Replacing the crank arms on this old Univega bike and the left crank bolt came off easily enough, but all of the right ones refuse to budge. It really feels like I’m doing something wrong. I’m turning the bolt to the left (lefty-loosey, right?) and getting nowhere.
Is there some technique or tool I’m missing, or do I just need to put in some more elbow grease? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
by Racker150
21 Comments
From what I can see it looks to me to be a lack of leverage.
Grab a section of steel pipe or steel tubing, slip it over the hex key handle and increase your leverage.
get some leverage on there. maybe one, or a combination of, cross-threaded and/or rusted.
You need more leverage. A seatpost can serve as an impromptu breaker bar if you don’t have anything else.
This key is pretty short …you can easily get and use one twice the length – this will provide much more leverage…additionally you could try to inject some WD40 with a syringe under the plastic cover to make it run into the thread ( but certainly give it some days to let it intrude )…
Put the other arm back on. Use your weight and push down. An extension can help and scratch stuff.
More leverage…I use 1/2 drive allen sockets and a 24″ breaker bar for these, and pedals that have an allen key recess in the end of the spindle. Use the right tool for the job.
Put that adjustable wrench on then end of your Allen wrench, and I bet it’ll come right off.
Former-pro tip. Don’t punch the chainring. I’ve done it removing a pedal before.
Leverage. I’ve also used impacts for loosening stuff…ymmv
I use a rubber mallet when I need to get my cranks off, works like a charm
breaker bar or pipe
More leverage did the trick! Ended up using a broom handle. Thanks everyone!
You said “righty”, do you mean you’re turning the endcap your hex wrench is inserted into to the right? The bottom bracket is reverse threaded, meaning the driveside is reverse threaded. The end cap pictured here is a standard thread and is turned to the left to loosen.
If you know that and you’re having some other problem, then ignore me.
one hack I saw online that usually works for me, insert the hex so it makes a relatively shallow angle relative to the drive side crank arm (~45 degrees) then take an old inner tube and tightly wrap the hex key and crank together over and over again as tight as you can. The further out you can wrap the tube the more leverage you get. I find that after enough tight wraps it’ll build up enough force to break bolts free without drama. I’ve hurt myself a handful of times trying to get seized crank bolts off and found this method to always be worth trying just because the ergonomics are so much better than just trying to brute-force it.
Get your self a big pipe to put on the end of the Allen key
Yes, you are doing something wrong: no breaker bar
before you bust out the cheater bars, try getting the angle between crank arm and wrench more acute, like an upside-down V. you will get better leverage simply by doing this. if you have big hands you can sometimes wrap both hands around wrench and arm and squeeze together. Even if you can’t, this is a stronger position, ergonomically. Be careful not to mash your knuckles together.
I recently needed to do this and recalled a “hack” I saw long ago that involved using an old innertube.
So I did it–for fun–not really expecting it to work.
It worked incredibly well.
Basically– get your allen key a bit less than 90 degrees from your crank, and wrap the innertube around the pedal spindle and the end of the wrench. Keep wrapping it–pulling it tight with each wrap. It loosens in such a controlled un-dramatic way, it’s quite nice.
If they were correctly tightened and have been there for a while there is no way on earth are you going to remove them with a normal allen key you are going to need a lot more leverage.
An 8mm hex bit and a long ratchet tool will be your friend here. The Allen key you have is quite short. A longer one may help but will still flex.
Drive side is reverse threaded! Turn to the right. Thats the typical way but there are always weird bike parts. It’s been mentioned before but it seems like it was buried in the comments.