santiago

Hi,

just got my Candy SL's in the mail and was ready to install them on my bike but since I've never, ever wrenched on a bike I have some questions. Oh, for what it's worth, I have no trouble wrenching on cars, race cars and karts so i am not mechanically inept I just have questions about the bike specific things.

1 - I first did some web searches and noticed a lot of information about removing the pedals and everything I've read makes it seem like it is a special 15mm or 9/16" pedal wrench. Looks like a normal 15mm to me. Are these pedal wrenches special only because they have a long arm so that you can put a good amount of torque to put on/off?

2 - While on the topic of wrench sizing, are bikes predominantly metric or imperial? I don't have an imperial wrench but put my 15mm wrench on the pedal and it felt a little loose implying that it's imperial. My bike is a Kona Blast if that matters.

3 - The Candy SL's have an allen key on the threaded end. I'm assuming that once the other pedals are off, I can actually reach the allen end from the back of the crank arm. I'm actually pretty happy about this because I have allen key bits and I have a torque wrench so I'll torque the pedals to the recommended 25-30 lb-ft.

4 - Do the cleats have a tendency to come loose or come off the shoes? Would it be okay to use Loc-Tite to make sure they stay on?

5 - The instructions that came with the Candy SL's state that I should grease the threads. What kind of grease? What's the purpose, is it to prevent seizing? I love to use brake caliper anti-seize on anything I know needs to eventually come off and that may have a seizing problem. Is this okay? I have other specialized lubes like lithium grease, kart chain lube, etc. Should I just head to a bike shop to pick up a particular lube instead?

6 - Are the cleats that came with the Candy SL the only type of cleats that fit with the Candy? I know they are reversible but if I were to buy a second pair of shoes meant more for commuting/shopping , can I pick up any pair of cleats from my LBS or must I get Crank Brother cleats?

happycamper

man, sounds like you have it all figured out. great pedals, I just bought 2 pair. As far as the grease on the threads, well when you see what it is like removing the old pedals, you will know why I guess. Remember Left pedal is reverse thread- Just always turn the wrench to the back of the bike to loosen.


edit to add: I think I used a 5/8" wrench and a 4' pipe to remove my old pedals. That may not have been the best mothod, but it worked for me.

santiago

Great tip. Turn to the back to loosen and towards the front to tighten. Thanks.

Peek the Geek

I like my Candy pedals a lot. In fact, I'll probably switch my Shimano 105 pedals out for Crank Bros Quattros on my road bike. ANd to answer your questions to the best of my ability:

1 and 2. Bikes use the metric system. You're right that a main benefit of a pedal wrench is leverage. Also, the narrower profile allows you to get into the tighter spaces and not scratch anything on either side. One tip: if you can, position the wrench arm close to the crankarm, grab both in your hand and squeeze them together---this gives you extra leverage and keeps your knuckles from flying into something sharp/hard when the pedal comes free.

3. Yep, the Candys go on and off with an allen head.

4. The cleats shouldn't come loose if you tighten them enough. No need for Loc-Tite, but grease the threads a bit.

5. Speaking of greasing the threads... A basic rule of thumb I use is to use grease on the threads of any bolt or screw that is going to be tightened firmly down. Save the Loc-Tite for screws that aren't fully tightened down and are instead used for adjustments. Of course, this is just my personal preference. Others might feel differently. And white lithium grease is A-Okay.

6. You need to use Crank Bros cleats.

Another tip: Some shoes with thicker tread or lugs might interfere with entry/exit because the sole is making too much contact with the pedal platform. I had this problem and used a Dremel tool to sand away just enough of the tread. Very easy to do and makes getting in and out of the pedals a lot smoother.

Enjoy the ride.

Ironduke

#1 - A pedal is simply longer for more leverage, and also thinner to fit between the pedal and crank better. Also it's normally 15mm.

#2 - Mostly metric.

#3 - This isn't really a question.

#4 - Use grease to prevent the bolts from rusting in.

#5 - Use grease, almost anything works (for threads anyways).

#6 - Crank Brothers pedals have their own style of cleat, but it compatiable between all of their mountain pedals.

