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help with pedals
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
i got some new pedals. and the old ones on the bike seem to have rusted on in the 2 yrs there been on there, i have tryed everything i know, wd-40, freeze spray stuff, 3 people holding the bike down while i try and undo it and a 4 foot pole on the end of the spanner, it didnt end well the spanner snapped and i went crashing forwards(it shows to pay alot when you buy tools not cheap crap) the last option i been thinking of is heating it up, but this may cause more problems itself.
is there a tool to undo them. or what have you done in this time
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http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=83
Have a look. I hope you have been turning the right way! For the left hand pedal you have to go clockwise to loosen.
Are you aware that the left hand pedal has a left hand thread? So to undo it you turn it clockwise. If your pedals are removed with an allen key the way you turn it is opposite as you will be on the wrong side of the tread.
Heating will cause expansion so if you could heat the crank more than the pedal that may help.
Another way to loosen a frozen thread is to "crack it" support your crank on something solid and whack the pedal with a hammer the jarring will often allow the thread to be undone.
Cheers & good luck John.
Sometimes they are so stuck on you really need the expertise of your local bike shop
They shouldn't charge much (or anything if you're regular)
Remove the cranks, take the pedals apart and put the pedal shaft in a bench vice. They can then be removed by turning the crank against the shaft. Not that much work really, and no damage to anything. I also snapped a spanner trying to get a set of cheap factory pedals off.
Good solution
And I always remember the correct way to loosen
Is turn the pedal spanner in the direction opposite to crank rotation
The way I remember to remove pedals is if the crank is pointing straight forward and your spanner/hex key is on there and also pointing forward then push it toward the frame's down tube. Ie. if you have the bike upside down, push down towards the tube.
If you have a large enough hex key and have pedals which can only be removed with one (M540s and Eggbeaters are both like this) you can put a rag on the down tube and actually use that as a pivot point which makes the whole job much easier.
Make sure you exercise some patience when in this position. It is easy to crack the sh*ts and break something.
I always remember the rotation of the thread as being the same as screwing in a bolt. The right foot crank screws in like a normal screw, clockwise. Obviously to unscrew is anti-clockwise. The left foot crank screws in and out in the opposite way, anti-clockwise in, clockwise out. Why bike manufacturers thought this was smart I will never know. It is one of the more dumb design decisions I can think of. That and maybe the rear derailleur assembly.
Make sure you are unscrewing the right foot crank anti-clockwise to remove. Make sure you are unscrewing the left foor crank clockwise.
If you are, then, you are screwed. So to speak. But that's just a pun. Try:
On the inside of the crank, the pedal shaft threads all the way through to a hole on the inside. You can hit the inside of the pedal shaft with a hammer, or some other narrow sturdy object with a hammer like a chisel. Don't use a chisel, but you get the idea of what action you are trying to perform. That 'impact' may loosen the muck in the thread just enough to get it off. Note that this then places the crank and bottom bracket under load, which might not be a good idea.
I am not sure heating the pedal/crank is a good idea. Seeing this material is aluminium (I assume this is so, they are unlikely to be Ti components) then this is a soft metal and may deform when subjected to a heavy force. But that's just my uninformed opinion.
As Bloot says, if this still does not work, I would take it to a bike shop. Those guys probably have more tricks up their sleeve.
thanks for all your coments. i think i will just take it to the bike shop and see what they have to say about it.....
thanks all
John, I like the Idea of "crack it" best. I wise man once told me to undo a tight bolt etc is first to give it a good solid hit, then this will sound counterintuitive but try and tighten it first then loosen it. For every tight bolt I have ever come across this method has worked.
Becareful that you do not strip the treads out of the cranks either..... that is bad.
Re threads there is a reason the threads are the way they are, It is so when you a pedaling forwards you are always doing the pedals up tight. (if for some reason you have a bad bearing in your pedal the last thing you want to happen is to have it grabbing enough to undo the pedal while riding).
Oh and the right tool for the job is a must.
Like you said your going to do, take it to the LBS. If they Stuff things up then they will fix them as well..... in theory that is.
Good luck with it