From: jbrandt@hpl.hp.com (Jobst Brandt)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: Still need help on removing stuck pedal!
Date: 11 Aug 1997 16:36:42 GMT

Will (who?) writes:

> No, guys, I'm not stupid.  I know which way the threads go! The
> pedal (right) is simply STUCK! I can't get enough leverage or power
> to get it off.  I have to ship my old, crappy bike, and I don't want
> to have to pull the crank to get the bike in the box! Any ideas on
> how to get the thing off would be appreciated.

Once pedals have gotten beyond the removal with a regular pedal wrench
by hand, they are often too tight to be safely removed without heat.
If you were to force them off, assuming you had a wrench and
sufficient force, you would probably damage the threads in the crank
and possibly the pedal because aluminum would weld to the steel pedal
thread during removal.

Remove the crank and heat the pedal end of the aluminum over the
kitchen stove or equivalent.  When the crank is hot enough to sizzle
when touched with a wet finger, use the wrench and it should come off
about the way a lubricated tight pedal usually does.  If you have a
torch and try this on the bicycle, it is not easier, because you can't
hold the crank as well.

Jobst Brandt      <jbrandt@hpl.hp.com>

From: jbrandt@hpl.hp.com (Jobst Brandt)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: pedal remove
Date: 8 Jun 1998 17:34:34 GMT

nhluhr writes:

> Most pedals have 15mm flats.  This said, make sure of your size.
> Then, goto a hardware store and buy an open-ended 15mm wrench.  They
> are cheap, they work, and they last a long time.  Pack it with your
> bike (maybe wrap it in a piece of foam).  Just remember that on the
> right side your pedal unscrews normally (clockwise=tighten), but on
> the left, it is exactly opposite (clockwise=loosen).

However, most pedals has such a narrow wrench flat that a standard end
wrench will not fit nor will it be long enough to tighten it properly.
The best procedure is to buy a pedal wrench from a bicycle shop.  They
use them and know why they do so.

and Peter Cole writes:

> Or you can buy a 13/15 mm cone wrench & use it for pedals & wheel
> bearing servicing. The Topeak multi-tool I have (power 21) also has
> a serviceable pedal wrench.

Cone wrenches are about 2mm wide and do have neither the jaw strength
or the lever length to tighten or remove a pedal.  Thanks to someone
of your belief, I have a split 15mm Campagnolo cone wrench today.
Even a Campagnolo BB wrench set that includes a 15mm end on the right
hand cup wrench will split.  I also have one of those thanks to
someone who didn't know when to use heat to remove a stuck pedal.

Jobst Brandt      <jbrandt@hpl.hp.com>