Taking off pedals

So my dad and I both made the switch to clipless pedals... sort of. Step 1 was his bike (brand new) and he was the one who actually took the old pedals off with the bike wrench. Then I put on his new pedals and voila - clipless! Then, I went back to my place to do the same to my bike (bought summer '08). Failure. Can't seem to loosen the pedals no matter how hard I try. The truth is, I'm not even sure how I could grease it up so it could come out. I'm thinking of calling a guy friend over to see if someone else has better luck and then taking it to the LBS with my tail between my legs.

Any advice?

The biggest thing to remember is that a pedal always threads so that the pedaling action will screw it *in*, which means that they do not both follow the lefty loosey - righty tighty rule. You may actually have been tightening the pedal rather than loosening it..... (I think it is the pedal on the right - with the bike upsidedown - that threads backwards from normal).

In any case they can just be really tight and difficult to remove. I suggest having a wrench with the longest handle you can find for the most leverage. If the pedal type supports being removed with either/both an allen type head from the outside and a pedal wrench from the inside using both at the same time can help too.

Yup, pedals loosen backwards. I have had to lock the other pedal with my knee and stamp on the end of the wrench to loosen the pedal. They can seize up pretty bad. You could try laying the bike down on it's side so that the pedal spindles are vertical, spraying with a thin oil and let sit overnight.

Ummm... Right hand pedal, right hand thread? Left hand pedal, left hand thread I thought?

So right pedal follows the righty tighty, lefty loosey rule but left pedal is the opposite?

I have had to remove a few the hard way lately and I confess to using instruments of mass destruction to do so. I put the spanner on and gently tapped the end of it with a heavy copper mallet. Have never had a failure with this method and the copper mallet is soft enough not to damage DH's precious spanners!

That's right, pinkbikes, the righthand pedal loosens by turning the wrench counter-clockwise, the lefthand pedal loosens by turning the wrench clockwise, what I call "backwards" (the opposite of the pedalling direction). I have a Park Tool pedal spanner with a long handle, never had to stamp on that :p

It takes a lot of leverage, and it looks like your multi-tool is probably pretty hard to get a good grip on. If you have a length of pipe that will slip over the end of it, try that to get a longer lever.

Honestly, most of the time I need DH's help to hold the other pedal (and when I don't, I worry that the pedals were loose :rolleyes:), even though I've got reasonable upper body strength and most of the experienced wrenches here will tell you I shouldn't need the help. I think some of it just depends on your frame, too, the size and geometry, how hard it is to reach through it and get a good angle on both pedals.

Then before you go to install the new pedals, put some anti-seize lubricant on the threads. If you've never done it before: use a very light coating - get a small dot of it on your finger (wearing thin gloves), smear it on the threads of the spindle, and use an old toothbrush to distribute it through the threads from inside to outside. Not so critical when it's a pedal and crankarm, obviously, but just a good habit to get into when you apply anti-seize.

Thanks everyone for the tool advice. i thankfully did know that the right/left pedal didn't both follow righty-tighty/lefty-loosey but I think my biggest obstacle is this short wrench with little leverage. My new pedals do come on very easily it's just a matter of getting these first ones off.

I'm at school and away from my LBS where the guys there seem to take pity on me and fix everything for free (they've given me tons of tuneups for free too, really great guys). I'm not sure whether it's worth coming to the LBS here (where people do seem pretty nice but obviously don't know me) since they'll probably charge a lot simply for loosening two pedals. Or... they'll look at me like I'm crazy for coming to the store just to do that. Am I crazy?

Another set of arms is helpful. Calling your friend is probably a better idea than taking it to a LBS from which you didn't buy the pedals... You hold the opposite crankarm and let him reef on the pedal, or vice versa.

Just make sure whoever you call also knows that the right pedal is regular thread and the left pedal is reverse ("left-hand") threaded.

Don't be embarrassed! And the big Park Tools pedal wrench is awesome, but even with it I've seen big tough mechanics slip a "cheater bar" over the end to get extra length and leverage. I'd just take it in to the LBS and explain that your tool's not doing the trick. I doubt they'd charge you for it.

Putting a little grease on the threads before putting the pedals on might help in future.

Lph, when you said right hand pedal loosens counter-clockwise and left hand pedal loosens clockwise, is that with the bike upright or upside down (handle bars on the floor)?