Raiyn

Pedal wrenches are narrower than regular wrenches to fit between the pedal and the crankarmMetricThat would be goodUse loctite only when you get the position correct for your feet. You WILL be readjusting them the first 5-6 rides or soThe purpose is two-fold grease insures an accurate torqing of the threads and prevents galvanic corrosion from welding the pedals in place. Go to your local Home Depot and grab a can of Marine Trailer Bearing grease ($3 a can) it's the same as what people will pay $8 a TUBE for at the shop.Just get the Crank Brother cleats. It's not like they're expensive or hard to get

Dannihilator

And if they are like anything like the Mallet C's they are installed with a 6mm hex wrench.

phantomcow2

Well, congradulations on making one of the best purchases for your bike! I love these pedals. Candy SL's do not use a pedal wrench, 6mm only. The egg beaters use a pedal wrench so your all set with your torque wrench there.
Bikes are a funny thing i think, primarily we use metric system but i think when measuring weight its funny how when we speak of components weights we usually talk about grams. But when we speak of the weight of our frame, or the weight of our bikes we almost always go in pounds.
I dislike loctite for most any bicycle purpose. Like Raiyn said, get some grease from home depot and not the bike shop.
THe grease on the threads is preventing the aluminum from welding together, any time there are fine threads clamped with reasonable torque i grease.
Enjoy your pedals

santiago

In Canada we're metric. What you'll find, at least in my area, is that people will speak in Celcius and kilometers but will quote their weight in pounds, quote pool temperatures in Fahrenheit and qoute home renovation measurements in feet and inches.

For example, I weight 155lbs. It was 2C this morning. I drive about 30km to work. I'm painting a room in my basement that measures 12'x19' and bought a gallon of paint for it. I did buy about 250g of cold cuts over the weekend and 1lb of apples.

--
Great tips, guys. Thanks a lot.

That marine grease tip alone will save me tons of money. The brake caliper anti-seize is wonderful stuff but it's pricey.

I know what I'm doing when I get home tonight. I may take pics and write-up a DIY and post it on my website. Should help other newbies who want to take this one on.

How many scraped knuckles do you think I'll get? I'm guessing 3. I did come across a great tip over at one of the sites I checked out. It recommended I put the chain on the largest front sprocket so that when my hand slips, it won't slam down on exposed teeth. Trading in scrapes for cuts is a pretty fair trade-off, IMO.

phantomcow2

I got plenty of scars fromy first attempts at clipless. Practice on grass first, it becomes second nature eventually. ANd the cleats break in a bit and clipping in/out becomes easier

santiago

Okay, did the installation over the weekend in my spare time installing my brand new Crank Brothers Candy SL pedals. The following is a basis for a DIY particularly geared towards newbies like myself. If anyone has any comments or clarifications to add, please feel free to do so. I will eventually work this into a web page on my DIY site.

So, this is what a Crank Brothers box looks like. Very stylish, very Apple-like.


Once you open the box you see the care for detail and style continues in the packaging of the components.


This is what you get when you take everything out. You get a sticker, 4 short-ish cleat bolts, 4 long-ish cleat bolts, two pedals, a grease fitting adapter for lubing the guts of the pedal, two cleat shims, two cleats and the instructions.


I have a 2005 Kona Blast and these are the strap pedals I'm replacing. The bike is only a month old so as you can see it's pretty clean. What you can notice on this picture is the hex-shaped part of the pedal that butts up against the crank arm. This is what must be removed. Pedals are symmetrically threaded. This means that the two pedals turn as mirror images to each other and to remove the pedals you have to turn wrench towards the back of the bike. This one point deserves repetition and emphasis: To remove pedals, always turn the wrench towards the rear of the bike.


In the previous picture you'll notice that my pedals offer a good amount of clearance between the pedal body and the crank arm allowing me to put a wrench on the hex with little trouble. Apparently other pedals are not as generous in their spacing so they require a special pedal wrench that is much thinner and also longer. The thin factor is obviously to get it onto the hex, the length is because of the amount of torque that is typically needed to remove the pedals. Anyway, geta 15mm wrench and turn towards the back. I found removing the left pedal to be pretty easy.


This is what it looks once the pedal is removed.


I found removing the right side to be much tougher than the left. I think this is only because the right pedal may have been torqued more than the left one. The trick I used to finally remove the right pedal was to brace the pedal with my right foot while standing over the bike and to keep pulling the wrench down. Here's an excellent tip I picked up from one of the DIY sites I came across. Put the chain on the largest front sprocket. This way if your hand slips you'll hit a roundish chain and not a pointy sprocket.


