Pedals will not budge

[battered]

An ice screw, brilliant! Bloody expensive though, compared to a scabby old bit of gas pipe.

I use a decent 15mm spanner and a copper mallet, take up the slack then give it a sharp tap. Done. The same copper mallet works on a crank extractor, tighten it up then crack the joint with the mallet. If it doesn't pop, another quarter turn then tap tap and it pops the taper without having to give the screw too much force.

LH pedal, LH thread. RH pedal, RH (conventional) thread, easy. As others say a smear of copper grease is a great idea, I ALWAYS use it on crank tapers, bottom brackets and usually on pedals if they are going to stay on for a while.

 

[661-Pete]

I have a park tool, chain whip/pedal spanner so not quite as handy as a pure pedal spanner but surely with a bit of help, it will work?!
http://www.parktool....t=4&item=HCW-16

I have one of those - well, similar, a pukka pedal spanner of the same shape as the picture, but minus the chain whip. It serves very well, most of the time.

Nevertheless I have utterly failed to get a pedal off the crank. Even after following the tips mentioned above. The LBS couldn't manage it, either. In mitigation, I should point out that the pedal wasn't put on by me, but by the previous owner of the bike. He probably didn't grease the spindle. Had to bin both the pedal and the crank. Luckily, it was the left crank and I had a spare of the right length - not quite matching the right crank, but who cares?

 

[battered]

Nevertheless I have utterly failed to get a pedal off the crank. Even after following the tips mentioned above. The LBS couldn't manage it, either.

I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. If steel sticks to ally, it sticks. Corrosion will do that. I've spent a lot of time tinkering with old cars and sometimes it really is time to reach for the drill. You could have saved one part or the other, an angle grinder is a wonderful tool for this. I well remember looking at an extremely rusty 2CV a few years ago and seeing a line of rusty, welded-shut nuts and bolts that were rever going to unscrew, much less be reusable. Cue the angel grinder (as a mate is fond of saying), 2 minutes later the part was off and in the scrap bin, and I could get on with making the replacement. A tenner well spent indeed.