Djinni98

I just got a Novara Float (mountain bike) that came with Ritchey clip in pedals and i am trying to figure out how to remove them and switch them with some half and half pedals I have on my road bike and I cant take them off. On one side they have the place were you use the wrench but there is an allen wrench thing on the opposite side and im wondering if the pedal is different from other pedals in how it comes off the bike. Sorry for the confusing um description but basically Im not sure if the pedal comes off like most do. (tell me what I missed in my description. Um yeah I'll get back to you with any details you need.

Dr.Deltron

The left hand pedal has left hand threads, so it's NOT lefty loosy, righty tighty. It's the other way around. But ONLY on the LEFT pedal.
And you can use either an allen wrench or a spanner. Your choice. Either will work.

neilfein

Recently gave up on installing new pedals myself, and I brought it to the shop. The secret to getting enough force to get the old pedals off seems to be... a rubber mallet. Not sure how you get enough torque to get the new pedals on firmly.

tellyho

Torque for install: The equal and opposite force to your rubber mallet: bigass pipe wrench.

MudPie

In my experience, pedals don't need to be put on gorilla tight. For one thing, when pedaling, they are in the "self tightening " mode. Every three or four months, I intentionally loosen and tighten the pedals, just to keep that joint exercised. Also, lube the threads with grease when installing.

sch

IME there is no need to apply monster or even a lot of torque
to the pedal on install. Snug it down and give it a comfortable
final push using a pedal wrench. Simple way to remember which
way they go is to look at the cranks: Turning the pedal axle
in the same direction as the cranks go when riding the bike tightens
the pedal on both sides, rotating the pedal axles the
opposite direction (in reverse) where cranks freewheel loosens the pedals.
This works on both R and L pedals.

squirtdad

The key is a pedal wrench.....it is one of those gee isn't this overkill, but once you use it have to have tools...even if you only touch pedals once or twice in years.

BugsInMyTeeth

I always think this..

When loosening, regardless of which pedal (left or right) always turn the wrench towards the rear wheel.

MudPie

Yes, but remember this works only with the pedal wrench at the 12:00 position.

donnamb 

That's a fantastic way to remember!

urbanknight

I try to get the handle of the pedal wrench close to the crank arm and grab both the handle and arm together to get enough leverage. I rarely find a pedal I can't get loose with that method.

norco_rider77

my friend didnt understand why the left pedal is reverse threaded so I searched on google and found a couple answers that all make sense. i can only remember the one about bearing friction. back when bikes started out, both pedals were threaded the normal way, but ppl found that the left pedal was always falling off, so some dude reverse threaded the left, and it worked. back then bearing friction would be a problem since their bearings werent that good probably.

so, ya, make sure u turn the left pedal counter-clockwise. before i learned that, i broke a wrench trying to take it off. it wasnt a cheap wrench that youd expect to break.

I_bRAD

What are you? Crank salesman?

JanMM

It's typical for good-quality pedals to have flats for a wrench and also a recess on the end of the pedal axle for a hex wrench. It's rare to be able to remove a pedal with a hex wrench, if it's been on for a while.

urbanknight

Although I heard that as well, it doesn't make sense when you think about it. If you hold the spindle while pedalling (the way they're set up now), the pedal will come off. Is there something I missed?

MONGO!

Watching my wrench install pedals, he puts it up on a stand, puts the wrench on and spins the pedals.
Backwards for the non drive side.

If you don't have a stand, flip your bike.

electricaltape

i use a pedal wrench and my body weight to remove pedals. i spent days and hours struggling and cursing my weakness. one day, i managed to find the right positioning to put my foot on the wrench and wahEFFINGlah!

i can do this by just leaning the bike against a wall.

you definitely don't need much effort to put em back on tight enough. they just don't need to be put back on very tight.

graeme

Putting the chain on the bigger chainring might prevent a mishap.

wroomwroomoops

yea

I couldn't remove a pedal I installed myself - must have been in my Hulk personality when installing it - so I had to whip out the trusty-ole' 1" steel pipe. Careful not to scratch the frame!

wroomwroomoops

That's a good advice (I do that, myself), but not always can you get the wrench in that position in respect to the crank arm.

EDIT: unless you have the Park Tool PW-4, which almost guarantees a chance to have the abovementioned grip.