Pedals removing / replacing

Spanner with scaffold pole on the end to provide a bit of leverage?

I tend to use a cheap spanner, block of wood and a mallet to free it -
works great as long as you're hitting it the right way!

peter

Steve Walford said:

Two questions in one

I know that as I sit on the bike the right pedal is right hand thread
and the left is a left handed thread

Steel / Chromalloy axles, aluminum cranks

What methods do people use to remove tight pedals

Hitting end of spanner with club hammer has done the trick for me.

Quoted message said:

Refitting
What methods / preventative measures do people prefer to prevent the
pedals becoming siezed
I have tried copper based anti-sieze grease, some of the engineers at
work claim copper based grease is more suitable for high temperature
operations and that copper bsed grease tends to interact with
aluminium

People say that about various sorts of grease. Copper anti-sieze is
commonly used for Al/steel combinations with no problems. Ordinary grease
should do anyway if the pedal is removed and regreased once or twice a
year, especially if you have/find a pedal/crank combination with threads
that mate nicely and not too tightly.

~PB

Steve Walford said:

The last time I fitted pedals I was carrying out some work in the
bathroom, I used a copper based anti-sieze grease and sealed the
exposed axle ends with silicone sealer,

One pedal was very tight and the other appears siezed

Most silicone sealants give off some acetic acid as they cure.
This is likely to have corroded the steel and alloy slightly,
which will be why it's seized.

-adrian

in message <[email hidden]>, Steve Walford

(') said:

Two questions in one

I know that as I sit on the bike the right pedal is right hand thread
and the left is a left handed thread

Good! That was the first thing I was going to suggest. A good sized pedal
spanner to give you lots of leverage is good.

Quoted message said:

Steel / Chromalloy axles, aluminum cranks

What methods do people use to remove tight pedals, yes I've got one.
I've thought of the following, but would like advice from others

Soak in penetrating oil, whatever other method I think this is a good
idea.

Can work.

Quoted message said:

Heat up using steam from a steam cleaner, alloy should expand more
than steel

Blowtorch works, if you heat just the crank quite quickly.

Quoted message said:

Heat up in a domestic oven, we used to do this with aluminium
motorcycle crankcases, drop on a piece of wood and interferance fit
steel bearing outer races drop out
Gently heat up with a welding torch, need to be careful and a drastic
measure

I wouldn't do that.

Quoted message said:

A friend has suggested a sharp blow on the end of the axle driving it
into the thread

Percussion can break a tight thread loose, but I prefer to tap the
spanner in the direction of (loosening) rotation. I'd put an axial tap
way down the list. It's quite easy to damage the thread in the crank
arm.

Quoted message said:

Refitting
What methods / preventative measures do people prefer to prevent the
pedals becoming siezed
I have tried copper based anti-sieze grease, some of the engineers at
work claim copper based grease is more suitable for high temperature
operations and that copper bsed grease tends to interact with
aluminium

I use copper; works for me.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Anagram: I'm soon broke.

Steve Walford said:

What methods do people use to remove tight pedals, yes I've got one.
I've thought of the following, but would like advice from others

Soak in penetrating oil, whatever other method I think this is a good
idea.

A good start.

Don't bother with the heat treatment, the key is the lubrication you've
got from the penetrating oil/PlusGas or whatever, combined with the
biggest [censored]-sized pedal spanner you can lay your hands on. Go and
pester the LBS if you don't have a big one (fnarr fnarr), it should only
take a few seconds.

Quoted message said:

Refitting
What methods / preventative measures do people prefer to prevent the
pedals becoming siezed

I put a smear of "normal" (probably PTFE) cycle grease on the threads,
and it seems to work okay. I usually take mine off for some reason at
least once a year, and that doesn't hurt either!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

I put a smear of "normal" (probably PTFE) cycle grease on the threads,
and it seems to work okay. I usually take mine off for some reason at
least once a year, and that doesn't hurt either!

Ditto to the grease, and ditto to taking the pedals off. Also worth
remembering that pedals really do not need to be done up at all tight.

d.

A kettle or two of boiling water on the crank arm worked for me once.

Robert

"davek" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter Clinch said:

I put a smear of "normal" (probably PTFE) cycle grease on the threads,
and it seems to work okay. I usually take mine off for some reason at
least once a year, and that doesn't hurt either!

Ditto to the grease, and ditto to taking the pedals off. Also worth
remembering that pedals really do not need to be done up at all tight.

Don't leave them loose either though. Unfortunately people's perception of
forces is such that it's difficult to explain how tight to do them..

