Pedals refuse to be removed
 

Yes, I have a 15mm pedal wrench. I also have a 6mm hex wrench. I am turning above and towards the rear of the bike (left pedal is turned clockwise to remove). It does not come off.

I put one foot on the pedal and then turn the wrench the other way... I've even dipped the crank in gasoline and set it on fire! (okay, maybe not, but I have taken a lighter to it).

What other possible ways are there to remove it? Is there a benefit to using either the pedal wrench or hex key?

And these pedals were put on by the LBS, not me. :twitchy:

Screw the right pedal in halfway and put it in the 6 o'clock position. Then place your foot in front of it to brace the crank against it while turning the left one. Also, you might want to get a breaker bar or hunk of pipe to give yourself more leverage.

Take the crank off and put it into a vice and use the park tool leverage enhancer and boom.

Use some penetrating oil. That's right, it's labelled as such. Read label.

Well, I've begun to strip the pedal/wrench. I'm going to take it to the LBS tomorrow and see how they take it off... I swear they must have a gorilla for a mechanic. Brings a whole new meaning to wrench monkey.

They just have a much bigger wrench than you do. Take a look at it.

Tell them that they put on pedals too tight. Pedals naturally tighten themselves. I've spun on pedals by hand (because it didn't have a wrench) and went out for a ride before. After the ride, I had to use the wrench to get them off. My boss is super paranoid about pedals falling off and makes them impossible tight. Me on the other hand, they are fairly loose but snug.

Could be cross-threaded too making it a bear to get off. I've assembled a few bikes with cross-threaded pedals from the factory.

You might be able to tighten it a nudge and then get it to come off.

Back in March, I had a similar problem. I brute forced it and I got the pedal off. I also did a partial tear to the distal bicept tendon of my right arm. I am still going for PT.

The lesson I learned, after 59 years, is that the LBS can be great friend for a relatively small amount of money.

If a pedal is this stubborn, it usually means that it was assembled with insufficient grease. I've managed to get them off when they are *really* stuck by positioning the crank arm horizontally towards the back of the bike, placing a block of wood under the crank arm at the pedal, putting the the pedal wrench on the pedal pointing to the back, then tapping the wrench with a dead-blow mallet.

Make sure you use plenty of grease on the threads and the bolt shoulder when you remount the pedal.

Well, I'm adequately surprised. I took it to the LBS, the mechanic just took it off in about 10 seconds. Of course their wrench looks a lot higher quality than my $10 spin doctor wrench, and they used an actual work stand, but still... I was amazed with what ease they got it off with.

Wrench size does matter!

Isn't "turning above and towards the rear of the bike" turning the pedal counter-clockwise--I guess it depends on which side of the bike you are viewing from...

Glad they got it off for you without further hassle.

I use one of these:
http://www.parktool.com/products/det...27&item=PW%2D4
Nice and sturdy, long enough so I don't gouge my knuckles on chainrings when installing pedals, and stout enough to remove stubborn stuff.
http://www.parktool.com/images/produ...5810_98657.jpg

Last time I had a stuck pedal, I used the Park Tool mentioned above, and hit the handle end of it with a rubber mallet to get enough force for the initial breaking loose.

Still nuthing. A work stand provides the necessary leverage. Deceptively simple yet...

Ive had stuck pedals.
took the crank arm off and clamped up in vice
use my fave scaffold pole on a spanner

still doesnt always work

and sometimes the pedal rips the threads out of the crank arm
clogs its threads with alloy
which is difficult to remove

Facing the left side of bike put the crank arm at close to 10:00 position. Place wrench on pedal with handle to the rear. Place foot on it and push down or smack it with a mallet.
Mirror image for right side.
Has NEVER failed me.

Does mirror image means you place the right side pedal at the 2 oclock position ? And still the wrench with handle towards the rear ?

Me thinks you were turning the wrong way...gotta go to the bike to be sure but in my head, I am thinking: above and to the front, ie counter clockwise. I use the Park tool and a long steel pipe for an extension. Glad you got it off anyway.

I just had a GT MTB give this much trouble. It would not loosen. It took about three threads to scrap the crank. I had another crank laying around, and I was not up for this type of punishment, lol. This was with a Craftsman 15mm, and a 3 foot piece of pipe. The pedal wrench was put down several minutes before. It never stripped, or broke? Amazing. It makes me wonder if someone had put the pedals on the wrong sides somehow.:D,,,,BD

[QUOTE=operator;7163693] the park tool leverage enhancerQUOTE]

I am too lazy to go the Park site and see if there really is such a thing, but isn't a "leverage enhancer" just a pipe that slips over the end of a wrench?? Is the Park one blue? Not sure how else it could be different.

Myself, I use a genuine gas-pipe super-duper bar that Archimedes would envy

jim

Nah, it's chrome(or black steel) with a blue dipped end "handle" about 8 or 9 inches long.;),,,,BD

No. Handle over the top towards the rear of the bike is the right direction for pedal removal.

That's what the problem was; cheap tools.

The tool should be stronger than the part it is used on.