If you enjoy the Vuelta Dust Caps as much as I do, you may be able to make use of these two tips:
Don’t use Loctite when you install them. It sticks too hard and the thin aluminum hex-hole will deform should you try to remove them. Use grease instead.
Should you strip the hole trying to remove them, drill two holes on either side of the central (stripped) hole and use strong needlenose instead of the hex wrench (see photo).
While I also heated the cap with a torch to remove it, I’m not convinced that it helped.
Yes. Although the real issue is does the aluminum of the cap expand more than the aluminum of the crank arm that was on it? But heating is supposed to loosen up the loctite.
In any case, it was a real bear to get off. The one on the other side wasn’t as bad, so I must have put less loctite on it.
In the extreme case, I could probably have brute-force ripped it out with pliers. I was afraid of ruining the brand-new Kookas, though.
To keep the hatches battened down, as it were. I don’t lose parts along the wayside or destroy them prematurely because of that approach. It just didn’t work out in this case.
