Bicycle Mechanics - crank removal > hammer and 2 X 4??

i am sure there is some expensive tool to remove cranks; i have always just banged the crank with a hammer with a piece of wood and cardboard for cushioning. i suppose i am doing damage to the bottom bracket. Am I?? is there a better way w/o buying the tool?:crash:

Ouch!! I don't know if beating on a crank with a hammer is too good. I also am not aware of an alternate method without using a crank extractor. They're not too expensive. $12.99 at performance today. (site below).

http://www.performancebike.com/shop

(then click on tools)

With that said I have to assume you have cranks of a higher quality than say a bike from Wal-Mart?

If you have Shimano cranks, this tool should be helpful.

Anyone else out there know an alternate method?

I've seen them as cheap as $10.. just go down to your LBS they all carry them and not very expensive at all. And hitting it with a hammer even protecting the arm, that puts alot of pressure at a angle on the BB I'm sure that is not good for the bearings in their.

hammer and 2x4 is the way to go cause i hear race face is having a sale on crank sets 500 bucks can go for it hammers rule

My friend showed me how to remove cranks today, and just looking at the tool makes me think: "this stuff isn't just for hammers ..."

Actually boys and girls that is close to the correct way to remove a crank!...IF it is a cottered crank!

VeganHeart IF you have an older cottered crank please reply and I can give you as much detail as I remember to get these off. But if it is a cotterless crank than you need to get a crank extractor that will fit your crank.

Assuming you don't have a cottered crank, I also have to recommend against using a hammer. First, it will be damned difficult to remove with a hammer.

Second, and perhaps most importantly, you stand to ruin and probably crack one of your bearing cups.

Get the tool OR, if you aren't going to be doing it often, just bring it to your local bike shop and they will take it off for you - either for free or a very minimal charge.

for hammers and cranks goto www.augersrippingyouoff.com (this is a joke please dont go here)

Originally posted by auger
this is a joke



And very VERY funny one at that.....


?

You end up bending the chainwheel (the front sprocket), and then basically, you have to throw out the whole bike, because the chain comes off if you put too much pressure on the pedals.

Most old 10 speeds have shot [buckled] chainrings because of this.

This is why cheap bikes have one piece cranks - Chinese people can't afford crank extractors.

You end up bending the chainwheel (the front sprocket), and then basically, you have to throw out the whole bike, because the chain comes off if you put too much pressure on the pedals.

Most old 10 speeds have shot [buckled] chainrings because of this.



???

You lost me there.......

for 12 cdn it isn't worth takign the chance at all.

Originally posted by john999
This is why cheap bikes have one piece cranks - Chinese people can't afford crank extractors.

I think John999 is trying to be funny, but for the sake of interest for the international mechanics out there...

IN CHINA, most bikes still have cottered cranks rather than the single piece ashtabula cranks found on the bikes imported from China.

wat is cottered vs cotterless? im guessing cotterless is the type that you need a crank extractor for (know how to use one, no need to explain!)

Brendon
:beer:

D.alex, this is how most people change bearings on a bottom bracket -

You take off both pedals.

Then you undo the retaining ring with a blade screwdriver, or a tent peg, and a hammer.

Then you undo the inner nut/ring thingy with a shifting spanner, or hitting the trailing edge with the tent peg and a screwdriver.

Then, with a piece of wood to stop flattening the sprocket teeth, you tap around the chainwheel to to loosen it from the crankshaft shank.

Then it is apart - easy !

The hard part is the last - often it won't budge so you get angry and end up hitting it too hard and buckle the chainwheel.

Assuming we are not attacking a three grand bike with a hammer, you end up with a bike that slips the chain when you put on pressure (i.e. when standing up to start at lights), so it is not much good.

So you have to replace the chainwheel, and then you because you do that you need a new sprocket cluster and chain as well (the new chainwheel won't fit an old chain) - and that it usually more expensive than the bike is worth.

I haven't been to China, but in The Phillipines and Malaysia most unsprung bikes have single piece cranks (actually in The Phillipines most adults seem to ride BMXs), and machetes and reinforcing rods seem to be the only tools that tricycle riders have.

Cottered cranks are held in place with a pin thru the side of the BB spindle, not a bolt thru the center of the spindle (that's a cotterless crank). These pins can be a pain to remove. Cheaper bikes from oh, pre-1975 used them. If you have a bike with cottered cranks, you will find maintanence of the BB a pain. Basically, you use a hammer and a piece of 2x4 with a notch cut in it. Or a very expensive, no longer made, tool (see them on occasion on ebay). More I won't reveal. You can change the spindle and crank if you want, but you can likely find a better bike elsewhere for less.

If you have cotterless cranks, I'd buy a remover. The only issue is if you're removing older stronglight or TA cranks, in which case you will need a specialized crank remover. You can get a basic one for about eight bucks-- not exactly like buying a headset press or anything like that.

im stripping a dk cincinatti to put the parts on and s&m bmx frame ive bought off ebay, havin problems with the crank. the new model of the cincinatti has a 3 piece crank but i dont know about this older model i have from about 2002-2003.Ive got so far with the remolval of it but have arrived at a dead end, can i use a socket set for this job or do i have to buy the special tool???
I dont really undertstand how the whole things works, also i have problems with the bearings that are in the head tube, are they seeled in or do i just have to get a hammer to them to get them out?????

I've had to resort to using a blowtourch on the crankarm and a rubber mallet to knock the crankarm off, BUT that is after the crank threads had been stripped and the tool wouldn't work. I trashed the crankarms after that.

There is one other way. Some cranks have a cap that threads in with a hole in it. The retaining bolt is an allen head. You leave the cap in and just back the retaining bolt out. The bolt pushing against the cap pushes the crank arm off.