As mentioned above, red loctite needs heat to release, blue doesn't -- just good old force, applied properly.

That force is tearing up the notches on the back of those nuts... =/

FWIW, Sram uses green thread locker. It needs alien strength to be broken.

Question: Are you trying to turn the nuts or the bolts, or both?

I ask because on my FSA crank, turning the slotted nuts will NOT happen, period. However, I can break the bolts free without even holding the nuts in place. I only need to hold the nuts from spinning once the initial break occurs.

Turning the bolt while trying to hold the back nuts with the Park Tool. Since they're aluminum, I'm assuming, they're being shredded by the steel tool with the force that I'm applying. I've even tried longer Allen wrenches with more leverage to try and torque them out. But that's not happening.

That makes me feel a little bit better about my situation I guess, lol. I just bought cobalt/stainless drill bits online. Hopefully my friend's drill will have enough power to do the job.

Had this exact same problem a few months back. Made a lever similar to the park tool but longer and thicker. btw the park tool broke.

That Park Tool chainring bolt spanner is useless.

https://www.amazon.com/Var-Combined-T.../dp/B004YJ2X7Q

That's not true, it works really well for taking off the battery doors on cycling computer sensors.

Maybe that's how they should market it.

What's even stupider is having to buy a $70 tool to remove chainring bolts. Sram stuff is stupid.

I guess that's the difference between being a mechanic who needs to remove stuck chainring bolts regularly and the average rider.

My Sram Omnium crank set has chain ring bolts that take 5mm Allen wrench on one side and 6mm on the other side.
Don't know if the Sram 300 is the same.

They're not. I recently encountered a set that even my VAR tool couldn't break free and ended up saying **** it and drilling them out.

Steve, your LBS may not the tool in stock, but they sure ought to be able to order it for you and have it within a very few days. I would have thought they would have suggested that by now.

What was your ideal drill bit size? I don't want to over-do it by accident. Looks like mine are 7 or 7.5mm to drill out safely.

So after about 2 hours of fidgeting, I finally got one of five bolts off by drilling. I've gotta warn you guys, SRAM is SUCH a PITA. Should not be this difficult to remove something that was meant to be exchanged or replaced. Had to order other sized drill bits. Thinking maybe I can start from the 3 or 4mm and gradually expand the inner hole. The first bolt came out with the 7mm, finally. Have to give it to them for making some tough parts though. These bolts/nuts are not by any means, "soft."

^^ drill slower- stainless stuff is pretty hard, but certainly not impossible and tends to heat up. Too much heat and your drill bit will lose it's temper and edge. Ideally you'd have some kind of cutting oil to help lube as well as cool, but even plain water would be useful to keep things cool. When you're done, give your drill it a quick squirt of wd40.



The hole in the crankarm is whatever the clearance tolerance is (usually .005", or ~.125mm) over 10mm. You're good for pretty much any bit up to 3/8" IF you can keep it centered.

Lol sram sucks cause you can't get chain ring bolts out.

Got it.

Never said that. I said it was a pain in the a**. And then I also gave it credit for being tough. Just saying that they didn't have to make it impossible to take out chainring bolts when they also make other chainrings that you should be able to replace this one with. No reason to put green loctite/paste on something that was meant to be removed. Might as well have riveted them in at this point.

I had the same problem. I bought a new SRAM S300 1.1 crankset to replace the original Sugino square-tapered crankset on my 2007 Specialized Langster single speed road bike (my all-weather commuter). I wanted to swap the supplied 48T chainring for my existing 44T. I have a BBB-brand chainring nut wrench. I have a hex key. I've swapped chainrings before.

After several attempts - involving much cursing, wrench slippage, and burring of the diametrically opposed slots on the nuts - I removed one of the bolts. That was when I discovered the green Loctite. From the green Loctite technical data sheet:

To remove the remaining bolts, I applied a heat g u n for around 5 minutes to each bolt. Then they grudgingly unwound.

I'm going to look for some chainring bolts with hex sockets on each side. I never liked those slotted nuts or their wrenches. Blaming my tools, I know, but I've skinned my knuckles more than once on chainring teeth after the wrench slipped out of the slots. That's without Loctite. I've never managed to burr those slots before, though; at least, not nearly so badly.

I wanted to end this post with a fact-based statement about SRAM's decision to use green Loctite: as in, "it's wrong, and these are the figures to prove it". However, after doing some research on recommended chainring bolt tightening torque, Loctite breakaway/prevail/breakloose torque, and tightening torque versus loosening torque in general, I find myself mired in too many variables. I'd appreciate someone with more time and a stronger grasp of the science to step in here. All I can offer is an opinion based on first-hand experience mixed with some research: I think that green Loctite is the wrong choice for this application, especially for the supplied chainring bolts with slotted nuts. This is the first time I've needed a heat g u n to swap a chainring. At the very least, SRAM could mention this use of green Loctite in the documentation supplied with the crankset - perhaps with a recommendation, to quote the Loctite fact sheet, "to apply localized heat [...] to approximately 250 degrees C".

Loctite? I use grease. Guess I'm doing it all wrong.