Fixing loose pedal

[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The left pedal of my bike is loose to the point of falling off after a
few seconds of attempted riding. I tried sticking it back on with super
glue, but this didn't work. Any ideas?

Dave wonders as follows:

The fact that you are asking this without a lot of geeky bicycle specific
jargon attached makes me think that you need a simple low cost solution. My
apologies if this is wrong.

By loose do you mean that the pedal spindle is not reliably attached to the
crank arm or that the pedal body is not firmly affixed to the spindle?

If the spindle is loose from the crank arm I can see four possibilities:

1) The crank arm has wallowed out threads, in which case you will need
either a new crank or some structural epoxy, super glue is not strong enough
given the repeated stress and contamination that exists in this joint.

2) The spindle threads are stripped, in which case you will need new pedals
or again a stronger bonding material like epoxy (a bunch of it, some in the
threads but building it up around the junction and out along the spindle may
work)

3) The bearings are somehow worn or broken so that they allow the spindle
to come free, you can try replacing the balls and cones and adjusting the
bearings but really a new set of inexpensive pedals is less than $15US most
places. If you have fancy clipless pedals you may take them in to your Local
Bike Shop (LBS) to get new bearings.

4) The bearing adjustment threads are stripped, thereby allowing the
bearings to come apart during riding, you may be able to adjust the
bearings, clean them VERY thourghly to get all the grease off the threads
and then use your epoxy to glue the bearings in place. (Note: just use the
adhesive to lock the cones to the spindle, make sure the bearings are free
from any epoxy)

There are other things that my furtive imagination suggest you could mean
but I think this covers the most likely possibilities. If you have a bike
that has standard non-clip in pedals you can probably do yourself a big
favor by simply replacing the pedals but I have used epoxy successfully on
many of my bikes during my less affluent years.

Good luck, let us know exactly what you mean by loose pedal.

Dave

Quoted message said:

The left pedal of my bike is loose to the point of falling off after a
few seconds of attempted riding. I tried sticking it back on with super
glue, but this didn't work. Any ideas?

Have you tried duct tape?
Or maybe something with coathangers?

Quoted message said:

[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The left pedal of my bike is loose to the point of falling off after a
few seconds of attempted riding. I tried sticking it back on with super
glue, but this didn't work. Any ideas?

Dave Reckoning said:

The fact that you are asking this without a lot of geeky bicycle specific
jargon attached makes me think that you need a simple low cost solution. My
apologies if this is wrong.

By loose do you mean that the pedal spindle is not reliably attached to the
crank arm or that the pedal body is not firmly affixed to the spindle?

If the spindle is loose from the crank arm I can see four possibilities:

1) The crank arm has wallowed out threads, in which case you will need
either a new crank or some structural epoxy, super glue is not strong enough
given the repeated stress and contamination that exists in this joint.

2) The spindle threads are stripped, in which case you will need new pedals
or again a stronger bonding material like epoxy (a bunch of it, some in the
threads but building it up around the junction and out along the spindle may
work)

3) The bearings are somehow worn or broken so that they allow the spindle
to come free, you can try replacing the balls and cones and adjusting the
bearings but really a new set of inexpensive pedals is less than $15US most
places. If you have fancy clipless pedals you may take them in to your Local
Bike Shop (LBS) to get new bearings.

4) The bearing adjustment threads are stripped, thereby allowing the
bearings to come apart during riding, you may be able to adjust the
bearings, clean them VERY thourghly to get all the grease off the threads
and then use your epoxy to glue the bearings in place. (Note: just use the
adhesive to lock the cones to the spindle, make sure the bearings are free
from any epoxy)

There are other things that my furtive imagination suggest you could mean
but I think this covers the most likely possibilities. If you have a bike
that has standard non-clip in pedals you can probably do yourself a big
favor by simply replacing the pedals but I have used epoxy successfully on
many of my bikes during my less affluent years.

Good luck, let us know exactly what you mean by loose pedal.

If I might venture a guess, Dave, I'd say you're a well
meaning non-professional mechanic.
1)"wallowed" threads at the pedal eye or the extractor won't
respond well to epoxy
2)Spindles (even cheap spindles) are good steel and quite
hard. Stripped threads inside the spindle will not be the
problem and epoxy wouldn't be a solution.
3)Badly worn bearings will show as a rocking crank but won't
exhibit his symptom. If you meant pedal bearings, very few
are adjustable now, the cone being stamped to the spindle.
And again, cannot relate to "pedal loose ; falling off" at
any rate.
4)WTF? I have no idea what you meant by that but damaged
bottom bracket bearings don't respond well to an epoxy fix.
The forces are beyond what epoxy can do.

If he meant "pedal unscrews chronically" his hardened steel
pedal spindle will work just fine for the foreseeable future
in a new left crank arm ( under $20) if it's installed
properly and left alone .

If he meant 'crank falls off chronically" which I my
interpretation, he needs a new left crank, properly
installed, for a lifetime of service. This is a common
complaint of XMart bikes with aluminum cranks mounted dry (
tapers and threads) without proper torque. [See our FAQ]

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

may have said:

The left pedal of my bike is loose to the point of falling off after a
few seconds of attempted riding. I tried sticking it back on with super
glue, but this didn't work. Any ideas?

You're yanking our chains, right?

If the pedal has wallowed out the hole in the crank, toss the crank
and get a new one...and consider paying the talented and skillful
folks at the local bike shop to install both items properly. (And
consider paying them a little extra to never, ever mention the words
"super glue" to anyone that you know.)

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 14:48:27 -0600, Jim Smith <[email hidden]>

may have said:

Quoted message said:

The left pedal of my bike is loose to the point of falling off after a
few seconds of attempted riding. I tried sticking it back on with super
glue, but this didn't work. Any ideas?

Have you tried duct tape?
Or maybe something with coathangers?

Coathangers are so twentieth-century. Laser-weld that thing in place.
(Duct tape, of course, is timeless, but is unsuitable for left cranks;
its special properties are best used in this area when fitting 110bcd
quad chainrings to a BMX crank.)

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

The left pedal of my bike is loose to the point of falling off after a
few seconds of attempted riding. I tried sticking it back on with super
glue, but this didn't work. Any ideas?

Yes, take the bike and the pedal to your LBS and let them do the repair before
you cause more damage to your bike.
------------------
Alex