This is what the crank looks like once you remove the right pedal.


Because of the symmetrical threading, Crank Brothers distinguishes the left pedal from the right one by having an indented band on the flange. Notice the pedal on the left has a ring on the flange.



OK - the instructions say to lube the threads before installing the new pedals to the crank arms. This is to prevent seizing. A great recommendation that was offered to me was to pick up marine grease for a few bucks. I didn't have a chance to hit Home Depot to pick this up so used on of the lubes I have lying around in the garage. The stuff you see below is one of my favourite things to use. It is high temperature anti-seize compound. This is the stuff that's meant to be used on the slider pins of automotive brake calipers. It does a tremendous job of keeping stuff from seizing. I butter this stuff on any part that I even suspect of potentially seizing. This is pricy compared to the marine grease and likely overkill but it's what I had lying around.


In this pic I buttered the anti-seize on the threads of the pedal.


The first step in the installation of the new pedals following the application of the anit-seize is to hand-thread the new pedals. This is a normal procedure. If you have to ever thread a bolt or a nut, always start it by hand. It is way to easy to cross thread something if you start by using a tool so take this advice, always start threading by hand to avoid cross-threading.


Time to torque the new pedals. The new pedals differ from my old ones in that they have an allen key hex on the threaded part of the pedal. The pedal is to be tightened by turning the pedal using an allen key through the hole in the crank. You need a 6mm allen key and a torque wrench. Recommended torque value is 25 to 30 lb-ft of torque. If you don't have a torque wrench then I recommend you do the following. Find a bathroom scale and place it on your counter. Apply force down onto the bathroom scale using one hand until you see it read 30 lbs. Using a wrench that is a foot long, this is how much force you need to get 30 lb-ft of torque.


This is where the magic happens. Turn the torque wrench until you hear the clicking.



Time to mount the Crank Brothers cleats. Notice the bolts come in two lengths. The longish one is presumably used in case you need to use the spacers. I first tried by installing without the spacers but still used the long bolts since I had the clearance. I figured the more threads the better as long as it isn't piercing your foot from the bottom.


You need a 4mm allen key.


This is what the bottom of my Specialized shoes look like. The plate that the cleats bolt to can slide forward or backward depending on fit and comfort I suppose. I opted to push it as far forward as possible. You'll also notice that my shoes have a pretty aggressive tread. This presumably can get in the way of the cleats and pedals from working well and easily together. When I tried locking the shoes to the pedal I found I had a really hard time to lock them in. I was told that the cleats do need to be worn out a little but I still found it overly difficult which is why I opted to use the spacers.



In this picture you can see the spacer in place. The instructions state to put the rough side of the spacer facing the shoe and the smooth one facing the cleat.


This is what a cleat looks like installed on the shoe. The two cleats are not identical in that one of the cleats has two indented holes in the cleat. The one in the picture is NOT the one with the holes. If the cleat with the holes is installed on the right shoe then it means an easier/earlier (15deg) disengagement from the pedals. If it's placed on the left shoe then you have a later disengagement (20deg).


Here are my shoes with the cleats on. The shoe at the top of the image is the one with the two indented holes I described ealier.


This is me trying to test the fit of the pedals and the shoes. I think the thread is too close to the cleat and is too high.


This is a better shot of me trying to lock it in. You can see how elevated the shoe's tread is.


My thoughts - I have no experience with clipless shoes so I have nothing to base my opinion on. I did find during my test rides that the left shoe did not come off as easily as the right one. As a matter of fact, I would say that it had a great deal of trouble coming off. I may dremel part of the sole away to see if that improves locking in and getting out.

I did try riding with normal shoes on the pedals. The Candy models are okay as a platform if you're in a real pinch but I would not qualify these pedals as platform-like. Getting tired now. I may add more tomorrow.

phantomcow2

step by step instructions of how to instal candies. I think park has met theior match

phantomcow2

but by the way, those are fantastic pedals you have there and clipping in and out will because easier it breaks in and all, start on grass though. Do not ride trails with them for a little while! Not until your more comfortable with them. The platform works "oh-kay" without the clipless shoe, i ride unclipped for very short distances often, it works alright ubt in wet conditions forget it.