FWIW I got round to removing the pedals from my commuter cranks after some
years - they were very stuck. GBH was the prime method I used to get them
out. I think I tied the crank to the chainstay (probably using
climbing-sling type cloth tape, since I've got that sort of thing lying
aroung), and spannered _really_ hard. I was using my pedal spanner - a
proper one of these is quite long.

cheers,
clive

Many thanks for all the advice

I think all my questions have been answered

Maybe one of the questions I asked was not clear enough
I have access to big spanners and scafolding poles, so removing the
pedal is not the problem, The last time I had trouble it appeared the
end of the pedal axle had corroded and was rusty / swollen, removing
the pedal the corrosion damaged the thread. Thus my idea to use
silicone sealant, point taken about acetic acid and corrosion. we have
some black body mastic at work used to bonding aluminium panels to
steel bearers in the construction of school type buses I think I will
try this next time
My other problem is self inflicted, I do not remove the pedals
regularly. Riding through the winter with salt on the road is asking
for corrosion on the axle, leaving this to build up will cause the
problems I have experienced when removing

Once again

Thanks

Steve

Steve Walford said:

Two questions in one

I know that as I sit on the bike the right pedal is right hand thread
and the left is a left handed thread

Steel / Chromalloy axles, aluminum cranks

What methods do people use to remove tight pedals, yes I've got one.
I've thought of the following, but would like advice from others

Soak in penetrating oil, whatever other method I think this is a good
idea.
Heat up using steam from a steam cleaner, alloy should expand more
than steel
Heat up in a domestic oven, we used to do this with aluminium
motorcycle crankcases, drop on a piece of wood and interferance fit
steel bearing outer races drop out
Gently heat up with a welding torch, need to be careful and a drastic
measure
A friend has suggested a sharp blow on the end of the axle driving it
into the thread

Refitting
What methods / preventative measures do people prefer to prevent the
pedals becoming siezed
I have tried copper based anti-sieze grease, some of the engineers at
work claim copper based grease is more suitable for high temperature
operations and that copper bsed grease tends to interact with
aluminium
I have tried an aluminium based anti-sieze grease, still no great
improvement
The last time I fitted pedals I was carrying out some work in the
bathroom, I used a copper based anti-sieze grease and sealed the
exposed axle ends with silicone sealer,

One pedal was very tight and the other appears siezed

Any advice / comments gladly welcomed

Thanks in anticipation

Steve

Steve Walford said:

we have
some black body mastic at work used to bonding aluminium panels to
steel bearers in the construction of school type buses I think I will
try this next time

I would recommend threadlock over something intended to permanently
stick steel to aluminium. At least you'll have some chance of getting it
apart should you need to later.

JimP

--
Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to
grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after
all. - DNA

Steve Walford said:

Many thanks for all the advice

I think all my questions have been answered

Maybe one of the questions I asked was not clear enough
I have access to big spanners and scafolding poles, so removing the
pedal is not the problem, The last time I had trouble it appeared the
end of the pedal axle had corroded and was rusty / swollen, removing
the pedal the corrosion damaged the thread.

In that case my own opinion would be that some kind of heat is your
best friend. Not too much, you obviously don't want to melt the crank,
but expansion caused by heat will help to break this rust seel, and
that's what you're after, while at the same time hopefully preserving
the threads. You'll probably need some kind of leverage subsequent to
the heat, and I wouldn't be afraid to cool it quickly either before
you get the spanner out, that will also help to break the seal.

As long as pedal threads are well greased before fitting you shouldn't
have too much trouble removing them regardless of the conditions you
ride in.

Hope you get there!

Garry

Quoted message said:

Thus my idea to use
silicone sealant, point taken about acetic acid and corrosion. we have
some black body mastic at work used to bonding aluminium panels to
steel bearers in the construction of school type buses I think I will
try this next time
My other problem is self inflicted, I do not remove the pedals
regularly. Riding through the winter with salt on the road is asking
for corrosion on the axle, leaving this to build up will cause the
problems I have experienced when removing

Once again

Thanks

Steve

Steve Walford said:

Two questions in one

I know that as I sit on the bike the right pedal is right hand thread
and the left is a left handed thread

Steel / Chromalloy axles, aluminum cranks

What methods do people use to remove tight pedals, yes I've got one.
I've thought of the following, but would like advice from others

Soak in penetrating oil, whatever other method I think this is a good
idea.
Heat up using steam from a steam cleaner, alloy should expand more
than steel
Heat up in a domestic oven, we used to do this with aluminium
motorcycle crankcases, drop on a piece of wood and interferance fit
steel bearing outer races drop out
Gently heat up with a welding torch, need to be careful and a drastic
measure
A friend has suggested a sharp blow on the end of the axle driving it
into the thread

Refitting
What methods / preventative measures do people prefer to prevent the
pedals becoming siezed
I have tried copper based anti-sieze grease, some of the engineers at
work claim copper based grease is more suitable for high temperature
operations and that copper bsed grease tends to interact with
aluminium
I have tried an aluminium based anti-sieze grease, still no great
improvement
The last time I fitted pedals I was carrying out some work in the
bathroom, I used a copper based anti-sieze grease and sealed the
exposed axle ends with silicone sealer,

One pedal was very tight and the other appears siezed

Any advice / comments gladly welcomed

Thanks in anticipation

Steve

Steve Walford said:

we have
some black body mastic at work used to bonding aluminium panels to
steel bearers in the construction of school type buses I think I will
try this next time

I think you'll be needlessly causing a problem there. It will be messy
and 'orrible for no benefit.

You can use a healthy layer of bog standard bearing grease on the
threads, and, as long as you remove the pedals and renew the grease
once or twice a year, they won't seize.

Most pedal/crank problems nowadays are caused by that pain in the [censored]
chemical bond that steel and alu are so keen on, and regular grease is
enough to stop this getting a grip with annual maintenance.

"Bob"
--

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