Project Trigger's Broom

[trooper]

For reasons that I know don't make much sense I want to make my old Raleigh M Trax 100 all nice and pretty. It'll still be my old, spare commuter and I'll probably end up spending more money on it than makes sense but I don't care. That's not the point of this project. The point is to learn and have fun tinkering.

But plans have come grinding to a halt just trying to get the crank off! Above are pictures of the crank and crank puller. I've rather skillfully stripped the crank thread which I suspect is made entirely of cheese. And not even a hard cheese. I suspect something more like ricotta.

So I've done a bit of searching and reading about cranks and it seems there are about as many types of crank as there are cheeses so maybe I've screwed it up by using the wrong puller. I don't know. Maybe you do.

But now friends, how to remove this particular type of crank without the puller? I don't mind destroying it in doing so as the intent is to convert it to 1x8 so expect to buy a new crank anyway.

Thanks!

 

[Tim Hall]

It looks like the right puller, just that the crank was too cheesy. But for reference, next time make sure the centre part is fully retracted before you start, then screw the puller into the crank all the way, and tighten it with a spanner.

If you're binning the crank, borrow a disc cutter. Be careful though, as you can get it wrong and nick the frame, with hilarious results. Alternatively, ride the bike with the crank bolt out. Or if you can get one of those "tuning fork" joint splitters used on cars of a certain age, have a go with that.

 

[classic33]

Gear Puller.
I'd say you've cross-threaded what is a fine thread on the crankset.

 

[John the Canuck]

as above

did you retract the inner bolt completely before screwing on the puller ?
you 'may' have only engaged the first few threads which is why it stripped

remove the inner bolt - screw the puller in 'snug' with a spanner - nothing to lose now
then insert the bolt

 

[RebornBumbler]

I think I'd try (assuming you've completely stripped the thread for the puller) drilling-out the 5 rivets holding the chainwheels, cutting a slot from a low point on the spider (such as 11:00 in your first picture) down to the spindle, then (supporting the bottom bracket on a large lump of wood) banging a cold chisel in the resulting slot to get it free.

Or you might be able to remove the bottom bracket with the crank/chainwheels in place, and discard/replace...
Shimano UN55s are pretty cheap and last seemingly forever.

 

[trooper]

Thanks a lot for that all of you.

Yep, I had fully retracted the inner bolt first. You see it in the pic as it was at the scene of the crime.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try all of them most likely. But not before I try something I thought of today since I'm resigned to some degree of destruction being the solution.

I'll take the wheels off, lay the bike on its right side on my workbench with the crank between the two workbench surfaces, then I'll secure the frame to the workbench (gaffer tape of course), then whale the bejesus out of the crank and chain rings until they surrender. If nothing else it'll be fun.

 

[RebornBumbler]

That could quite easily work well - just make sure you keep your squishy parts away from any flying objects

 

[John the Canuck]

........
Yep, I had fully retracted the inner bolt first. You see it in the pic as it was at the scene of the crime.
...................., then whale the bejesus out of the crank and chain rings until they surrender. If nothing else it'll be fun.

actually in the first pics you have NOT fully retracted the inner bolt
it needs to be almost out of the tool before you thread the tool into the crank
then the inner bolt screws in to press against the BB spindle
i know you know ....just saying....


hitting the cranks 'may' put a lots of strain on the BB spindle/bearings.?

 

[andrew_s]

You can sometimes get the chainset off just by going for a ride with no crank bolt.
Take the bolt with you so you can put it in loosely to get home. Riding with a loose crank will wreck the crank quite quickly, but you don't care about that.

I expect the crank is made of cheese. With riveted chainrings, most of them will stay put until they are only fit for scrap, so there wouldn't have been much point in taking care over the removal threads.
All chainset extractor threads have been the same size for 25 years or more. There used to be slightly larger threads on French TA and Stronglight cranks that would strip if you tried a modern remover.

 

[HovR]

Grinding wheels etc are very extreme to remove a crank without a crank puller. If you don't care about the crank, just ride around the block a few times with the crank bolt loose/off. The crank will become wobbly within a couple of miles at most, especially if hills are encountered! Just don't go too far, or you'll be walking home!

 

[trooper]

actually in the first pics you have NOT fully retracted the inner bolt
it needs to be almost out of the tool before you thread the tool into the crank
then the inner bolt screws in to press against the BB spindle
i know you know ....just saying....


hitting the cranks 'may' put a lots of strain on the BB spindle/bearings.?

Hey you picky, uhm... So and so. That's the 'after' pic I think you'll find!

So I understand the idea of riding the bike with the crank bolt off. Thing is I remember a few years back a pedal sheared off all of a sudden and sent me lunging forward over the handlebars into an unpleasant crotch/crossbar interface. I fear something similar will happen if the crank were to suddenly drop out.

So I'm just going to beat the living daylights out of the crank. If this bb busts as well then, with a few beers to ease my conscience, I'll get over it. Besides there's probably one or two for sale on fleabay. Oh look! There's millions of them!

 

[trooper]

Or if you can get one of those "tuning fork" joint splitters used on cars of a certain age, have a go with that.

And the winner is... Mr Tim Hall.

I tried first of all by taking all I could off the bike then securing it to my workbench like it was some kind of sacrificial lamb or something. Then I hammered the living daylights out of the chain ring. But the gods were not pleased.

So I got a ball joint splitter and managed to knock the crank out by first striking it across the bb then into the chain ring. A few whacks is all it took. The bb is fine, the chain rings and crank are in the skip but that doesn't matter since they were destined for the bin anyway.

Thanks for your help everyone.