Removing cranks

[Daddybus]

Its not mine ...mine is a Sun wasp maillot jeune ...(there was a very long thread last year trying to establish the model) but it's exactly the same as the Carlton pictured ...(even tho its a Sun Birmingham rather than a Worksop model) also the traces of colour I found under the headbadge & on the dropout match the above too!

 

[raleighnut]

Car ball joint splitter.

 

[ian c]

A hub puller will whip it off no problem - personally I would suggest a 3-leg version to distribute the applied force round a bit more. I bought a cheapo set of 3 sizes from Machine Mart ages ago after losing an old one and they've been a godsend on regular occasions.

 

[shadaboot27]

I once used a ball joint removal tool which is used on cars.

 

[Daddybus]

I'm going to raid my dad's toolbox this weekend see if he still has one, if not its ... hammertime...(or hacksaw if not.)
I won't be too disappointed if I break it tbh...Its obviously a later upgrade (it's an 80's SR) I've not found out what chain set it would have had originally ....Williams? All I know is the bike was the low spec 5 speed cyclo benelux version not the posh 10 speed campy cos it has a cyclo changer brazed on right side only.

 

[MontyVeda]

If the crank is attached to a working bike... just ride it and it'll come loose* in no time... no hammer, no hacksaw, no mechanic's bearing puller, no effing and blinding, just pedalling

*don't tighten the crank bolt if you want this method to work... leave it loose so the crank doesn't completely fall off... and don't ride too far since you'll be pushing the bike home.

 

[Daddybus]

Unfortunately everything is stripped off this is literally the last thing left on the bike to remove... Cheers tho' I'll know for next time to do the cranks first!

 

[ian c]

On a slight tangent I removed the bearings from the crank on my Knight this evening as they were absolutely shot to bits - notchy and huge amounts of lateral play, so out came my small gear puller. I remembered this thread so took a quick pic. For cheapo Machine Mart tools it's not bad at all.:

Plonked the housing in the vice jaws and held the crank still with some stilsons, then steadily turned screw down to put a moderate amount of load on it. Not even a squeak so I left it in place for a moment. About 5 minutes later it literally flew apart - the pressure caused the bearing casing to shatter. Oops.

The other side was less dramatic but only because the bearing race caved in once I started to wind it up. The crank itself has some light scoring on one side from the bearing case but it's more than serviceable, so it's now in a box with the headset bits.

 

[Daddybus]

Grief...! Hope mine isn't that tight... @ less than £12 sounds like a good price...

 

[classic33]

Use a couple of elastic bands on legs of the crank puller. It'll help stop one shooting off.
Won't stop it, but can prevent it happening.

 

[Daddybus]

It's off.... I used a big adjustable spanner in the end -opened the jaws to clear the spindle the jaws had just enough chamfer to insert between crank & bb & act like a pickle fork separator... then I hit the end of the spanner & it came off straight away.

 

[Tony Raynor]

Told you it wouldn't require much force. Glad you got it off ;-)