Removing pedals

henrikkWaOqVvG

Hi all,

Just joined the forums (boy, was that difficult!), and have a questions about removing pedals.

After rounding off my normal hex bit, I bought a 1/4" drive impact bit which promptly rounded as well, using it with my 40" breaker bar. Would using an impact wrench have been better? That lasted significantly longer with my non-impact hex bit.

I tried getting it really hot with a blow-torch, but this was after I rounded the hex bit, so still couldn't get it off.

It it worth getting a new impact bit, heating up the crank arm and use my impact wrench?

Alternatively, I will have to take the angle grinder to the arm and hope I can cut it off without damaging the thread on the pedals.

Or are there any other ways to get these off?

Thanks

webboo

Are you trying to undo them the right way. There was another thread recently about how easy it is to get confused about which direction.

arlowood

Yep -are you sure you are not trying to tighten the pedal. The right hand pedal has a "normal" thread so should be removed by turning counter-clockwise. (Lefty loosey, righty tighty as the saying goes). The left hand pedal has a "b*st*rd" or left-hand thread so you need to turn it clockwise to loosen it.

MattFalle

Sorry, are you rounding off hex bits or the bit where it goes into the pedal? is the pedal jeffed already?

if you're managing to do hex bits and the pedal is still groovy banana then i'm impressed.

but also check as Webboo says - you should be turning the 'bar backwards to get pedals off.

Ben6899

Impact driver on a bike... eek.

henrikkWaOqVvG

I've octuple checked the direction. I also soaked them in WD40 for days between trying.

I'm rounding off the bits. The recepter on the bike pedal still looks ok-ish, but not perfect. This is why I'm thinking cutting the arm is a better solution before the pedal gets to a state where I won't be able to fit in on the new arms.

MattFalle

are the arms still on the bike?

maybe worth taking them off, sticking them in a vice and trying to undo from there.

i must admit being pretty impressed that they are this stuck.

alts, air gun them - local garage will do this for nowt if you ask nicely.

andyrr

Can you not use a spanner on the flats of the pedal axle between the crank arm and pedal body? A slim 15mm normally works I think.

MattFalle

Some pedals such as Keos don't have this and, tbh, from the sounds of things they are mashed on sooooo tight it may require more.

pedal spanner is 15mm on older/cheaper pedals you can use a normal 15mm spanner so can really smashdafuck out of it.

but these sound well mashed on already tbh.

MattFalle

Oh Raj, give it a rest, eh.

pblakeney

The above is even more appropriate now should you come from Edinburgh. 🤣

henrikkWaOqVvG

Hi,

I already have them in a vice. They don't have provisions for spanners (Shimano 105), only hex keys.

I have ordered another impact bit, I think the breaker bar was a mistake as it is difficult to keep the force to straight rotational without sideways force. I will soak the in WD40 till the bit arrives, heat them up and try the impact wrench.

Thanks

MattFalle

what pedals are they?

masjer

I wish they'd have just left the pedals with a 15mm flat rather than 8mm hex but, that's progress.
Anyway, I know you've already checked the thread direction but just to be 100%, have you reversed the direction accounting for the fact the crank arms are now upside down in the vice?
Left crank arm- left-handed thread- clockwise to undo, BUT in the vice it'll be anti-clockwise to undo.
Right crank arm- right-handed thread- anti-clockwise to undo, BUT in the vice it'll be clockwise to undo.

Good luck.

jimboyle645XoGCi0C

If the hex recessions are well and truly rounded/fucked, you could try creating flats on the pedal axle with a small file to act as makeshift receptors for a wrench. It's not pretty, and you will need to be precise with the file, but it can be effective, I have done it before.

manglier

Rather than using WD40 as a penetrant try using a 50/50 mix of acetone and transmission fluid. It is much better than WD40 and even most commercial penetrants. Be sure to mix it in a metal container with a metal spout though because acetone eats plastic.

henrikkWaOqVvG

Ok, mystery solved. Everyone on the Internet is wrong...

Everything I read said the reason for the opposite threads is so that they automatically tighten as you pedal along. But look at this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0kihzVFkWY

The spindle losens the same way the pedal rotates when you pedal along...

Anyway, my pedals are broken now, completely stuck and I can even see cracks in the end bit around the hex, so I've had to order new pedals. What a waste, just because everyone writes the wrong thing on the Internet.

pblakeney

Some people shouldn't be allowed to touch a toolbox.

masjer

henrikkWaOqVvG said:

Ok, mystery solved. Everyone on the Internet is wrong...

Everything I read said the reason for the opposite threads is so that they automatically tighten as you pedal along.

The spindle losens the same way the pedal rotates when you pedal along...

