I’m new at the cycling and hardware thing. I THINK I stripped my crank, at the location where the pedal screws into the crank.
The inside of the crank looks worn flat (not quite smooth) even though the treads on the pedal look firm and crisp (it came out). I can’t tighten my pedal at all anymore, but I can remove it with a wrench.
Is this a case of a stripped crank?
If so, what tool do I need to remove the bolt thats up inside the crank there? I have the united Adult Trainer from Unicycle.com. I had been given some advice on removing the crank from a schwinn, and I saw the horrible mallet of doom used on my hunter for crank removal, but I’m not sure what I need for the United.
You’ll need 2 tools- one you may already have, the other I’v got in my pocket… er… tool box… ehem.
First you’ll need to get that nut off (heh) with a socket wrench. Check your auto kit -it should have the appropriate size socket. I believe both crank nuts are Lefty-Loosey.
I’ll bring over the crank removal tool after we ride tomorrow after work. The tool threads into your crank arm socket (which is why the inside of the crank arm neck is threaded); once in place, a wrench is used to extend a bolt from the center of the tool, forcing the crank arm off.
My first set of cranks would have lasted me a bit longer if I had walked back to the car mid-ride to tighten 'em (or carried a tool kit). Instead, I road back… death to the threads and crank arm socket. Although on the other end of the crank arm, your threads striped out after being loose for a fairly short period of time; with the forces at play, I’d say it was more bad luck then neglect (although I did do some hopping for Al when I rode it around The Shell…).
I’m not sure if you would be better off with Bicycle Euro cranks, or another set of soft cranks and some Lock Tight.
It probably isn’t worth the effort, but Joe has taps for threading… we could bore out hole, thread a steal pipe, hammer it in, grind it to fit… or you could call John and say “cranks please!”
I’v got a spare set of Alluminium 175’s… way to big for your street cycle… but if you real-ly need to ride it before getting new cranks…
Are we riding tomorrow after work? I don’t recall that. Let me know what you were thinking. I have a work deadline that I probably won’t make, so depending on my conversational skills with my boss, I may or may not be staying late at work tomorrow night.
As for luck … I think I loosened the pedal in the crank funny when I tried to practice the side mount on sunday. It didn’t seem loose, but I can only imagine that started the ball rolling. Almost immediately after that, I happened to start juggling and I didnt ride any more that day. So, I think it had been loose, and then Tommy rode it some. He mentioned to me that it seemed like it might be coming loose, so he tightened it, but I didnt ride it anymore. I just kept juggling. Sunday night when I went out for my ride after dropping you off, about 10 minutes or so into the ride, I felt the pedal wobble. However, I didnt really realize that was the trouble, having never experienced it. Something just felt “weird” but it was pedaling fine. Then suddenly “clang” the pedal fell right off (but seems to be intact).
I guess now I will know that when something feels weird but otherwise seems OK, that I should check it out.
As for new cranks, yeah, I’m gonna just call up John and get a new one (or new set, not sure if I can get just one).