(For some dumb reason I can't find how to copy a quote on here.)

Thanks!

upright bike in my limited experience with my dad's bike

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Originally Posted by Desert Tortoise

Lph, when you said right hand pedal loosens counter-clockwise and left hand pedal loosens clockwise, is that with the bike upright or upside down (handle bars on the floor)?

(For some dumb reason I can't find how to copy a quote on here.)

Thanks!

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Oh, sorry! Bike upright. I have a work stand so I only work with it that way now.

Unless it's Look pedals, or any other pedal that might fasten with a hex-head on the end of the spindle, in which case you're backwards ("tightening" direction to push the pedal outward and loosen it, and vice versa). :rolleyes:

Just remember right-hand pedal is standard thread, left-hand pedal is reverse thread, then it won't matter what orientation you're looking at it from.

Got it, thanks ladies!

Well... I sucked up my pride and went to the LBS. Turns out that on top of the guy being ridiculously sympathetic to my being unable to get my pedals off, they also sold rear skewers there (lost the one that came with my bike trainer) so I'm about to get back in the trainer and finally use my clipless pedals! Thanks ladies for all the sympathy/advice. By the way, the guy at the LBS had a huge bike wrench (the entire handle was padded) that looked to be at least 13" long. In the future, I'll either get the tool I need or go to the LBS immediately (my pride is not worth cut fingers!)

Ummm... doesn't matter which way up the bike is. Anti-clockwise is still anti-clockwise!:p

Was it blue? That sounds like my Park pedal wrench. They don't cost much.. $12 I think? Definitely worth it :)

yellow i think... but also looked like it weighed 25lbs haha

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Originally Posted by pinkbikes

Ummm... doesn't matter which way up the bike is. Anti-clockwise is still anti-clockwise!:p

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Dang, I feel stupid now. :p

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Originally Posted by lph

Dang, I feel stupid now. :p

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Nah - don't! It is my experience that you give good advice. It's just that sometimes the way a question is asked just leads you to giving an answer that is right but only half right!

Just look at all those apprentices that go out to buy a lefthanded screwdriver!!:D

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Originally Posted by lph

Dang, I feel stupid now. :p

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Well, if you stand on the right side of the bike and look at which way the left pedal turns, then clockwise is anti-clockwise. :D Another way to remember is that both pedals thread on by turning the wrench towards the front of the bike (if the bike is upright and you're talking about the upper half of the circular wrench stroke). Or you can thread either pedal on by holding the wrench in one position and backpedaling the bike.

Ok, upright/upside down, no matter which way it's all very taxing to my brain. How's that for stupid?

I have a terrible right/left dyslexia that turns me into bambi-in-the-headlights when someone mentions clockwise/anticlockwise. With the pedals, I use the mnemonic: they come off in the direction that will bash your knuckles into the chainring.

With the bike upright and the pedal at 6:00, put the wrench in, stop and look to see which direction will hurt more when the pedal comes loose and the wrench does that quick slip. If it will result in a chainring tattoo (or worse), that's the direction to push.

My bottom S&S coupler works the same way, so the saying has extended nicely in my packing/unpacking of my coupled bike.

The sad thing is, while I've mastered the "bash the knuckles" mnemonic, I now I have to work on not actually bashing the knuckles.

Hey everyone! Didn't want to start a whole new thread for this question but... is there any real difference between the rear skewers that come with trainers and the rear skewers that come with your bike in terms of keeping the wheel on? I've been switching back to the original one when I hit the road but it occurred to me today that they are basically the same... thoughts? TIA!

People think way too hard about this. All you need to remember is that you tighten the pedal by turning the wrench in the direction you pedal (i.e., towards the front of the bike) and you loosen the pedal in the direction opposite the direction you pedal (i.e., towards the back of the bike). This is true for both sides of the bike, upside down or rightside up.

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Originally Posted by mariacycle

Hey everyone! Didn't want to start a whole new thread for this question but... is there any real difference between the rear skewers that come with trainers and the rear skewers that come with your bike in terms of keeping the wheel on? I've been switching back to the original one when I hit the road but it occurred to me today that they are basically the same... thoughts? TIA!

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The skewer for the trainer is extra chuffy to deal with the extra load. You don't want to put the OEM skewer onto the trainer. I think it's okay the other way around? - not sure about that though. :confused:

Oem?

Original Equipment Manufacturer, the one that came with the wheel.