Bicycle Mechanics - Stuck Pedal

Ive got welgo r4's on my bike. I was trying to unscrew them today for no reason really, Im getting new pedals soon so I thought Id see if I could get them off. Didnt expect much trouble since I did lube them last time I took them off. Much to my disappointment I cant. I got the left one off but the right is on there solid. Plus, Ive now stripped my allen wrench and the pedal faired a little better. Is it possible to use a regular wrench and screw the pedal off from the outside of teh crank arm? Any other suggestions? Plus, when I get my new pedals I hardly want to go through this again, what does everyone use to grease their pedals? Also, kind of a dumb question, but for both pedals, if you are looking at the left pedal where it goes into the crank arm while looking from the right side of the bike, and vice versa, left is loose correct?

Yes, most people use regular wrenches to get pedals off anyway. Both pedals loosen towards the back of the bike (driveside = lefty loosey, non drive side = righty loosey) Just use any old grease.

this is one place where WD-40 RULES! Spray, let it soak, then try again.

Tridevil,

I'm a little confused about how you are trying to remove your pedals. When you remove pedals, you use a pedal wrench (never used a normal, adjustable wench, but I guess it would work if it isn't to wide to fit in the flats) and loosen the pedals from the "oustide" of the crankarm, or the side that the pedal sticks out of. There are wrench flats on the section of the pedal that screws into the crankarm before the threads start. It sounds almost as though you were trying to remove the pedals from the inside of the crankarm (the side of the crankarm that is not visible while looking at the bike from the side).

The way I learned to make sure I was turning a pedal correctly to loosen it was to level the crankarms with the arm holding the pedal I wanted to remove being the forward of the two. After placing the pedal wrench on the flats, turning backwards with the wrench (towards the back of the bike) will loosen the pedal. This is because the left-side(non--drive side) pedal is reverse threaded (righty-loosy).

I use anti-sieze grease for pedals as well as any other steel/aluminum connection. You can get a small tube of anti-sieze from any auto parts store.

You may be able to use a standard 15 mm wrench on your pedals if the flats are wide enough. Otherwise, get a pedal wrench which is thinner. Given your pedal is already stuck, get the larger 'professional' wrench. It'll give you a bit more leverage.

Originally posted by moabrider47
I'm a little confused.................It sounds almost as though you were trying to remove the pedals from the inside of the crankarm (the side of the crankarm that is not visible while looking at the bike from the side).


Dont be.....many pedals have allen holes on the inside, and you are able to install and take pedals off that way. Good thing you dont have time pedals....you'd never know how to get them off:D

I would NEVER use the allen side of a pedal unless it was a high quality pedal. Use the wrench side. You get much more leverage and you can do less damage that way.

I have Ti spindles on my pedals so I use Finish Line Ti-prep. However, I've found that Ti-prep works great for any threads be they Titanium or otherwise. I always grease my threads because it allows for better more even torquing.

Dont be.....many pedals have allen holes on the inside, and you are able to install and take pedals off that way. Good thing you dont have time pedals....you'd never know how to get them off


You're right Klein. I'm just so used to taking off my SPD's with the wrench flats that the though didn't even pop into my head at first. Thanks for the reminder.

-Moab

Thanks for all the help, I'll go try this out. One more question, whats a pedal wrench? just a thinner wrench? also, are all pedals the same size in that area?

I believe the standard size is 15mm. I'm not sure if a pedal wrench is any thinner..

My pedal wrench fits 13mm or 15mm and yes it's quite a bit thinner than your run of the mill Sears Craftsman crescent. One could substitute a typical crescent wrench but you'll probably end up stripping bits off the crankside lockring of the pedal. For some pedals, it doesn't matter. My Speedplay Zeros for instance have enough spindle showing that a thin pedal wrench isn't necessary.