Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Oh Crap. What now?

What a crappy couple of days. Yesterday I had a limo related crash and today I stripped the goddamn threads out of the driveside crankarm of the old Bianchi I'm overhauling. After searching for two days for a 15mm socket that would actually fit inside the too-tight opening in the crankarm to get the bolt off and eventually just using a Dremel to take a few mm off the one I had, I threaded my crank-puller into the threads in the crankarm, gave the handle a twist and POP. The puller popped out of the crankarm and all the threads came with it. My question is, what now? the threads inside the crankarm are stripped and I need to get it off so I can hit it with a hammer untill it is unrecognizable, clean out the BB and put a new crankset on.
Help me!

yeah that works ive done it a few time before i bought a crank puller

Leave the bolt out and ride it gently. You should feel it loosen up. Make sure you quit riding right away so you don't mess up the flat interface surfaces between BB and crank

This is a good suggestion, but you might also want to put the bolt that was originally holding the arm on back in but not tighten it all the way, to prevent the arm from falling all the way off when this happens.

Also, I don't know if you tried several sockets and had them not fit, but the socket I have that fits inside of crank arms is barely even visibly smaller than the cheap one that came with the socket wrench. Higher quality ones are made of better steel and tend to be made with slightly thinner walls.

Cool, that actually sounds dangerous and fun. Guess I'll put the rest of the bike back together now.
Thanks y'all!

I tried like like seven different sockets and finally settled on Dremel. Worked fine.

bffgss does a body/bike good

i dont think he CAN put the bolt back in. Remember, the threads are toast. Let us know how this works for you.

i dont think he CAN put the bolt back in. Remember, the threads are toast. Let us know how this works for you.

The way I read it, the crank arm threads are stripped out but the ones in the BB spindle are ok.

The threads in the crankarm are stripped, so he can't use a puller. The bolt and spindle threads are not stripped.

A gear puller that you can rent at an auto parts store will sometimes work withot gouging the crank.

wait... aren't the threads in the BB spindle, not in the crank arm itself?

wait... aren't the threads in the BB spindle, not in the crank arm itself?

If it's a square taper BB, there are threads in the spindle that you use to bolt the crank arms on, and threads in the crank arms around said bolt that you thread a dust cap into. I've never installed/removed cranks on a splined BB, so I'm not sure if those are the same.

The threads in the crankarm are stripped, so he can't use a puller. The bolt and spindle threads are not stripped.

This is correct.

So I tried the trick with the riding around with no bolt and the crankarm didn't budge. I even squirted some Liquid Wrench in the crankarm/spindle area in hopes that that would help it break loose, but to no avail, the thing is on there just as tight as ever. I'm at my wits end here, people, and I'm ready to start bashing away with a mallett!**reaches for propane torch**

Go to an auto parts store and see if they can loan/rent/sell you a pickle fork.

It looks like a tuning fork, but is thin at the tip and gets thicker. Put the thin part between crank and bb, tap with hammer and as it gets thicker it will pop the arm off.

^^^Tie Rod Seperator.

The torch actually ain't a bad idea. The spindle is steel and the arm is likely aluminum so they'll expand/contract at different rates.

torch + hammer = for teh win.

arm + hammer = for teh baking soda.

If, as is probably the case, your BB spindle is steel and your cranks are aluminum, we can see what Sheldon has to say on a (not completely unrelated) topic.

http://sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

Pretty far down in this article about stuck seatposts he mentions something about being torch-happy, and how in this situation it's unwise as aluminum expands about twice times as much as steel for the same increase in temperature. However, for your situation (where the aluminum thing is stuck on the steel thing, not in it) some heat and a rubber mallet may do the trick.

If they're both steel, though, I got nothing.

This is a 30 second job at a well equipped shop. You ****ed up your cranks big time, and taking it off might **** your bottom bracket up as well.

With the tool you can remove cranks when ever. If you rely on a shop you gotta ride to the shop, and pay for labor. Especially if its stuck. Tool wins every time.

in the future: wrench down real hard on the extractor before you try to pull the cranks.

With the tool you can remove cranks when ever. If you rely on a shop you gotta ride to the shop, and pay for labor. Especially if its stuck. Tool wins every time.

What kind of babbling nonsense is this? You plan on stripping threads on a lot of cranks enough to justify buying the tool?


in the future: wrench down real hard on the extractor before you try to pull the cranks.

And make sure there isn't a washer in there.

Go to an auto parts store and see if they can loan/rent/sell you a pickle fork.

It looks like a tuning fork, but is thin at the tip and gets thicker. Put the thin part between crank and bb, tap with hammer and as it gets thicker it will pop the arm off.

This is what bike shops do. Do this. Yes.

An other option would be to remove the BB spindle with the crank arm attached and punch the spindle out hammer style.

Ps. this is only possible on the non-drive side of a cup n cone bb and might not work depending on the particular tool required to remove the cup.

Go to an auto parts store and see if they can loan/rent/sell you a pickle fork.

It looks like a tuning fork, but is thin at the tip and gets thicker. Put the thin part between crank and bb, tap with hammer and as it gets thicker it will pop the arm off.

Do that. I've done it, and it works.

What kind of babbling nonsense is this? You plan on stripping threads on a lot of cranks enough to justify buying the tool?



And make sure there isn't a washer in there.

I think the OP stripped the threads do to previous damage or improper use. I've never stripped any threads using a crank puller.

This is a pretty old Craigs List bike so it's posible that the threads were damaged to begin with. That said, the extractor threaded smoothly into the crankarm and then I wrenched down on it untill it would no longer turn. I've removed many cranks before and this has never happened. the Pickle fork idea sounds pretty brilliant and I'll try that if the torch and mallett approach dosn't yeild results(I already have those tools). Thanks for all the advice, guys. BFSSFG comes through!!!!!!

An automotive gear puller should do the trick with minimal damage to any parts. Try taking it to a local garage and ask them if they can help you out right quick.

I've never stripped any threads using a crank puller.

I've seen people use a Octalink/ISIS puller on a square taper crank and that will do it. The Octalink/ISIS has a larger "foot" on it, which won't go into the square on the square taper. Eventually, something's got to give, usually the threads.

Take it to a shop (I would start with an lbs instead of auto - auto guys can be a little rough) - I know we used to deal with this at my old lbs w/o much issue. How exactly they did it, I am not sure, but remember this was not uncommon, and definately not catastropic.

I've seen people use a Octalink/ISIS puller on a square taper crank and that will do it. The Octalink/ISIS has a larger "foot" on it, which won't go into the square on the square taper. Eventually, something's got to give, usually the threads.

Take it to a shop (I would start with an lbs instead of auto - auto guys can be a little rough) - I know we used to deal with this at my old lbs w/o much issue. How exactly they did it, I am not sure, but remember this was not uncommon, and definately not catastropic.

I just recently learned my square spindle pullers don't work on my isis bb. Time to get a new tool.

What kind of babbling nonsense is this? You plan on stripping threads on a lot of cranks enough to justify buying the tool?

Does this imply any of:
1) No lbs having ever stripped a crank arm? and
2) That he messed something up and that there wasn't an issue with the crank? and
3) Bike tools should only be sold and used in lbs?


And make sure there isn't a washer in there.

Agreed. I punched a nice ring out of the center of a washer once. _that_ could have been something the user (me) effed up.

Sucess!!!!
Using a large chizzle as a wedge, a hammer and a propane torch, I was able to knock the cranks off of the spindle without damaging anything important.