Quick question on removing pedals

[KnottedYet]

Ah HAH! I just looked at my Frogs and finally saw the light! (thanks, y'all!)

I'd been fretting that I don't have a pedal wrench, and what'll I do when I put frogs on the new bike, and how will I maintain my pedals, yadda yadda. (I'm a champion fretter! Gold medal worry-wart.)

Now I see where the allen wrench will fit, I understand which direction to turn it, and I know I don't have to crank on the things and make 'em supertight.

Whew! I really want to know how to do my own pedals, cuz the bike shop cross-threaded my flat pedals when they assembled my Kona. When i got Frogs they had to re-tap the cranks cuz it was such a mess.

Thanks, guys!! You're awesome!!

[DebW]

Whew! I really want to know how to do my own pedals, cuz the bike shop cross-threaded my flat pedals when they assembled my Kona. When i got Frogs they had to re-tap the cranks cuz it was such a mess.

Ewww, cross-threading. I once cross-threaded a Campy Record crankset. That would have been an expensive mistake if a tap hadn't cleaned it up. Campy cranksets came with atrocious threading in the 70s. We learned to always tap them before even attempting to install a pedal for the first time. I knew a guy who crashed when his pedal pulled out of his Campy crankset.

[KnottedYet]

Deb - what kind of grease? Is there one brand/type of grease that you could recommend I buy, that I could use for all grease needs?

(I only have a bottle of liquid T9. No grease. Speedplay sells a squirter thingy with grease for the Frogs. I suppose that would be a seperate grease issue, but I need a general grease.)

Thanks, oh mighty Bike Guru!

[Grog]

Grease indeed. Ask your LBS people. I have funny red stuff that comes in a toothpaste-like tube.

Another tip:
My pedals would sort of 'dig' into the crank. The adorable mechanics (same guy) also gave me a little washer to put there. No more digging, easier to take off the pedals.

[DebW]

Deb - what kind of grease? Is there one brand/type of grease that you could recommend I buy, that I could use for all grease needs?

I recommend Pedro's Syn Grease for bearings. You can use it for everything if you want, but el cheapo grease (like white lithium from the auto parts store) is fine for threads and cables. I just wish you could get Pedro's in a tub instead of only tubes. You can dip fingers into a tub - takes 2 hands to get grease out of a tube. Though it's much harder to contaminate a tube. We once got metal filings in a 5 lb tub of Campy grease in the shop.

[SadieKate]

It's called Pedro's Velo Grease.

http://www.glorycycles.com/pevegrtub16.html

[KnottedYet]

It's called Pedro's Velo Grease.

http://www.glorycycles.com/pevegrtub16.html

Vanilla scented?!?! Are they kidding, or is it really vanilla scented?!?! (is this the Love Pantry or a bike shop? )

[SadieKate]

Vanilla scented?!?! Are they kidding, or is it really vanilla scented?!?! (is this the Love Pantry or a bike shop? )

I just went out to my kitchen and sniffed grease. Don't tell anyone, OK?

It's not really vanilla-scented. It's more of a light greasy plastic smell with a wanna-be vanilla overtone. I'm not sure why grease can't just smell like grease.

[DebW]

It's called Pedro's Velo Grease.

http://www.glorycycles.com/pevegrtub16.html

Thanks, SK. I hadn't seen that before. And Pedro's web site show a 16 oz tub of Syn Grease as well, for $30.

You can get a nifty little applicator with a push button that the Pedro's tubes fit right onto that lets you apply it with one hand - plus its really great for applying to tight spaces - only problem is that it continues to come out after you've taken your finger off of the trigger so no matter how careful I try to be I always get grease on other stuff too.

I have the applicator for injecting my Speedplay pedals. But I like the feel of grease on my fingers, so the grease always goes there first.

[Eden]

I recommend Pedro's Syn Grease for bearings. You can use it for everything if you want, but el cheapo grease (like white lithium from the auto parts store) is fine for threads and cables. I just wish you could get Pedro's in a tub instead of only tubes. You can dip fingers into a tub - takes 2 hands to get grease out of a tube. Though it's much harder to contaminate a tube. We once got metal filings in a 5 lb tub of Campy grease in the shop.

You can get a nifty little applicator with a push button that the Pedro's tubes fit right onto that lets you apply it with one hand - plus its really great for applying to tight spaces - only problem is that it continues to come out after you've taken your finger off of the trigger so no matter how careful I try to be I always get grease on other stuff too.

http://www.pedros.com/frame.aspx?url...ease.html?shop

[Pedal Wench]

"Foward On, and Back off"

Wrench goes forward to put the pedals ON, wrench goes to the back of the bike to take them OFF.

Easy, breezy!

[Kitsune06]

Deb,
Would white lithium grease be alright for bearings if the bike is infrequently used? At a loss for bike-specific grease, I repacked DGF's bearings with white lithium. The bearings are unsealed (no rubber seal or anything to prevent water from getting in, other than a little metal cap. Very cheap wheelset) but she's a fair-weather rider anyway...
I only ask because that's what I've got a tub of, and I'm reluctant to shell out for any other kind of grease if $7 will buy almost a week worth of lunches or a couple gallons of gas, or a whole lot of ramen....

[DebW]

Deb,
Would white lithium grease be alright for bearings if the bike is infrequently used?

Fine.

VG, funny story. But you wont' fool us, we know that you really ARE a super-hero in disguise. You could have just picked up the Mercedes without the jack, but you didn't want to reveal your secret identity.

[velogirl]

"Foward On, and Back off"

Wrench goes forward to put the pedals ON, wrench goes to the back of the bike to take them OFF.

Easy, breezy!

Hee hee! I was just going to say "back off!" That's how I always remember it. And sometimes I still screw up and tighten them down more.

Drift here......Monday night we finish our cyclocross ride at an OSP and there's a woman in a karate suit (what's it called -- white pants and robe). Anyways, she's in the parking lot in her white karate suit with high heel sparkly sandals on trying to change a flat tire on her car. She has a Mercedes and it has a built-in slot for the jack and she broke the slot. She definitely needed help, it was getting dark, and we decided to help.

I won't go into all the silly things she did, like putting the jack on the other side of the car (to see if that would work), but anyways, we jump in, suggest she put the floor-mat under her jack (instead of jacking on the dirt), and help her jack it up.

So, here we are, three women solving her crisis. At one point, I decide to do more than provide moral support and start turning the jack again. She had made it look really hard, but when I did it it was easy. Of course, that's because I'm a super-hero in disguise, right? Wrong! It's because I was jacking the wrong direction and lowering the car back down to the ground. Silly me.

Oh, and she had AAA. I asked her why she didn't call and she said it was empowering to do things herself. I can do lots of things by myself, but I still call AAA.