Cross threaded crank help....

[Flybye]

I always like to sound like I know what I am talking about doing before I head to the not so local bike shop with a repair issue, so here I am to get a little education first
My DH wanted to ride my road bike and therefore put on some regular slip your sneaker on kind of pedals in place of the clip in type. In doing so, he cross threaded the pedal in the crank and ruined the threading.
Do I have to purchase and ENTIRE crankset ($$$$) or can I purchase only one crank ($)? Luckily the crank that is cross threaded is the one without the chain ring on it. The bike is not even a year old yet.

Also, should I
A. go through the dealer (Giant)
B. go through the not so local bike shop
C. find this online at a site other than Giant

Thanks for your help!!

[Jones]

I did this to my moutain bike and had to replace the entire crankset. I went to my lbs. They had to special order the part so you might want to call them first.
It was an expensive fix but I cross threaded the pedal really easily.

Jones

[DebW]

First ask the LBS if they can run a tap into your crank. If your LBS doesn't have taps, try some other places. It could save you alot of money if it works. If not, hopefully you can order a single crank arm from the manufacturer of the crankset.

[boy in a kilt]

what you can do depends on how screwed up your threads are.

If they are just a little screwed up, and by that I mean it's just the first few threads are screwed up or stripped, you can use your pedal to re-cut the threads by screwing it in from the back side. If screwing it in doesn't start easy, back off and go to your LBS and have them re-tap as suggested above. I've done this a few times, although never with cranks.

A caveat though. Aluminum crank arms are fairly soft so if you choose this method, be careful about replacing the pedals. The first few threads are wont to be a little wonky.

A second option. If your crank arm is a relatively common make (e.g. Shimano 105), you might look around on CL or some such place for a used set (if you lived in the Seattle Area, I'd tell you to go to Recycled Cycles).

The problem with re-tapping your threads by any method is the receiving threads are now a little bigger than the pedal threads. What this means is you have fixed the problem for now but you'll need to replace the crank arm at some point in the future.

[chutch]

I asked my hubby who has been a bike mechanic for over 10 years. He said running a tap is a temporary fix and could still leave you with a future problem. The left crank arm can be replaced, you won't have to get both. Just take it to LBS and trust the pros.

Oh, and have your hubby buy a bike!

[ridebikeme]

OH! you are so lucky that it is the non drive side... alot less money! I definitely would NOT put a tap through that crank arm in order to save it! We put way too much weight and pressure in that area, and I certainly would not trust anything to hold there. Although it's a bummer, I would definitely go to LBS and ask them to simply replace that crank arm. They come in different lengths and are shaped a bit differently(hard to explain through the computer)
so I would take the bike with you when you visit the shop. I also would have them check the driveside...it may be simply a precaution, but better there then something else happening. They also can check to see if there might be any further problems witrh the crank and bottom bracket.

[bike4ever]

Flybye - What was the model of the Giant bike that he cross threaded? Many of the Giant OCR's come with TruVativ products. They are practically impossible to get only one crank arm - we've usually had to purchase the complete crankset. You can have your Giant dealer contact Giant directly. I've been able to purchase odd pieces through the warranty department with Giant.

[Flybye]

Thanks for your help everyone.

I had wondered if they could do something like tapping, which can be done on cars. I am glad for the advice and won't have this done. I plan to sell this bike because it is too small for DH. It is a fantastic bike with only about 300 miles on it. I was looking though our local Thrifty Nickel paper for nothing in particular about 2 months ago and found a Specialized Ruby carbon bike and "just out of curiosity" went for a test ride. The Specialized is in my garage now I don't need two bikes! My point is, I don't want to sell the Giant in other than new shape and selling it with a tapped crank that would give someone problems later on down the line would make me uncomfortable.

I called the LBS and they are looking into a single crank for me. I will cross my fingers because I think that it is a TruVativ crank, just going off of my memory. I am eating popcorn and taking a break and don't want to run to the garage to check right now LAZY

And as Chutch suggested, I am working with DH to find him his very own bike. All we need to make that happen is more time to test ride and more money to purchase one

Thanks to you all!

[Flybye]

Woops - I also forgot to answer a question--

The bike is an OCR 2, not the composite frame, aluminum.

Sorry!

[chutch]

Thanks for your help everyone.



And as Chutch suggested, I am working with DH to find him his very own bike. All we need to make that happen is more time to test ride and more money to purchase one

Yay, a bike for the husband!

More time and more money... seems to always be on the wish list for every cyclist.