I have a stiffy

[Joshgav]

That's right, my new pedals came today and I trundled down to my lbs to get some pedal spanners/get him to fix it for me, he is very nice after all.

Anyway, the pedals on there already are completely stuck. I have only had the bike a year and haven't ridden it much.

We tried GT85 and a lot of brute force, does anyone know how to get them out, short of drilling them out or replacing the cranks?

I think the cranks are steel, don't know what the spindles are.

Please help a desperate man who really wants to go clipless.

 

[4F]

Pedal spanner with a long tube of pipe assuming of course they are being undone the right way http://bicycletutor.com/replace-pedals/

 

[TimP]

More leverage....

The big piece of pipe to entend the spanner works.

 

[Amanda P]

The pedal spindles will be very hard steel. For this reason, drilling them out is very much a last resort.

Often the problem is that steel spindles are screwed into alloy cranks. The resulting voltaic cell causes corrosion where they meet (and is why you should apply grease to the thread when you fit the new pedals).

If lengthening a spanner by using a bit of pipe doesn't shift them, remove the pedal from the spindle (undo all the other dustcaps and nuts and dismantle the pedal. Catch all the bearings if you want to re-use the pedals). Then heat the junction of crank and spindle with a hot air gun or a blow torch (careful with the blow torch - you don't want to take the paint off the bike). Or wrap a cloth around the junction and pour on boiling water (the cloth keeps the water in contact with the crank for longer, so it gets hotter).

You don't need it red-hot, just hot. This should disturb the corrosion and allow you to unscrew the spindle. If you cranks are alloy (they usually are, unless you have chromed, cottered cranks), the alloy heats up and expands much faster than the steel, so heating works like a charm.

Then try the spanner/pipe combo again.

If that doesn't work, you may have to remove the cranks so they can be put in a really sturdily fixed vice.

(If you have plastic-covered steel cranks, only the hot water thing might help - the other methods will of course burn off or melt the plastic.)

 

[bonj2]

a whack to the crank either side of the axle on a hard, flat surface with a large lump hammer can help to de-ovalise the hole. Worked for me once when nothing else would work. Don't do it with carbon cranks though. And grease it next time.

 

[Joshgav]

Thanks

Thanks for the advice, I shall give the rag and boiling trick a go. I didn't actually put the pedals on myself, the bike came with them on so don't know if they used grease or anything.

The guy in the lbs tried a massive wrench but that started rounding off the bolt head so we had to stop.

The cranks look like chromes steel to me, the front side is nice and shiny, the rear is a dull steel colour. So hopefully that will work.

 

[Joe24]

I thought this was going to be a post about someone getting a hard on after so many miles that they do on their bike, and that it just comes on. There was one of these posts a while ago and it wasnt a joke!!
As for getting the pedals off, i would just put a spanner on that fits tight, lock the back wheel then lean on the spanner and maybe bounce on it abit.
The problem i find with getting pedals off freewheel bikes is that sometimes the cranks will move so you cant get enough force into the pedal to get it off.

 

[fossyant]

Joe24 ...calm down.....

TBH any bike I'll strip and rebuild with grease, even the kids bikes.......

 

[Joe24]

Joe24 ...calm down.....

TBH any bike I'll strip and rebuild with grease, even the kids bikes.......

That was a good thread. I cant remember what advice the guy got, but i remember sitting here and laughing over him posting it

 

[fossyant]

That was a good thread. I cant remember what advice the guy got, but i remember sitting here and laughing over him posting it

Well........ I thought he'd bought a Wilier Cento Uno..... hubba hubba .....ooh errr....

 

[swee'pea99]

Thanks for the advice, I shall give the rag and boiling trick a go. I didn't actually put the pedals on myself, the bike came with them on so don't know if they used grease or anything.

Definitely try that first.

If it doesn't work, one possibility you might consider - purists would wince, I'm sure, but it's worked for me before now - put a spanner on then give it a few increasingly (as necessary) hefty thumps with a hammer. As more knowledgable folk have advised, you've probably got a bit of bonding in there: sometimes sharp impact can work when even quite strong pressure can't.

 

[punkypossum]

I thought it was one of these:

http://www.covebike.com/bikes/stiffee.html

 

[Joshgav]

Then I have the problem of the cranks turning round. How can I lock them?

 

[Joe24]

Then I have the problem of the cranks turning round. How can I lock them?

But a D lock or another bar through the gaps in the cranks and across your frame and this should lock them enough.

 

[4F]

Then I have the problem of the cranks turning round. How can I lock them?

Move the crank in question to the forward position (2 o clock) and this should prevent the crank turning.