A What a waste, just because everyone writes the wrong thing on the Internet.

Not everybody gets it wrong. It's in black and white above.

MattFalle

henrikkWaOqVvG said:

Ok, mystery solved. Everyone on the Internet is wrong...

Everything I read said the reason for the opposite threads is so that they automatically tighten as you pedal along. But look at this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0kihzVFkWY

The spindle losens the same way the pedal rotates when you pedal along...

Anyway, my pedals are broken now, completely stuck and I can even see cracks in the end bit around the hex, so I've had to order new pedals. What a waste, just because everyone writes the wrong thing on the Internet.

don't fuckthese ones up as well, eh.

Charlie_Croker

henrikkWaOqVvG said:

I've octuple checked the direction. I also soaked them in WD40 for days between trying.

So are you saying you've been trying to undo them the wrong way then?

The video you have posted only shows the right pedal being removed! (right-hand thread)

Ben6899

henrikkWaOqVvG said:

Ok, mystery solved. Everyone on the Internet is wrong...

Everything I read said the reason for the opposite threads is so that they automatically tighten as you pedal along. But look at this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0kihzVFkWY

The spindle losens the same way the pedal rotates when you pedal along...

Anyway, my pedals are broken now, completely stuck and I can even see cracks in the end bit around the hex, so I've had to order new pedals. What a waste, just because everyone writes the wrong thing on the Internet.

We all wrote the right thing. You must have read it incorrectly.

laurentian

?rorrim a ni gnidaer uoy era

davidof

Ben6899 said:

henrikkWaOqVvG said:

Ok, mystery solved. Everyone on the Internet is wrong...

Anyway, my pedals are broken now, completely stuck and I can even see cracks in the end bit around the hex, so I've had to order new pedals. What a waste, just because everyone writes the wrong thing on the Internet.

We all wrote the right thing. You must have read it incorrectly.

Can you imagine the poor pedals? Trying to undo them with some kind of pneumatic breaker bar and an impact driver? They must be truly ruined.

Ben6899

davidof said:

Ben6899 said:

henrikkWaOqVvG said:

Ok, mystery solved. Everyone on the Internet is wrong...

Anyway, my pedals are broken now, completely stuck and I can even see cracks in the end bit around the hex, so I've had to order new pedals. What a waste, just because everyone writes the wrong thing on the Internet.

We all wrote the right thing. You must have read it incorrectly.

Can you imagine the poor pedals? Trying to undo them with some kind of pneumatic breaker bar and an impact driver? They must be truly ruined.

And tightening them all the while...

I read back through the thread to make sure we had been clear, and arlowood's advice is as clear as you could possibly hope and (for the avoidance of any doubt) is supported by the technique shown in the video. I'm really struggling to see how anyone but the OP is at fault here!

Bizarre.

arlowood said:

Yep -are you sure you are not trying to tighten the pedal. The right hand pedal has a "normal" thread so should be removed by turning counter-clockwise. (Lefty loosey, righty tighty as the saying goes). The left hand pedal has a "b*st*rd" or left-hand thread so you need to turn it clockwise to loosen it.

MattFalle

its pretty impressive the amount of damage he's managed to do to them though - to actually crack a pedal if a good effort.

bear in mind he snapped two hex bits doing it as well, so those pedals ain't going anywhere.

imagine the blood, sweat and tears that went into that.

utter mega gravy groovy effort.

davidof

Ben6899 said:

I'm really struggling to see how anyone but the OP is at fault here!

it is like those "ghost drivers" you get in Germanic countries, hacking down the autobahn in the wrong direction at 200kph, flashing at oncoming traffic and shaking their fist out the window believing everyone else is going in the wrong direction.

dabber

I've never worried about clockwise versus anticlockwise.
I just put the crank verically upwards at the 12 o'clock position, put the spannner or hex tool parallel to the ground facing towards the back of the bike and turn downwards. Do that both sides and you are undoing in the correct direction.

MattFalle

I think the boat has sailed on this one already .......

mully79

dabber said:

I've never worried about clockwise versus anticlockwise.
I just put the crank verically upwards at the 12 o'clock position, put the spannner or hex tool parallel to the ground facing towards the back of the bike and turn downwards. Do that both sides and you are undoing in the correct direction.

Im sure 99% will find this perfectly helpful but there's always one like the OP who will have the bike upside down.

dabber

mully79 said:

dabber said:

I've never worried about clockwise versus anticlockwise.
I just put the crank verically upwards at the 12 o'clock position, put the spannner or hex tool parallel to the ground facing towards the back of the bike and turn downwards. Do that both sides and you are undoing in the correct direction.

Im sure 99% will find this perfectly helpful but there's always one like the OP who will have the bike upside down.

LOL