Tech: Stuck Pedal Removal

"Andrew Crabtree" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
| Hi All - I did a quick google search as well as checking the faq but
| was hoping for some more pointers. My girlfriend just recently
| purchased a Jamis 03 Quest. It has a 105 Triple Crank and the bike
| shop had installed Ritchie SPD-R pedals on it. We don't ride SPD-R so
| as part of the purchase got those credited back. All went well until
| the shop tried to remove the pedals. The Ritchie pedals don't install
| like normal pedals. They have a 9mm Hex head in the spindle itself
| (the wrench is inserted on the inside of the crankarm). The shop
| tried various lubricants and cheater bars attached to the allen
| wrench, and I went home and brought in a 100 ft-lbs cordless impact
| wrench and tried (I could only find an 8mm driver, not a 9, but it
| seemed to still mate securely). The shop is going to order a
| replacement crank at their cost, but it will take a week to get in
| most likely. Is there anything else to be tried (besides heating it
| which I am wary of) in the meantime?
|
| thanks,
| andy

Most pedals I have used allow for an Allen drive in the spindle.
Not to overlook the obvious:
The right pedal has a right hand thread; the left pedal is left hand
thread.
Once you are driving your wrench in the correct direction, a constant
application of force, as opposed to momentary 'impact' force might be more
productive.
Good Luck,
ED3

Right direction? Pull the wrench 'back' to remove and 'front' to install.

Judicious heat to the eye. Al has higher thermal expansion coefficient than
Fe.

"Andrew Crabtree" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
| Hi All - I did a quick google search as well as checking the faq but
| was hoping for some more pointers. My girlfriend just recently
| purchased a Jamis 03 Quest. It has a 105 Triple Crank and the bike
| shop had installed Ritchie SPD-R pedals on it. We don't ride SPD-R so
| as part of the purchase got those credited back. All went well until
| the shop tried to remove the pedals. The Ritchie pedals don't install
| like normal pedals. They have a 9mm Hex head in the spindle itself
| (the wrench is inserted on the inside of the crankarm). The shop
| tried various lubricants and cheater bars attached to the allen
| wrench, and I went home and brought in a 100 ft-lbs cordless impact
| wrench and tried (I could only find an 8mm driver, not a 9, but it
| seemed to still mate securely). The shop is going to order a
| replacement crank at their cost, but it will take a week to get in
| most likely. Is there anything else to be tried (besides heating it
| which I am wary of) in the meantime?
|
| thanks,
| andy

Andrew Crabtree said:

Hi All - I did a quick google search as well as checking the faq but
was hoping for some more pointers. My girlfriend just recently

If they're that different, maybe they turn the other way?

--Blair
"Aw, I loosened it fer ya."

On Fri, 23 Jul 2004 17:03:55 -0500, "Edward Dike, III"

edd(2+1) said:

|... The shop
| tried various lubricants and cheater bars attached to the allen
| wrench, and I went home and brought in a 100 ft-lbs cordless impact
| wrench and tried (I could only find an 8mm driver, not a 9, but it
| seemed to still mate securely).

If the recess is 9mm, an 8mm should have stripped; if it didn't, it
would still have been wedging the end of the recess open rather than
turning it.

Quoted message said:

The shop is going to order a
| replacement crank at their cost, but it will take a week to get in
| most likely. Is there anything else to be tried (besides heating it
| which I am wary of) in the meantime?

If the pedal can be dismantled nondestructively, and if there's enough
of a shoulder on the shaft to grab it with a pipe wrench, that would
be my next method of choice. Be aware that there is a chance that the
pedal threads have siezed in place, and that the hole could be
stripped or the threads damaged by the removal process if that's the
case.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

are you absolutely certain it's being turned the right way? you turn to
the rear on both pedals, both sides to loosen.

