alumrock12

i'm absolutely clueless now.

i've tried everything, hammering, sledge hammering, crowbarring, heating, pulling, yelling. oh, and i've also ridden it around town for about a month and a half without the crankretainingbolt...

this stupid crank arm just WON'T come off!!! I went to my LBS, and knowing how useless they are, they just said "i'll charge $30 to cut it off, my labor rate is $45 an hour... so ya know, its just annoying work" ... screw them, i'll cut it off myself for free!

well, 2 hours later, i'm still stuck. Can anyone think of a way to get this off easier? should i just go find a rotary saw and cut it that way? B/c right now, i'm out of juice.



anyway, i figure i'd mind as well turn this into my project build thread also... b/c thats this bike...


heres my artwork i'm planning to put on in gloss (not sure what color). its going on top of a matte finish (not sure what color) on the frame.
finalweb.jpg

i'm planning to sand down the frame, as soon as i get this dang crank off. then rattlecan it.

props to pete for intro. me the name...
props to aballas for the gloss on matte idea...

taylor p

sawzall or some thing alike

Dannihilator

Crank Puller

alumrock12

...thats how i got the driveside out. but its also how i stripped the threads of the crank on the non driveside.

Dannihilator

Hacksaw with a blade for aluminum/hardened aluminum.

DevilsGT2

(No idea if it'll work or help) Try getting on the bike, feet on the pedals, left foot back right foot front, and jump up and down on it to reverse the way you've been pedaling on it.

Before you do this, try putting some WD40/Triflow in there.

If that loosenes it up, you might be able to pry it off with a crowbar or something. Without crankpullers, your kinda f-ed.

FreeRidin'

Why not leave the crank on******************************

c_m_shooter

use a hacksaw to cut through the arm right up to the spindle, the pound a chisel into the cut to spread the taper enough to pull it off. It worked on my first conversion when I forgot to buy a crank puller.

Little Leo

Torch it and then beat it super hard with a rubber hammer

alumrock12

well i have a crank puller, its just that its so tight i ended up stripping the threads.

i don't wanna leave it on because i already have one that i'm putting on that i like better
plus, lol-the things already half way hacked. but i still can't split it... what do i use to wedge in the crack?

mcoine

There are so many ways I could get that off if it were in my garage right now. I bet that bike shop would have had it off by now too. Oh well.. good luck.

FreeRidin'

Are you going to make the bike a fixed gear??

Ummm...anything strong and flat.

Screw driver, chisel, crowbar....

alumrock12

wasn't planning on fixed gear... why? is it b/c you saw no brake levers?
fixed gear ratios, singlespeed idea, city cruiser purpose.

thx, but lol... i personally don't wanna pay $30 for something that'll take them 5 min. when i could just call up a friend with a "powerhacksaw" and do it myself...

Quick_Torch C5

+1.... I would've had it off by now since the post.

BTW...anyone notice his gearing?

alumrock12

yes i know its effing crazy. plus, there weren't any brakes for a long while. it was fun

but it was such a good workout... even though it was tough to get started, it helped pay off when i jumped back on the mountainbike. and... i did say, its a bike with fixedgear ratios, singlespeed idea, city cruiser purpose....



oh, feel free to shout out these "techniques" that would've helped you get the thing off "by now since the post"...

dminor 

Me, I'd probably very judiciously apply the cutting torch as long as I was sure I wasn't going to use the crank or bottom bracket again.

Otherwise, do you have access to automotive shop tools? two- or three-jawed gear pullers can work in situations like that quite handily.

alumrock12

haah, i've already started hacking away. I'm thinking I might go over to a friends and see if i can borrow a gear puller, because that seems easier than sawing away at it.

dminor 

Quite true - - you'll end up burning through a few blades doing that. Spindles should be tempered tool steel.

Breitling

+1 for torching it. just because that would be hilarious

dminor 

You just have to be careful and protect the frame - - the aluminum tends to splatter everywhere when you hit it with the oxygen jet

alumrock12

yea, i'll probably just try the gearpuller...


has no one seen my macromediafireworks skills? the crackandfail logo?

dminor 

Saw it - - didn't realize it was a clickable link. Fun.

I work in Adobe CS myself.

Little Leo

Jaws of Life will definitely get it off

dminor 

Haha! Too true. I love playing with those - - one of the perks of being on a volunteer fire dept