A little background: I ride an ON ONE Inbred with an internal Shimano 8, and it's kitted out for somewhat perilous urban riding - potholes, glass gravel, taxis, that kind of thing. It's also been doored twice in the past and lightly t-boned once, and it's an old warrior still fighting like Rambo on the .50


So, my crankset has been loose lately - started carrying an 8mm allen key, just to keep it on during a long ride. It wouldn't fall off, but it had way too much play after a couple miles.

Well, I should have looked into it. Yesterday the cranks actually fell off and I had to walk 5 miles across a very large city to get back home.

So, now I have a Race Face crankset with the alarmingly delicate inner threads of the spindle stripped (I will never understand why these delicate connections exist on a vehicle.) I take full responsibility for my situation - there is obviously a balance between spacers, BB, chain, my internal hub, 4-dimensional space, and Cthulu's Will that I just wasn't achieving.

Question: What are my options? Can I re-thread and pop in a slightly bigger bolt? Can I replace the spindle? Is there a patron saint of cyclists I can direct my supplications to?

Okay, I'm ready for the truth. How screwed am I?