Pedal Uscrewed While Riding - WTF

[deadbeatpope]

@johnfoss

You should not need to loctite or glue a pedal in. They don’t need to be super-tight, just screwed on firmly. If pedals that are properly installed are coming loose, it may mean there is wear & tear on the threads, making them looser, or more rarely, a defect in the crank or pedal where it’s not at the proper tolerances, and again fits too loosely.

I hadn’t checked my pedals on the way out the door. I assume they had loosened when idling but I was a mile into my ride so who knows. There could be thread wear I suppose but they haven’t come loose before and the wear isn’t visibly obvious.

I install them with an open ended wrench. Tighten them snug and then give the wrench a few good taps with a rubber mallet. The method has served well in the past. I grease the threads a little too but don’t see that as a problem - maybe it is? In summary - I just don’t know.

@Dane M

Oh and pedals tighten towars the front, so right side tightens clockwise, left side tightens counter-clockwise. Should be stamps on the pedals and the inside of the cranks

The stamps on the cranks and pedal spindles are usually good reference points. +1

[Rowan]

@Dane M

Well you can have the cranks on the right way but then the pedals on the wrong way, an easy mistake. I haven’t had this happen before, but I’ll be sure to look and make sure that nothing has changed after periods of idle or backwards riding practice.

I don’t see how this is possible without having the pedals inside the wheel. A crossthreading pedal will not thread all the way in. You have to take the crank off to get the wrong pedal into the opposite hole which will always look wrong when the unicycle is assembled.

It could be a case of having your seat the wrong way around too- the pedals and cranks can be aligned with the frame and a simple mistake of putting the seat backwards can allow your pedals to unwind. Unless there is a phantom pedal unwinder lurking there shouldn’t be any mysteries about why pedals come loose- they self tighten when installed correctly.

[deadbeatpope]

To add another tangent to this strange thread I will add that running home 1 mile kinda kicked my ass. My legs are still sore in places that never get worked. Guess I’ll have to run once in a while

[harper]

@Rowan

Unless there is a phantom pedal unwinder lurking there shouldn’t be any mysteries about why pedals come loose- they self tighten when installed correctly.

This is the incomplete belief system of many people. Pedals self-tighten when installed correctly and when they have healthy bearings. If pedals had bushings instead of bearings they would naturally loosen in the configuration in which they are installed. The balls in ball bearings rotate in a direction opposite to the motion of their contact surfaces. If the balls don’t roll freely, the good ball bearings turn into bad bushings and the pedals unscrew.

[Jakasaurus]

I think that this bad ball bearing thing was causing my problems because my pedal does not seem to spin very freely.
So i guess that answers my question about if i should get new pedals. Thanks

[Rowan]

@harper

This is the incomplete belief system of many people.

At least I believe in my pedals. You seem to have little faith in them. If pedals don’t spin freely find another set to install.

[deadbeatpope]

The bearings in the pedals in my example roll smoothly and are in good shape.

[uniShark]

@harper

This is the incomplete belief system of many people. Pedals self-tighten when installed correctly and when they have healthy bearings. If pedals had bushings instead of bearings they would naturally loosen in the configuration in which they are installed. The balls in ball bearings rotate in a direction opposite to the motion of their contact surfaces. If the balls don’t roll freely, the good ball bearings turn into bad bushings and the pedals unscrew.

Hi, just caught this thread. I had this happen to me on my recumbent bicycle – riding along, then the left pedal just popped off. Definitely not a problem of having the cranks switched there. Soon after that I replaced the pedals, because they were getting really rough and had play in the bearings. I’d never connected the two issues before, but it sure sounds like Harper’s theory explains what happened to me.

[deadbeatpope]

Circles

This has all been hashed over before in an older thread.

I am going to answer my own original question by checking my pedals like I check my bearing holders.

Riding Backward - Pedals come loose

Hi, I recently have been practicing riding backwards. Little by little I am getting better but during the last session the pedals loosened and subsequently stripped out the crank arm. Was thinking of switching to sealed bearing pedals… Has anyone ever had this problem? Is there a common solution or do I just need to be extra careful and check the pedals all the time?