On the issue of "responsiveness" of the original SK - well, John Bonham got some good speed out of them and Phil Collins just *flew* on those things, super-fast.

Of course JB has passed and PC is no longer able to play the drums, but it woulda been interesting to see (hear) if they could go even faster with the new ones. :)

A little clip to back up my words above. Go to 1:58 for the drums to start, then at 2:25 the kick drums fireworks begin. Maybe the new SK design would have made it easier...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdQwgE1QCgg"]Dancing With The Moonlit Knight; Drums, Bass, and Lead Guitar - YouTube[/ame]

I knew this was good, but I didn't know it was THAT good. Wild!

Al

I know eh? It's not just the execution, but the ideas he had that continue to blow me away.

I'll be curious to pop the side logo-caps off one of the new Speed Kings and see what type lubricant is used.

Although some SK gurus will disagree with me, I maintain that an easy way to speed up an aging SK is to remove all that thick grease - it's so 1930s, ha! - and replace it with a modern teflon- or silicone-based aerosol light lubricant, available at any hardware store.

With the possible exception of Phil Collins' pedal, a SK doesn't develop enough speed, heat, nor pressure to warrant the use of grease as a lubricant, IMO. If you are a grease guy and just gotta use some, put a very light film of white lithium grease (commercial name is Lubriplate, available at hardware and boating stores) where you have metal-to-metal contact: on the top of the two pushrods that interact with the "cams." Try it, I bet you'll like it.

That's the prime reason grease was chosen in the first place as pedals don't really produce high rotational speeds or develop a significant amount of heat.

Grease offers many advantages over lighter lubricants like: it doesn't leak easily; doesn't evaporate quickly (=prolonged service interval); has sealing properties and can protect surfaces from corrosion. Disadvantages are that it does have a finite or useful "lifespan," and limited cooling capability (outside of friction reduction), it won't carry heat away like oil in a circulating system (and thus can't flush contaminants).

The mechanical and chemical properties of the grease will change as it ages both physically and chemically. Physical aging results in a change to the grease’s rheological properties (this is related to flow and the sheer/bleed qualities - consider that grease is a "semi-solid" and actually moves in the rotating system), which is probably more critical than chemical aging (being sealed, the system is less likely to be affected by external environmental exposure / contamination but may be more affected by the internal environment).

Bottom line is that the grease in SK is not a "lifetime" grease and does need periodic maintenance and the more the pedal is used the sooner the need to maintain it. So you are 100% correct with your advice to periodically change out that grease!!!

I have fifth wheel hitch grease in my SK. 8 or 9 years and no issues. Removed thick clogging grease first.

Thanks Hoppy....very interesting. You must be a chemical engineer. I was a history major! Ha!

Regards, MB

HA! Not quite... I did work for one of the largest energy companies for almost 30-years (about 36 if you count the overtime) in Operations at one of their petroleum refineries. About half that time was spent training the process operators, and one of the subjects was lubrication (to maintain the rotating equipment).

What I know could fill a thimble compared to those folks in the lubricants side of the business with a legit engineering degree or those special dudes with the PhD in "tribology" (a subject I always found rather fascinating).

History was always a favored subject of mine too!