Removing stuck pedals: shimano double-sided SPD

[si_c]

I've got a stuck pedal on a set of cranks. - I replaced them. The pedal was cross threaded and no amount of effort on my part was going to remove it.

 

[silva]

That's the problem with steel bolts in aluminium, hard into soft, strong into weak. The softer/weaker is the lost side, in this case the most expensive part.

 

[CXRAndy]

Leverage is solution. New allen key, long narrow tube steel pipe. Working from chainring side, apply pressure anti clockwise . Hold pedal firmly,

 

[ColinJ]

Leverage is solution. New allen key, long narrow tube steel pipe. Working from chainring side, apply pressure anti clockwise . Hold pedal firmly,

It depends which pedal you are working on from the chainring side!

Just undo the RH pedal in the normal direction but remember that the LH pedal has a reversed thread.

 

[youngoldbloke]

To loosen, crank vertical, handle of tool facing rear of bike, push down. Both sides.

 

[ColinJ]

Aargh - 3 years later and I now have the dreaded stuck double-sided SPD pedal problem!

Curse, sulk, pace about, scream, and then finally I had a bright idea...

*** READ THE HEALTH & SAFETY WARNING BEFORE TRYING THIS TECHNIQUE!!!! ***

As you can see, the cranks are off the bike.

I put one foot in an SPD shoe and clipped it into the pedal. I placed the pedal on a pile of timber, arranged in such a way that the crank would try to dig into the floor when I applied force to the pedal spanner.

Here is a photo of the setup for the left crank. On a hard tiled floor. A hard tiled floor that you would not want to fall onto...

I stood on the pedal and pushed down hard on the spanner. Success!

Now for the right pedal/crank...

I couldn't get the spanner at a decent angle when the pedal was balanced on the pile of timber like that, so I turned the stack so it stood on its edge. That gave me a higher platform to stand on. Or should I say balance on...?

I applied force to the pedal spanner. No joy. More force. Still no joy. I turned the power up to COME-ON-YOU-B*ST*RD!!! level and... there was a loud CRACK as the pedal came loose, I lunged forwards, the pile of wood toppled sideways and I fell across my kitchen taking a pile of tools and bike parts with me. I whacked my hip really hard on the floor and narrowly missed faceplanting on the wall!

I lay there shocked for a couple of seconds before saying a little prayer to the God of Hips... PLEASE let mine be intact!

A quick body check... Phew, got away with it!

Somehow I have not broken myself, my bike, or anything in the kitchen.

The technique did work, but if you decide to use it make sure that you don't balance on a precarious platform. Ideally, one person does the standing on the pedal and someone else turns the spanner!

 

[Reynard]

Ouch!!!

Hope you're not too banged up @ColinJ

 

[Paulus]

Don't forget the small film of grease on the threads when you put the pedals back on.

 

[Jameshow]

Heat is also good as the alu expands more than steel hence loosening the thread....

 

[ColinJ]

Heat is also good as the alu expands more than steel hence loosening the thread....

Ah, you are right - DATA HERE - for some reason I thought it was the other way round!

Ouch!!!

Hope you're not too banged up @ColinJ

Thanks. Yes, I got away with it this time but it could have been very nasty. The stupidest thing is that I actually realised that it might happen, but thought that I could avoid it by 'being careful'... Being careful would actually be not doing it!

The technique works really well when the platform is stable, but is dangerous when it isn't.

 

[ColinJ]

Don't forget the small film of grease on the threads when you put the pedals back on.

I will definitely use some grease.

I may now have to repeat the process to get the pedals off a second bike. Except the falling over part, obviously!

(I am swapping the unworn pedals on a rarely-used turbo trainer bike for these well-used ones off my best bike. If I start using the turbo trainer more often I will service the old pedals, but for now they will do as they are.)

 

[Reynard]

You don't need to crank the pedals up tight when you fit them. Finger tight is enough. Your normal pedalling action will naturally increase tension. A bit of copper grease is all you need.

Warning.....the neurotics will say you will die.

Well, you're always pedalling *against* the pitch of the thread, so they will naturally self-tighten.

Makes you realise that a bicycle is a piece of engineering genius. Sometimes the simple solutions really are the best.

 

[midlife]

Precession and all that

https://www.purecycles.com/blogs/bi...se-threading-precession-and-what-it-all-means

 

[ColinJ]

I am sure that I have been overtightening pedals. I won't make that mistake again.

 

[Caperider]

Anti -seize compound is good on threads especially marine parts if you have desire to remove them and works on pedals too.