This really makes the fixed gear experience 10x worse than it could be.
Than you all in advance!
Bought a second hand fixie and the pedal has this play to it. Fixable without changing it?
byu/Locky0104 inbikewrench
by Locky0104
This really makes the fixed gear experience 10x worse than it could be.
Than you all in advance!
Bought a second hand fixie and the pedal has this play to it. Fixable without changing it?
byu/Locky0104 inbikewrench
by Locky0104
10 Comments
The bottom bracket is done for. The cranks might be aswell so id let a bikeshop fix it
Perhaps the cotter pins are loose. I would check there for damage to crank/axle
It’s not even a fixie…
Dude, fixed gears need pedals compatible with foot retention. How you gonna use this anyway?
I don’t think there’s much hope in repairing this crank, it’s likely to need replacement. I’m guessing the cotter pin was assembled improperly. They are supposed to be filed to match each particular bike, and if I remember right pressed in because the nut can’t get enough force on its own.
Another possible complication is that the frame may be threaded for an unusual bottom bracket, making a replacement more difficult to find. I’d look all this up on Sheldon Brown’s site (linked in the sidebar, or just Google “cottered crank sheldon brown”)
It’s probably a loose, damaged or incorrect cotter pin. These cranks are kinda terrible. You can’t just tighten the nut, you need to press or hammer in the pin without fucking up your bearings. Then the nut can be tightened to retain it. If you don’t have a nearby bike co-op or shop that does a good job on vintage stuff, I’d give up on these cranks.
The people that are suggesting that the bottom bracket needs replacement are wrong. You only need to replace the cotter bolt. Naturally you do both sides at the same time.
Do not bang on it with a hammer to get it out – that can damage the BB bearings or cups. If they don’t come out with very light tapping, then they need to be pressed out.
Naturally if you want to modernize the bike and replace the bottom bracket and crankset, you can do that. But that’s a LOT more expensive than buying a couple cotter pins.
Try buying new cottor pins there could be wear in them or try to tighten it up
If you have to tap the cotter out to install a new one, leave the nut threaded on but loose and tap gently. As the cotter moves and the nut meets up with the crank, loosen it a bit more, repeat until the cotter come out. The nut helps prevent the pin from bending.
You should never really re-use a cotter pin, and replacing with the correct size is important.
This got many more responses than I was expecting thank you all so much for the help! I took it to a bike shop and my man replaced the cotter pin for free, it didn’t fix the problem. He said it should be the BB the problem. They didn’t have a BB in stock but he said for 25€ he can order a new one and replace it for 30€.
I’ll probably take it there tomorrow to get the BB replaced but I’ll first try and go to a bike atelier (like for auto repair) to see if I can maybe do it for cheaper. Also looking for new pedals with foot retention as well. As for the 2 speed crank for the fixed gear, that’ll probably stay as it is for now at least.
Again thank you everyone for all the help this was incredible!