BurnseyBoy

Any safe* way of doing this with semistandard household tools? i.e. Socket set, wrenches, vice grip, etc.

*safe for the hardware

DX-MAN

Depends on the 'hardware'. Most cases, I'd say NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

JanMM

Without the proper tools, you risk injury to the person and damage to the parts. The tools will probably come out of it ok.

Bikewer

I hear tell you can remove cranks with a gear puller (automotive tool), but I can't imagine you wouldn't damage the aluminum.
Sealed bottom brackets require a dedicated removal tool, period.

If you're going to be doing any amount of work on bikes, these are standard tools you'll need. However, the average cyclist would very seldom need to remove cranks or replace a BB (a sealed one is good for thousands of miles) so it would be hard to justify the expense.

bikegeekmn

NO.If it's something you'll rarely do -take it to a bike shop,they'll probably do it fer nuttin.




*any tool is a weapon if you hold it right.

cyclist2000

I don't think they will take it off for free, when I worked at a bike shop I removed someone's freewheel and didn't charge him, my boss said that I should charge at least $5. I thought that it was so simple and took me a couple of minutes that it wasn't worth $5. and this was 20 years ago.

But without the right tools you stand a good chance of scraping up the crank arms, a metric socket may fit the crank bolt but you need an crank extractor to press out the arms. Also if you buy a gear puller it may be more expensive than the crank extractor.

DannoXYZ 

Worth and value aren't one and the same. It may not be worth $5 to you, but the value to the customer was definitely at least $5. It would've cost him at least that much for a freewheel tool, not to mention the time it takes to remove the freewheel. So I'd charge him at least $10 in today's dollars.

BurnseyBoy

Ok. How do I choose which crank wrench and which BB tool? What do I look for on the hardware/ what do I measure on the hardware?

I'm taking everything off three bikes to repaint, so I'm guessing I could need up to six tools to remove the BB and Cranks? Or can I remove the entire BB in one fell swoop?

Any additional caveats?

operator

You need to show us every single crank on all your bikes for us to tell you what tools you need.

kaseri

I'm a big proponent of learning to do your own maintenance/work. It's better than having to wait for your LBS to do the work and it saves money in the long run.

HillRider

Short answer: Get the correct tools.

Longer answer: As operator said, we'd need to see the make and model of each of the cranks and bottom brackets to recommend the right tools. If they are similar, the same tool set may work for all of them.

BurnseyBoy

These pics are the best I have right now, but I can take better pics at home tonight if I'm given instruction on the angle needed to give good advice.

The top bike is a Sterling Sport Light, and the bottom bike is a Fuji Gran Tourer.

HillRider

The two you show are square taper cranks so the Park CCP-22 will pull the crank arms after you remove the dust caps and the bolts or nuts holding the crank arms. There is no decent substitute for a crank arm puller.

The bottom brackets are most likely cup-and-cone types and can be removed using a lockring spanner and a pin spanner on the non-drive side. A punch and hammer (used carefully) can be used to remove the lockring and you may be able to improvise a pin spanner to unthread the adjustable cup. The fixed cup (drive side) is left-hand threaded so be certain of the direction you try to turn it to remove it. A fixed cup wrench is the best tool but clamping the flats in a solid bench vise and using the frame as the lever can be done.

canopus 

you will need this to pull off the cranks (DON'T use an auto gear puller):
CWP-7

And probably something in the way of the following to remove the bottom bracket.. but a close up picture on the left side would tell more.
HCW-5 and
HCW-4

HillRider

Right, either the CWP-7 or CCP-22 will work on squre taper cranks. The CWP-7 is the more versatile tool as it will also work on Octalink and ISIS cranks.

davidad

https://www.parktool.com/repair/byreg...ageField2.y=10

BurnseyBoy

For my info - Which side is the drive side? And what are the flats? I'm not super familiar with bike terminology. Feel free to make fun.

DMF 

FYI:

New Posters - please READ THIS



The drive side is the side with the drive - i.e. chain - on it.

HillRider

I'm not going to "make fun" but you seem quite a bit over your head with this project.

The "drive side" is the side of the bike with the crank, chainrings, chain, carrette cogs (or freewheel) and the derailleurs. The "non-drive side" is, obviously, the side with none of these except one crank arm. You will often see them abbreviated as ds and nds in postings here.

Read the "NEW POSTERS..." thread and go to Park Tools web site for more background before you buy or disassemble anything.

BurnseyBoy

I have since gone to the new posters thread, and I will be more careful as to what I post.

However, I don't see how I'd be over my head with this project seeing as I'm tinkering with a bike that I paid $30 for on Craigslist. I've read a ton of online postings about how to complete projects like this, but I'm still new to pulling a bike apart and putting it back together. I thought that the best way to learn apart from reading about this stuff was to ask people in forums. I'm just trying to make sure I don't screw up the hardware. I have an antique car, and I've done a lot of the work on it myself. I did screw up a few things just trying to follow directions from books or online sources, but I learned the most by asking people questions.

I really do appreciate all the help from everyone that piped up. Hopefully my next question will be less elementary.

canopus 

I don't really see where the paint is all that bad. I would put a good polish on them and leave them alone.... Then you wouldn't have to worry about the headset either, which is a whole 'nother thread...

Since they are older I would get the correct tools to regrease the bearings. But just so you know you are looking at anywhere from 50 to 150 for all the proper tools...

I would say the minimums would be:
crank puller
bottom bracket wrenches and pin set
headset wrenches
cone wrenches
freewheel tool

I also use (from my auto days)
12" Crescent wrench
8" Crescent wrench
Metric Allen wrenches

I have more tools than this this is what i use simple maintenance.

cyclist2000

Add the rest of the headset tools to the list

headset cup press
headset cup remover