Taking off pedals

[OakLeaf]

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).

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.

[Desert Tortoise]

Got it, thanks ladies!

[mariacycle]

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!)

[pinkbikes]

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

[lph]

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

Dang, I feel stupid now.

[pinkbikes]

Dang, I feel stupid now.

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!!

[DebW]

Dang, I feel stupid now.

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. 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.

[Desert Tortoise]

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

[Thorn]

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.

[sarahspins]

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

[mariacycle]

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

[VeloVT]

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.