting sits on the protected underside, so even a smashed pin unscrews easily. The OneUp Composite and Aluminum and the SDG Comp use this layout.
• Pin-and-nut designs add a lock nut to each pin, as the OneUp Composite does with Nyloc nuts, which stops pins backing out.

If you ride rocky trails and bend pins often, back-loading pins save time and pedals.

Pin length and height

Pin height is how far the pin sticks up above the platform. Taller pins bite harder; shorter pins let you move your foot and are kinder to shins and shoes.

Some pedals let you tune it. Hope’s F22 uses washers to adjust its hex pins, and the Crankbrothers Stamp 7 lists adjustable pins. On others, you change height by buying shorter or longer pins from the maker.

A useful setup: run full-height pins at the front and rear edges, where the sole wraps over the platform, and shorter pins near the spindle.

Pin material

Steel pins are strong and cheap. Stainless pins, like the Wolf Tooth Waveform’s, resist rust in wet climates. Molded nylon pins suit commuting but wear smooth.

Thread and fit

Pedal pins are small metric screws, and thread size, pitch and length vary by brand. Don’t guess with hardware-store set screws: the wrong length can bottom out or poke through, and the wrong thread strips the body. Buy pins by pedal model name from the maker’s spares list.

How to replace bicycle pedal pins

1. Clean the pin heads. Pick dirt out of each hex with a small pick or old spoke so the key seats fully.
2. Use a fresh hex key of the exact size. A worn key rounds pins out. Many pins take a small hex such as 3 mm (the Waveform’s do), but check your pedal.
3. Back-loading pins: unscrew from the underside; hold the nut with a socket if there is one.
4. Top-loading pins: unscrew from the top, then clean the hole.
5. Prep the threads. A light coat of grease or anti-seize helps pins come out next time; use a medium-strength threadlocker instead if pins keep loosening.
6. Fit the new pins to the same height on both pedals, snug but not forced. In nylon bodies, overtightening strips the threads.
7. Check after the first ride and nip up any that have moved.

Wear gloves: worn pins are sharp.

How to remove a seized or broken pedal pin

Seized pins are usually corroded or have rounded heads. Work up this list:

1. Soak the threads with penetrating oil from both sides and wait.
2. Tap in a new bit. Hammer a fresh hex bit into the pin head so it seats fully, then turn slowly with a ratchet.
3. Go one size up with Torx. If the hex is rounded, a slightly larger Torx bit tapped in often bites.
4. Grip the stub. If the pin stands proud, grab the shaft with locking pliers and unscrew it.
5. Work from behind. On back-loading or through-body pins, turn the pin from the underside.
6. Extract or drill. For a pin snapped flush, use a small screw extractor, or drill it out and re-tap the hole, or take it to a workshop.

Avoid heat on composite pedals: it melts the body and seals. If several holes are stripped, replace the pedal.

Pin care and maintenance

Check pins every few rides. Replace bent or worn pins before they damage the threads in the body, and keep a few spares: DMR includes two with the Vault V2, OneUp four with the Aluminum, and Wolf Tooth six with the Waveform.

After wet rides, rinse and dry the pedals, and re-grease pin threads at each service along with the axle. See grease and lube and the pedal tools you’ll need.

Brands that sell replacement pins

Most pin pedal makers sell spare pins for their own models, listed by pedal name, including DMR, OneUp Components, Crankbrothers, Wolf Tooth, Hope, Race Face and Burgtec. For older pedals, buy pins the maker lists as compatible rather than generic sets.