Odd size pedal old French bike?
07-29-20, 07:05 AM
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Odd size pedal flats old French bike?
I've been fixing up an old Gitane mixte (a grand sport "deluxe" from the early 70s). I cannot get my 15 pedal wrench to fit the flats. AFAIK french threaded pedals take a 15 mm pedal wrench; that has been my experience. The 15 mm tools that I have (and all are in good condition) are not wide enough. The flats measure 16 mm on my calipers (!!!!). None of my 16 mm open ended wrenches have a thin enough head to fit and I'm sure as heck not buying new tools for this project.
What gives? These look like pretty bog standard lyotard pedals to me. Did French pedals come with 16 mm flats way back in the day? Or are these pedals just mutants?
My plan of action at this point is to leave well enough alone. The pedals turn freely so I'll simply leave them on the bike. I did want to take them off so as to grease the threads. That's not going to happen. They need a bit of adjustment but I can do that with the pedals mounted on the cranks.
What gives? These look like pretty bog standard lyotard pedals to me. Did French pedals come with 16 mm flats way back in the day? Or are these pedals just mutants?
My plan of action at this point is to leave well enough alone. The pedals turn freely so I'll simply leave them on the bike. I did want to take them off so as to grease the threads. That's not going to happen. They need a bit of adjustment but I can do that with the pedals mounted on the cranks.
Last edited by bikemig; 07-29-20 at 07:11 AM.
07-29-20, 07:30 AM
#2
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Originally Posted by bikemig
What gives? These look like pretty bog standard lyotard pedals to me. Did French pedals come with 16 mm flats way back in the day?
07-29-20, 08:50 AM
#4
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Yup, I’ve encountered those and found a wrench that worked. Maybe a 16mm cone wrench? Might need a cheater bar for leverage.
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07-29-20, 09:46 AM
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Congratulations on discovering yet another oddity Miguel!
Have probably put spanner to hundreds of Lyotard pedals over about a fifty year period and never encountered this.
Cycle appears to be a very late production 1973 model.
At first glance assumed pedals to be a 36R model but looking more closely can see they are the 77R model. Is spindle black oxide finish with one pair of flats or is it plated with three pair of flats?
This is the first Grand Sport Deluxe model Gitane from this era to come through with the model 77 pedal as opposed to the 36 or 36R I have seen.
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Congratulations on discovering yet another oddity Miguel!
Have probably put spanner to hundreds of Lyotard pedals over about a fifty year period and never encountered this.
Cycle appears to be a very late production 1973 model.
At first glance assumed pedals to be a 36R model but looking more closely can see they are the 77R model. Is spindle black oxide finish with one pair of flats or is it plated with three pair of flats?
This is the first Grand Sport Deluxe model Gitane from this era to come through with the model 77 pedal as opposed to the 36 or 36R I have seen.
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07-29-20, 10:06 AM
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The pedals are black oxide finish with one pair of flats. There were a lot of oddities working on this bike but it is going to a new home soon, 
07-29-20, 10:42 AM
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Get a 9/16" Imperial open end wrench. Pretty sure that fits just fine but have not been down that path in a long time.
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07-29-20, 10:52 AM
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Originally Posted by randyjawa
Get a 9/16" Imperial open end wrench. Pretty sure that fits just fine but have not been down that path in a long time.
But a set of thin metric wrenches might not be a bad idea. What's the point of fixing up an old bike unless you have to buy a new tool or two to get the job done, right? I bought a cotter press to work on this bike (as well as my '68 Paramount, '60 Olmo Gran Sport, and '69 Robin Hood).
So maybe I need some thin wrenches as well,
. This is not the first time I've thought about buying some thin wrenches to work on times. You don't need them often but you do sometimes. Olsa Tools has a good looking metric set of thin open ended wrenches made of chrome vanadium steel; they're a Canadian company right?
Last edited by bikemig; 07-29-20 at 10:59 AM.
07-29-20, 10:58 AM
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In my wonderfully organized tool box, I have a set, or two, metric, and Imperial and British Witworth. And, four different sized adjustable wrenches, to be used when I can't find what I need in the wonderfully organized tool box.
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07-29-20, 02:26 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
It has been a long time since I've needed imperial wrenches!
But a set of thin metric wrenches might not be a bad idea. What's the point of fixing up an old bike unless you have to buy a new tool or two to get the job done, right? I bought a cotter press to work on this bike (as well as my '68 Paramount, '60 Olmo Gran Sport, and '69 Robin Hood).
So maybe I need some thin wrenches as well,. This is not the first time I've thought about buying some thin wrenches to work on times. You don't need them often but you do sometimes.
Olsa Tools has a good looking metric set of thin open ended wrenches made of chrome vanadium steel; they're a Canadian company right?
But a set of thin metric wrenches might not be a bad idea. What's the point of fixing up an old bike unless you have to buy a new tool or two to get the job done, right? I bought a cotter press to work on this bike (as well as my '68 Paramount, '60 Olmo Gran Sport, and '69 Robin Hood).
So maybe I need some thin wrenches as well,
. This is not the first time I've thought about buying some thin wrenches to work on times. You don't need them often but you do sometimes.Olsa Tools has a good looking metric set of thin open ended wrenches made of chrome vanadium steel; they're a Canadian company right?
IME any pedal that would come off with a cone wrench would probably have fallen off by itself.
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07-29-20, 05:06 PM
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Buy a cheap harbor freight 16mm and grind as needed.
08-01-20, 10:28 AM
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The elusive 16 mm pedal wrench
I just picked up a set of olsatools metric wrenches. Not cheap but high quality. It is a 7 piece set from 7 mm to 19 mm.
It is a perfect pedal wrench. The length is 10 inches on the 16 mm tool; it's 12 inches on the park pedal wrench. It's a little thinner than the park pedal wrench (4.5 mm versus 5) which is also good since some old pedals have short flats (typically those are found on bikes with steel cranks). I've wanted a quality set of thin wrenches for a while because once in a while that is exactly the right tool for the job. These are great.
It is a perfect pedal wrench. The length is 10 inches on the 16 mm tool; it's 12 inches on the park pedal wrench. It's a little thinner than the park pedal wrench (4.5 mm versus 5) which is also good since some old pedals have short flats (typically those are found on bikes with steel cranks). I've wanted a quality set of thin wrenches for a while because once in a while that is exactly the right tool for the job. These are great.
08-01-20, 11:11 AM
#13
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