Andrew Crabtree said:

Hi All - I did a quick google search as well as checking the faq but
was hoping for some more pointers. My girlfriend just recently
purchased a Jamis 03 Quest. It has a 105 Triple Crank and the bike
shop had installed Ritchie SPD-R pedals on it. We don't ride SPD-R so
as part of the purchase got those credited back. All went well until
the shop tried to remove the pedals. The Ritchie pedals don't install
like normal pedals. They have a 9mm Hex head in the spindle itself
(the wrench is inserted on the inside of the crankarm). The shop
tried various lubricants and cheater bars attached to the allen
wrench, and I went home and brought in a 100 ft-lbs cordless impact
wrench and tried (I could only find an 8mm driver, not a 9, but it
seemed to still mate securely). The shop is going to order a
replacement crank at their cost, but it will take a week to get in
most likely. Is there anything else to be tried (besides heating it
which I am wary of) in the meantime?

thanks,
andy

jim beam said:

are you absolutely certain it's being turned the right way? you turn to
the rear on both pedals, both sides to loosen.

I'd hope the shop knows that.

The one and only time I had a problem I threw my crank and pedal into
the oven. Worked a charm.

Quoted message said:

Andrew Crabtree said:

Hi All - I did a quick google search as well as checking the faq but
was hoping for some more pointers. My girlfriend just recently
purchased a Jamis 03 Quest. It has a 105 Triple Crank and the bike
shop had installed Ritchie SPD-R pedals on it. We don't ride SPD-R so
as part of the purchase got those credited back. All went well until
the shop tried to remove the pedals. The Ritchie pedals don't install
like normal pedals. They have a 9mm Hex head in the spindle itself
(the wrench is inserted on the inside of the crankarm). The shop
tried various lubricants and cheater bars attached to the allen
wrench, and I went home and brought in a 100 ft-lbs cordless impact
wrench and tried (I could only find an 8mm driver, not a 9, but it
seemed to still mate securely). The shop is going to order a
replacement crank at their cost, but it will take a week to get in
most likely. Is there anything else to be tried (besides heating it
which I am wary of) in the meantime?

thanks, andy

--
Destroy your safe and happy lives
Before it is too late
The battles we fought were long and hard
Just not to be consumed by rock'n'roll

Quoted message said:

I'd hope the shop knows that.

my old shop didnt lol

(Andrew Crabtree) said:

The Ritchie pedals don't install like normal pedals. They have a 9mm
Hex head in the spindle itself (the wrench is inserted on the inside
of the crankarm). The shop tried various lubricants and cheater bars
attached to the allen wrench, and I went home and brought in a 100
ft-lbs cordless impact wrench and tried ... but no dice.

Are these the same pedals that are on-sale at half price at REI ??
The Ritchey "You'll get these off" Clipless SPD-R pedals ??

Here's a repeat from the FAQ :

To remove "frozen" pedal shafts from an aluminum crank, remove the
crank and pedal from the BB spindle, heat the pedal end of the crank
over gas flame cooking stove until it sizzles to the wet touch. Using
a pedal wrench, the pedal usually unscrews relatively easily without
damage. If the lubricated pedal does not screw in easily, a thread
tap should be run through the crank to prevent galling on insertion.

It might be a bad idea design a pedal with a hex removal interface in
the middle of the pedal spindle and crankarm eye, because twisting the
hex wrench might ever so slightly cause the pedal spindle to expand,
freezing the pedal in crankarm eye.

Another solution might be to use large vice grips in the normal
location on the outside of the shaft, assuming that these pedals are
toast and are not desirable to use on a new crankarm.

