damage to the cranks
hey everyone.
im new here, this is my first post. i dont know much about bike mechanics but i'd like to learn.
i bought a £500 kona recently and im worried ive damaged it already.
the first ride i did was quite intense, i was going fast over rocky terrain. it was only after i heard you're supposed to break them in steadily.
anyway after the ride there was a grinding feel coming from the drivetrain when id turn the pedals
i took it to the shop and they couldnt tell me what was wrong with it.... just to do a few more rides then have it serviced (they do the first one for free)
anyway i found out it was the pedal bearings that were grinding, possibly the bottom bracket too but i really hope i dont have to replace that!
people have told me it'd be hard to break it especially on the first ride... but the cranks dont turn smoothly at all. theres a bumpy, grinding feel when i ride the bike
i bought some new pedals anyway (freeride pedals, i figured they'd have better bearings) and as i was removing the old ones i had to put so much pressure on the cranks to get them off, they were really torqued down onto the cranks. eventually i used a pipe on the spanner for leverage and they came off suddenly from all the force. my hand was bleeding afterwards from when i smacked it against the crank, and my spanner's a bit chewed up :/
ive read about how you shouldnt force it.. take it to the LBS if you cant do it with reasonable force.
the drivetrain seems to be working fine, apart from the grinding, but im worried i will have weakened the crank or the chain or the bolts or something, there was so much force on it.
please let me know your experiences with this, and if i should worry about any damage to the bike
thankyou
randall