Hey, gang. Here’s the deal: I was just riding today, and my pedal felt loose, so I thought no big deal and came home to tighten it. To my dismay, the pedal just spins around if I try to tighten or loosen it and I can brute force it off either. Should I just take it into my LBS? Thanks
Spinning around in both directions is odd. What kind of crank is it? Does it have a threaded insert for the pedals? It’s possible that the insert is moving, but if it spins freely in either direction it probably means the crank is stripped out. To check this theory you could just use a pin wrench to unscrew the retaining ring from the inside of the crank arm, and if the insert slides out you will probably see threads come with it.
If this is the problem you could probably fix it with epoxy paste, or maybe aluminum brazing rod.
I have nimbus ventures. The pedal screws directly into the crank without any Inserts. So, should I have my lbs take care of it? Thanks
If I could look at it I would probably be able to tell what is going on pretty easily. Without having it in front of me it is a shot in the dark. I would say that if you aren’t sure it is always safe to bring it to your bike shop. In the end you will most likely need a new crank arm. It sounds like you stripped the threads out of the one you have.
I would also make sure that your cranks are on the correct side of the uni. Left on the left, and right on the right. I can’t think of another reason that pedals would loosen during riding; unless, it was not tight to start with.
I am almost 100% sure that it is a stripped crank. The cranks are indeed correctly placed, And the pedals were tight. But, the pedals aré brand new, but i dont see why that would even be an issue… Oh well. I only have two more weeks until Christmas and new cranks 
thanks
Your pedals might not be 9/16th thered as well they could be 1/2 not sure if they would fit at all but just though I’d mention it
Venture Problems
I had a very similar problem with my Nimbus trials cranks (125mm). The threads were completely destroyed. After a brief phone call to the people unicycle.com they told me one culprit could be using too wide of a wrench on the pedals and not getting them tight enough. They sent me a replacement set within a few days and after making sure they were tightened down well they have lasted for several months with no problems. I have read a few other posts with the same problem with Ventures. I’m not sure if it was a bad batch or a design flaw. Were your cranks 125’s as well?
If you do not have the pedal securely screwed into the crank, or if you have cross-threaded them, the sloppy fit and subsequent wiggling will destroy the threads in the crank. The venture cranks are aluminum and I believe most pedal screws are steel. Aluminum looses against steel.
You should probably just order a new set of cranks.
Good luck.
Scott
I think the threads on your crank are probably stripped which sucks because you’ll probably need new cranks. This happened to me a few moths ago, I put on different pedals to try them out, and after using them for 5-10 minutes I noticed one was loose so I went back to tighten it but over half the threads were already stripped. This happened on my 125 ventures, The threads might be weak on this crank but it shouldn’t matter as long as you put the Pedal on correctly.If they’re stripped badly I don’t think it’s worth trying to fix so just get new cranks.
It’s not a pedal problem
The pedal threads are hard steel, the crank threads are aluminum, they will get stripped first. Wire brush the pedal threads when you get them out, if they look new they are fine.
I wouldn’t bother with a bike shop, unless they have a magician on staff, they can’t fix stripped cranks. Don’t pay them to tell you the obvious. They may not even know how to get you a good deal on uni cranks. They are not economically repairable. New cranks is the only way to go. Buy a crank puller if you don’t have one.
UDC is having a great sale on PC pedals for 10 $ now. You will likely order your new cranks from them. They charge shipping sorta by the box, so they will ship PC pedals to you for free with your new cranks ( sorry, but new cranks is the only fix).
Yeah, I knew from the beginning my crank was done. And it is 114mm. Also, I was just concerned about getting my pedal out of it My sister ordered my 137 moments for christmas, so that is my fix. It cost me 4 bucks and a half hour for them to get the pedal out, in case you are curious. Now i have no threads on the crank, it is just smooth. To my delight, the pedal was a-okay. Thanks for the replies but I got it done.
How to get the stripped pedal out yourself
Saves time and money. Every hack who bends a nail or touches a wrench needs a pair of vice grips. If you put the crank in a vice, or clamped it to something, the vice grip can be clamped to the wrench flat of the pedal. Then just pull and twist. Out in seconds. Much faster than going to a shop. Get some of these if you like to mess with stuff.
Well, next time i have this problem ( I hope never again) I will be sure to try the vice grips. I actually have a pair and my stepdad has a bunch more kinds, too, so I guess i will be able to git R dun
git R dun
My complements to your english, or at least to your intent. Ta git er done on ur unicycle, the bottem row of grips is about right. The top row of them spread wide grips is mostly for welding and craft stuff. Uni guys need one of those bottem row vice grips. Every box should have a pair or two.
Then everybody should think back to what are the root causes of stripped cranks? Usually it’s one of two things:
- Pedals on the wrong sides
- Pedals on the wrong sides
In rare cases, it’s pedals on the right sides that are not tightened well. Generally this is not a problem for “normal” riding, but for things where you put a lot of stress/abuse on them (Trials, learning, hopping) it can cause this as well. If you only do straight ahead type, or road riding, the pedals will tend to tighten themselves.
As long as they’re on the right sides. Viewing the cycle from the top, with it facing away from you, the right crank should be on the right. The right crank is right-hand, a.k.a. normally threaded. The left pedal and crank are threaded backwards. Sound like that’s the wrong way? It isn’t. Pedals unscrew by precession, not by straight twisting force. Don’t get the idea that 130 years of cycling technology has it wrong.
The least common cause of stripped cranks (or pedals) is defects in manufacture. Very rare, though it does happen. We have better parts these days. Anyone remember Lasko cranks?