Remove stronglight crankset
 

Hello, I have a 70s Motobécane Grand Touring that I am slowly overhauling (it hasn't been ridden in probably 20 years). I say slowly, because I have to keep ordering tools ... and I'm new at this :)

Anyway, I figure this is is the dust cap, but what do I need to remove it? (I could be wrong about the whole dust cap thing)

http://robballou.com/projects/moto/IMG_7374.jpg

I'm hoping it's not a new tool, but guessing it will be :) (Sheldon Brown mentions a specific crank extractor, but I wanted to verify with an image that is what I needed).

Thanks!

PS. It says "Stronglight / France"

First you need to take off the dust cap, a quarter or very large flat blade screw driver should do that.

The harder part is actually removing the crank from the bottom bracket spindle. You will need a special tool for this (in general) and an even more special tool to fit the threads of the Stronglight crank. Don't skimp here and try to homebrew something since if you do you'll probably end up using a hacksaw or Dremel tool to remove the remainder of your crank after you trash it.

I believe a Park CCP-1 tool will work with Stonglight cranks but they are getting hard to find. If you are near a good LBS they can probably pull the crank for you for little or no money. If you want to get all the tools you need to work on your own bikes, you can find crank pullers on-line but make sure you get one specifically for Stronglight cranks or the threads won't mate correctly.

EDIT

After a quick visit to Sheldon's site it appears that the pre 1982 Stronglight cranks actually used a 23.15 mm thread while the CCP-1 has 23.0 thread (plus the normal 22.0). So I'm not sure if the CCP-1 will work with your crank. Harris does sell a 23.15 tool but it's $50!!

A quarter worked at removed the cap. I feel so smart :) Anyway, this is what I found beneath it:

http://robballou.com/projects/moto/IMG_7382.jpg

Thanks for your help! I did see that bit on Sheldon's site, but as I said I'm new to most aspects of overhauling a bike. I might call the LBS tomorrow to see if what they recommend.

Under no circumstances use the Park extractor on a Stronglight crank. They are for TA cranksets, which are slightly different. I know this because a cocky mechanic at a local bike shop ruined a Stronglight 93 crank I had on a Peugeot PX-10 by using the Park tool. Either source out an original Stronglight puller or get one made by Stein...or find an LBS that knows what they are actually talking about...

I see that some sites list the Stonglight cranks as 23.35 mm. Not sure if there are both 23.15 and 23.35 or someone made a typo but be careful with this one. One can usually hand thread the extractor into the crank so if it seems like it doesn't quite fit, it's probably because it doesn't.

Now that the dust cap is off, you can remove the crank bolt. It's probably either a 14 or 15 mm bolt. Once the bolt is off (and the washer if there is one) you screw the special crank extractor into the crank. The pitch of the male threads of the extractor and the female threads of the crank must be the same and is what all the hub-bub is about with this particular crankset. Once the extractor is screwed into the crank, a piece of the extractor is screwed through the center of the extractor to push the crank off the spindle. To re-install the crank, the crank bolts pull it back onto the spindle.

It's a typo the TA is 23.0mm the Stronglight is 23.15mm and that makes all the difference.
The Stronglight BOLT is neither 14 nor 15, it's unique: a 16mm and you need a thin-walled socket...this is another reason to get the correct extractor or find an LBS that knows what they are doing.

Bike Tools Etc has the Stein puller for $29.95. I don't think you'll find a better price.

Thanks for that find! I only found one other place that had it (Velo Orange) and it was $45. I'll see what the LBS says today and then decide what I want to do. Right now I think I'll probably order the tool just so that I am able to work on this in the future.

Thanks for the help again, everyone. I'll let you know how it turns out :)

+1!
UBS wholesale is $26.40 as of 2 years ago!

Before you invest in the crank puller, you might want to remove the crank bolts and then ride it around a bit. Sometimes this will loosen the cranks sufficiently for removal without a puller. Not guaranteed, but worth a try.

So I got bounced around by my preferred LBS and one close to my house (both said they could look, but at least one of them is backed up a week and a half). I was directed by the second shop to a couple other shops, and without blinking the third guy said he could do it for $10 ($30 if I want him to overhaul it). He seemed pretty confident about it, which is good, but also threw me a little bit because at first I didn't even specify what kind of crank it was.

One last consideration, would the stein puller work with the pedros puller or would I need to get something else? http://tinyurl.com/2t5ses

kranz: right now the bike if pretty far from rideable - the headset does not line up with the handles (or vice versa) and I haven't worked on the brakes or the shifters. The headset might be the next thing I work on considering I'm waiting on tools to overhaul the rear wheel and can't do much with the cranks. I also hope to put new cables on the bike as well. We'll see how this goes considering this is the first bike that I've done any of this to :)

The link won't work for me, but all you need to pull the crank is the Stein puller and a wrench to turn it with. Since you know nothing about bikes and most mechanics know nothing about French parts, I suggest that you order the Stein puller and take it and the bike to a mechanic and insist that he use your puller. I can't stand the thought of that beautiful crank being ruined.

Sorry about the link. Reasons why frames are bad (web designer talking here ;)). Anyway: http://www.rei.com/product/723014

I've ordered the part and I will give it a shot first - I do want to learn how to do this afterall. But I will probably take up your suggestion if I doesn't seem like it's going to work :)

EDIT: bike tools etc is actually out of stock of the part. it's now on back order.

At which point you're running into the same problem I had at this time last year: Finding a Stronglight pulling tool.

The originals are not easy to find. I made the Numbskull thread last year paying $105.00 (no, that's not a misprint, I'd already lost five previous auctions at $55, 65, 75, 85 and 95.00 for other copies of the same tool) for a tool that I needed quite badly. And in the interim, I managed to remove the crank arms using a modified, tied down and together, motorcycle gear puller.

Sorry, I'm not going to tell you how - the odds of damaging the crankset were pretty good on my part when I did it, and I'd been a mechanic since the early 1970's.

I'm afraid you're probably going to find most of the places who list the tool are currently on back order - and that back order has been going for the last 11 months, at least. Find somebody who has the tool and have them pull the arms for you. Then rebuild the bottom bracket carefully and put it back together. I only pulled my cranks on the Tour de France tonight, first time they've been apart in 900 miles. And that was to swap to an English threaded pair, to use SPD pedals, as the original Lyotards the bike came with are finally dying.

Velo Orange has them in stock. It's only $15 dollars more.

I had the same problem last year, but I needed a T.A. puller. I asked Chris by email if he could get one for for me. He said he couldn't get them. I finally got one from The Yellow Jersey, but I paid top dollar. Then I look at Chris' site and he's selling them for $25. I love the site and he seems like a nice guy, but that's one strike.