PaginaVilot

Is their any alternatives? If not, there's two different kinds that Park Tool make.. does anyone know what I would need for a Fuji Track, and Motobecane Messenger with the stock cranks?

Also, since we're on the topic of tools.. how do I remove a lockring?

Velocità

enroll yourself in a maintenance 101 class. or thoroughly read sheldon

crushkilldstroy

Or go ask these questions at your LBS. They'd be happy to sell you the right tool and show you how to use it.

Hobartlemagne 

Pedro's makes a crank puller too.

bonechilling

Yes, you need a crank-puller, and no, there is no alternative (that doesn't involve not ruining your bike or cranks). Any shop should have a Park or Pedro's crank puller for $15 or so, and it's a tool that you should have if you plan on working on your own bikes more than once.

To do the lockring, you need a lockring spanner. It doesn't need to be bike-specific, you can get a cheap one at Ace or Harbor Freight. When you see the tool, it's pretty self-evident how it works.

sp00ki

wow.

jdms mvp

just hit it with a hammer

barba

Just ask your shop for a crank puller for square taper cranks. It is a cheap tool and it is a basic for any home mechanic kit.

sp00ki

use this tool.
it's actually better than most of the others, and saves you LOADS of time and effort in the long run.

Build your own

If he's lucky enough to have a decent LBS.The answer i would get at the ones in my area are A: we don't sell/have that tool. B:Bring the bike in and we'll fix it for you.It'll be a couple days though.

Velocità

my thoughts exactly. i always thought people should know at least a little bit of wrenching before they bought a bike.

barba

This is a message board for discussing bicycles, you know.

sp00ki

yep.
that said, i genuinely think the user will get better and more concise info from a quick search.
it really is a pretty simple task to which there's a very simple solution and lots of documented "how-to" info out there.
teach a man to fish...

PaginaVilot

My LBS doesn't have one in stock, but they said they would remove my cranks for $20.

And I'm looking to buy the tool online, but I wasn't sure if I needed the square taper one?

Thanks for the help.

natonium

Really? So you never owed a bike until you knew a little bit about working on a bike? Most people have a few bikes before they move onto doing their own work on their bike. Some people just have bikes for fun and never work on 'em.

That's how it worked for me. I've been 'tinkering' with my bikes for years but before that I never messed with them. But now I do mostly all my own work. You have to start somewhere.

Peedtm

Rip off! This is a 2 minute job. Don't let em do it.
Buy this one. It has the parts for square taper or octalink (the loose 'button')

Be super careful when threading it in. You could do some damage there.

trons

never go to that shop again...

jpod

I heard of this story awhile back but, if your cranks are stripped and cant use a puller. Just loosen your the bolt that holds your crank on and ride up and down your street. It should loosen up.

mander

Edit: had this guy confused with someone else, carry on

Pagina, you might want to have someone show you how to use your crankpuller when you get it. It's a very basic tool to use but you can **** your cranks up if you don't know what you're doing.

Cynikal 

This only works once and then your cranks are ruined. But yes, it does work.

jpod

Ah had no idea it would ruin them, just something I heard.

Jerseysbest

Find a new bike shop. Tool costs ~15 and you'll use it many times.

https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...racket%2FPedal

or

https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...racket%2FPedal

Jerseysbest

Well if the cranks are already stripped and you're replacing them, no harm really.

Before I started tooling with bikes (I was like 15), I bent a crank, and ended up getting the LBS to replace it, could have easily used this trick and saved a few bucks in labor and marked up LBS prices.

tinydr

OP, order yourself one online... personally I'd try not to go with the cheapest option when it comes to tools, but as you probably won't be using it that often I can understand why someone would go a cheaper route (than Park Tools).

barba

The Park CCP2 costs between $12-15. I agree, there isn't much point going cheaper than that. You can "ride" the crank arms off, but it will take a bit and will likely be a real pain. The tool is cheap and useful.

I wouldn't frequent a shop that charges $20 to pull a crank.