Correct Crank Extractor for Specialities TA Vega cranks?

[velovoice]

The principle is identical - nothing has changed.

That's my understanding, too. They're just different. Not interchangeable, either. Kinda like VHS versus Beta. (Boy, that's showing my age!)

 

[S-Express]

Just put an allen key in the hole and turn it - that's all you need to do.

 

[velovoice]

Just put an allen key in the hole and turn it - that's all you need to do.

Yes! But no one anywhere had actually said that before.... thanks! Try Googling this, you'll see all sorts of descriptions, most far too brief and not directly to the point. Why do none of them say: "Use an Allen key"? That's all we needed to know. (Plus... "By the way, the dimples are just for tightening the lockring with a pin spanner." End of.)

 

[Pale Rider]

Yes, discovered the pretty colours today myself! And Paul tells me you can remove the self-extracting bolts and retro-fit normal bolts & dust covers if you want. Which -- for a variety of reasons -- is what he has done himself.

I wonder if there's much benefit, given that most of don't need to remove the cranks very often.

Just musing/thinking now, as it's not crucial to the issue at hand, but...

Does "lock ring" mean the same thing as "retaining ring"? I was assuming it does (thinking that the Park Tool was saying "retaining ring" as being the American term) but now I am not so sure. Here is what SJS calls the "lockring" for my TA Vega cranks. And below is a photo of my TA Vega crankset, spider side*, which clearly does not have that but is instead has the ring (with dimples as it's self extracting) that resembles what the Park Tool guy calls the "retaining ring":
View attachment 151657

* The bolts look the same on both sides on my crankset. I mention this because the Park Tool video shows the demo bike from the non-drivechain set.

It appears there's a retaining/lock ring to hold the spider to the crank, which should become apparent when you pull the drive side crank.

It might - or might not - be a left hand thread.

Of course, there's yet another special tool to undo it, although it will probably tap around with a blunt screwdriver.

http://www.bikeplus.co.uk/p/36527/TA-Vega---Carmina-Lockring

 

[midlife]

The principle is identical - nothing has changed.

Pants then

Shaun

 

[S-Express]

I've always found self-extractors quite useful..

 

[velovoice]

I wonder if there's much benefit, given that most of don't need to remove the cranks very often.

Agreed. Paul mentioned on the phone to me that he has had some seize up but that could happen with either system, right?

It appears there's a retaining/lock ring to hold the spider to the crank, which should become apparent when you pull the drive side crank.

Yes, I think there is a difference between "retaining ring" and "lock ring", the retaining ring being the one that holds the crankarm on and the lock ring being the one that holds the spider on, on the driveside.

It might - or might not - be a left hand thread.

Of course, there's yet another special tool to undo it, although it will probably tap around with a blunt screwdriver.

http://www.bikeplus.co.uk/p/36527/TA-Vega---Carmina-Lockring

Thanks for that - I've bookmarked!

 

[velovoice]

I've always found self-extractors quite useful..

Good to hear. This is our first encounter with them, hence the head-scratching.

 

[Pale Rider]

What job are you doing?

You may not need to touch the spider lock ring.

 

[velovoice]

What job are you doing?

You may not need to touch the spider lock ring.

Swapping out a 28t granny ring for a 30t, in due course. I wanted a 30t on the original build but Chicken Cycles screwed it up. I sourced a 30t elsewhere but thought I'd just hang on til the 28t was sufficiently worn to make it worth doing. We're not there yet but the OH remembered the other day that we hadn't followed up on the extractor question with the builder*, so I pulled a finger out today to do that.

* Enigma, when Paul worked there.

 

[Pale Rider]

Swapping out a 28t granny ring for a 30t, in due course.

Ah, so the ring will need to be undone.

Your bike is fairly new and should have been properly assembled, so I doubt the ring will be very tight or seized.

Cranks can seize on the square taper.

It may be you can get more pull using an extractor tool than you can with the self-extracting bolts, not least because you can put a long spanner on the extractor tool.

That could be one of the reasons why Paul doesn't use the self-extracting bolts.

The next vexatious question is do you put any grease on the taper when refitting?

Different opinions on that, my local bike shop favours a tiny smear.

But I understand there are arguable reasons for assembling the taper/crank bone dry.

 

[S-Express]

Cranks can seize on the square taper.

That's kind of the point. The crank puller or self-extractor unseizes them.

 

[Racing roadkill]

This will work

This won't (probably)

 

[velovoice]

@Flying Dodo As I was telling you about.... some of my posts don't make sense because I was replying to posts that have seen been removed.