How To: Take off a crank arm?

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I had a problem with my pedal falling off while I was riding, and i realized that the threads on both the pedal, and the crank were wearing off… so I decided to buy some new crank arms and some new pedals.

There is a problem however… I dont know how to get my crank arm off!!

I took the bolt out, but the crank arm is still rock solid. I really need some advice on how to get the crank arm off, or else I just wasted $50!!

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

~Joe~

2

Re: How To: Take off a crank arm?

“Mr Uni” <Mr.Uni.q4hnb@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:Mr.Uni.q4hnb@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
> I had a problem with my pedal falling off while I was riding, and i
> realized that the threads on both the pedal, and the crank were wearing
> off… so I decided to buy some new crank arms and some new pedals.
>
> There is a problem however… I dont know how to get my crank arm
> off!!
>

You need a crank extractor tool. See a picture and how to use on

They are fairly cheap. I’m fairly sure places like unicycle.com sell them
as would any cycle parts outfitter Your quickest solution is to pop into
your LBS (local bike shop) and ask for a quick assist. Most I know would do
it for nothing.

-Cubby

3

Joe,

If you have square taper cranks, then you’ll need some sort of crank arm puller. I use this one;
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=420

This one would work too;
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=421

You could just take it to a bike shop to get them off, but you’re probably going to need to remove cranks some other time. You can probably buy one on the above pullers at a bike shop, so you don’t have to wait and pay shipping.

Always make sure that the crank puller is threading into the crank straight. They always seem to try and cross-thread when you start screwing it in.

good luck…Mojoe

4

I don’t want to insult your intelligence but I’m going to mention this because I’ve now done it twice i.e. attempted to take off the crank with the extractor tool, having forgotten to take the nut off first.

It sounds like an unlikely thing to forget, but up to now crank removal has been a very infrequent job for me, so it’s easy to miss taking off the nuts.

If you do forget and continue with the extractor you can easily strip the threads of the cranks and the tool itself.

5

There is a bike shop about a mile from my house… maybe I should just run my uni down there! They’ll know what to do. Im sure that it would be pretty cheap (hopefully!)

“onewheeldave”

Dont worry… you didnt!

~Joe~

6

I would just ride around until they fall off. I had one crank that wouldnt come off so I squirted a little oil down where the nut thingy goes and rode around for a liitle bit and it came off.

Alex

7

This can work, but it can also turn into the “Murphy’s Law method.” That is, you’re replacing your cranks because you have problems keeping them tight. So you go to remove them using the “ride around” method. But they won’t come loose. No, it’s not funny. It’s happened to people I know!

For anyone who plans on doing lots of playing with unicycles get your own crank puller. The smaller one from Unicycle.com works fine, and can be used without having to remove the pedal. Make sure the puller is fully seated into the crank before doing the crank-removal part.