- Don "You'll never get this post" Gillies
San Diego, CA

Andrew Crabtree said:

Hi All - I did a quick google search as well as checking the faq but
was hoping for some more pointers. My girlfriend just recently
purchased a Jamis 03 Quest. It has a 105 Triple Crank and the bike
shop had installed Ritchie SPD-R pedals on it. We don't ride SPD-R so
as part of the purchase got those credited back. All went well until
the shop tried to remove the pedals. The Ritchie pedals don't install
like normal pedals. They have a 9mm Hex head in the spindle itself
(the wrench is inserted on the inside of the crankarm). The shop
tried various lubricants and cheater bars attached to the allen
wrench, and I went home and brought in a 100 ft-lbs cordless impact
wrench and tried (I could only find an 8mm driver, not a 9, but it
seemed to still mate securely). The shop is going to order a
replacement crank at their cost, but it will take a week to get in
most likely. Is there anything else to be tried (besides heating it
which I am wary of) in the meantime?

thanks,
andy

First off, like others have mentioned, lefty-loosey, righty tighty doesn't
work on half the pedals. ...specifically, the left pedal :-)

For every stuck bolt I've EVER encountered this process has worked for me:
Soak in penetrating oil. Or keep applying if you can't easily "soak" the
object.

If you're able, heat the object. Wipe off excess oil first ...fire hazard!

The secret sauce: use a tight fitting wrench (box, open, hex...), shim with
cut up feeler gage if necessary. Now with a small brass hammer, almost
child like in size, tap (NOT beat) repeatedly on the wrench in the loosening
direction. This will take a while, remember, patience is a virtue.

It is most important to tap lightly and repeatedly AND be patient! You can
use a ball peen or claw (even a sledge if you like), but the small brass
hammer will help prevent you from beating on the wrench and the brass also
doesn't damage the wrench. The process is not disimilar to you using your
cordless impact. But I've tried impacts in the past (pneumatic) and this
method worked better, I thought.

--
Skuke
Reverse the domain name to send email

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (Donald Gillies)

Quoted message said:

It might be a bad idea design a pedal with a hex removal interface in
the middle of the pedal spindle and crankarm eye, because twisting the
hex wrench might ever so slightly cause the pedal spindle to expand,
freezing the pedal in crankarm eye.

Another solution might be to use large vice grips in the normal
location on the outside of the shaft, assuming that these pedals are
toast and are not desirable to use on a new crankarm.

Has any one tried plumbers tape?

skuke said:

Andrew Crabtree said:

Hi All - I did a quick google search as well as checking the faq but
was hoping for some more pointers. My girlfriend just recently
purchased a Jamis 03 Quest. It has a 105 Triple Crank and the bike
shop had installed Ritchie SPD-R pedals on it. We don't ride SPD-R so
as part of the purchase got those credited back. All went well until
the shop tried to remove the pedals. The Ritchie pedals don't install
like normal pedals. They have a 9mm Hex head in the spindle itself
(the wrench is inserted on the inside of the crankarm). The shop
tried various lubricants and cheater bars attached to the allen
wrench, and I went home and brought in a 100 ft-lbs cordless impact
wrench and tried (I could only find an 8mm driver, not a 9, but it
seemed to still mate securely). The shop is going to order a
replacement crank at their cost, but it will take a week to get in
most likely. Is there anything else to be tried (besides heating it
which I am wary of) in the meantime?

thanks,
andy

First off, like others have mentioned, lefty-loosey, righty tighty doesn't
work on half the pedals. ...specifically, the left pedal :-)

For every stuck bolt I've EVER encountered this process has worked for me:
Soak in penetrating oil. Or keep applying if you can't easily "soak" the
object.

If you're able, heat the object. Wipe off excess oil first ...fire hazard!

The secret sauce: use a tight fitting wrench (box, open, hex...), shim with
cut up feeler gage if necessary. Now with a small brass hammer, almost
child like in size, tap (NOT beat) repeatedly on the wrench in the loosening
direction. This will take a while, remember, patience is a virtue.

It is most important to tap lightly and repeatedly AND be patient! You can
use a ball peen or claw (even a sledge if you like), but the small brass
hammer will help prevent you from beating on the wrench and the brass also
doesn't damage the wrench. The process is not disimilar to you using your
cordless impact. But I've tried impacts in the past (pneumatic) and this
method worked better, I thought.

I used to work in a shop. A little bit of propane torch on the crank
arm will get them out everytime. You don't need much heat to be successful.