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How do i remove dust or 'retaining' caps from my old cranks?

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How do i remove dust or 'retaining' caps from my old cranks?

Old 03-05-05, 04:10 PM
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How do i remove dust or 'retaining' caps from my old cranks?

I have the old shimano 105 biopace crankset from the year '88 an they have the dust or retaining caps hiding the crank bolts. I don't have the needed pin spanner or a car for that matter to take it to the nearest lbs, so i thought is there anyway i can get them off? iv'e tried a throwing dart spike but thats just made the holes bigger and one side broke. Do they just pull off or are they screwed in or what?

thanks
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Old 03-05-05, 06:56 PM
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Most dust caps thread into and protect the threads which accommodate a crank puller and therefore unscrew anticlockwise. A few lower-end ones are simple plastic pop-ons.
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Old 03-05-05, 07:43 PM
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Originally Posted by RetroSteel
I have the old shimano 105 biopace crankset from the year '88 an they have the dust or retaining caps hiding the crank bolts. I don't have the needed pin spanner or a car for that matter to take it to the nearest lbs, so i thought is there anyway i can get them off? iv'e tried a throwing dart spike but thats just made the holes bigger and one side broke. Do they just pull off or are they screwed in or what?

thanks
Unscrew as John says. Make a pin spanner out of a coat hanger or something similar or just break em out and replace them if you feel the need.
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Old 03-05-05, 11:16 PM
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Get out the propane torch and melt 'em off. I saw bigbossman remove a crankset that way once.
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Old 03-06-05, 05:33 PM
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Thanks for the ideas. Iv'e subsequently*tried the coat hanger as a ply but the caps won't pull out so they must be the screw-in type (i guess they hav'nt been touched since '88). I don't have a butane torch so should I try a drill and take it carefully or would that be too risky...
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Old 03-06-05, 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by mswantak
Get out the propane torch and melt 'em off. I saw bigbossman remove a crankset that way once.
Hey - it worked, didn't it?
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Old 03-06-05, 07:15 PM
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Originally Posted by RetroSteel
Thanks for the ideas. Iv'e subsequently*tried the coat hanger as a ply but the caps won't pull out so they must be the screw-in type (i guess they hav'nt been touched since '88). I don't have a butane torch so should I try a drill and take it carefully or would that be too risky...
They screw in.You make a pin spanner with the coat hanger to turn em.
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Old 03-10-05, 11:34 AM
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After I broke some old plastic dustcaps in the threading, I asked for advice here at The Forum. Sydney advised a sharp tool to remove the threaded parts. I dug out my hardware knife blade and just started digging. The caps are not threaded very deeply. It turned out to be one of the easiest things I've attempted on my bike. Just cut it up and dig it out. Now if I can only get that dang nut off...

Also, Sheldon Brown advises, if you don't have the tool, to use a dime, maybe with a locking wrench. If the cap is whole and unbroken, you might try that.
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