SunnyFlorida

I just got my Sun Streamway 7 bike and I'm removing the pedals so I can learn how to ride the thing. I'm an adult learner and on some recent threads in General, some posters suggested removing the pedals while I learned how to balance myself on the bike.

Makes sense to me and so I'm trying to loosen the pedals with a 15 mm wrench with no luck.

I did see some videos that basically said to turn left to loosen on the right side of the bike where the drive is and on the left side of the bike I turn to the right. Still no luck.

I'm assuming the pedals can be removed. I can't see a bike manufacturer putting pedals on bikes you can't remove.

Is there another way to remove the pedals without breaking my shoulder trying to loosen the damn thing?

AEO

if it's possible, place the wrench so that you can grab onto the cranks and wrech so you can squeeze with them both hands.
-or-
slide a metal pipe over the handle on the wrench to get more leverage
-or-
place a piece of wood underneath the crank arm so you can step onto the wrench.

careful around the gears, it's not pleasant to jam body parts into those jagged teeth.

BCRider

If there's flats on the pedal axles that accept the wrench then they are made to come off. Work on achieving a better leverage using AEO's hints and your own imagination.

I've taught a few adults to ride using this same method. Lower the saddle fully so your feet can push and lift them to ride. And if you have not seen it written up yet steering a bicycle is sort of like balancing a stick end up in your palm. When it starts to fall you need to turn INTO the fall to get the bike back under yourself. That's where the balance comes in. It's not that you actually balance. You just get good at steering the bike to catch yourself from falling by steering the bike into the fall to get it back under yourself.

Best of luck with the self training.

dperreno

To remove pedals: point the crankarm towards the front of the bike. Put the wrench on the pedal so the wrench handle is pointing towards the back of the bike. It won't line up exactly, so move the crank arm up or down to get the wrench handle more or less horizontal. Push down on the pedal with one hand, and push down on the wrench handle with your other hand or foot. Or, if you can, just squeeze the wrench handle towards the crank. If the pedal is really tight, you may not have enough leverage for this to work.

SunnyFlorida

Thanks for the tips and encouragement all.

As BCrider suggested, I used my imagination. I pointed the crank roughly forward, put the wrench so the back pointed toward the back of the bike. I then held on to the pedal and the head of the wrench and just plain whacked down on the handle to loose the pedal bolt. Worked like a charm. There doesn't seem to be any damange to the pedal bolt, crank arm, pedal or to me.

P.S. The video mentioned putting bike grease on the threads before putting on new pedals or in my case reinserting the new ones. Would W-D 40 be okay as a subsitute for bike grease (whatever that actually is).

AEO

bike grease is just any grease that's not WD-40.

you can use the stuff you can find in automotive or hardware stores.
personally, I'd recommend marine grade grease or synthetic with PTFE, but as long as it's a grease, it'll do.

BCRider

Bikes see hard enough conditions that all the threads should be greased to avoid locking together over time. I use a good grade of synthetic marine wheel bearing grease for its water resistance. While you're at it you may want to pull out the seat and post and smear a light coat on the part of the post that fits down into the frame. That's a classic bad spot for corrosion to lock things together where you really don't want it to lock up.

JanMM

WD40 would be better than nothing in the short run but just about any grease would be better than WD40 in the long run.

zacster

WD40 is not going to work as grease. It will take what little grease that may already be on the threads off. In general I find WD40 to be useless for bikes, except maybe to clean loose bearings off the bike.