Pedal Question!!!

bobtjustice

Hi all

Quick question, while on my way to work this morning I managed to break my pedal clean off the bike. ( much to the amusement of the car driver behind me )
So I was left on the side of the road with a pedal stuck to the bottom of my shoe trying to figure out what went wrong.

The problem is the pedal pretty much sheared right off at where it attaches to the Chainset (dunno if thats the right term).

Anyone had a problem like this before, is there anyway to get the reminder of pedal out of there without damaging the threads??
I really don't want to have to buy a new Chainset and pedals!

Though the pedals are nearly brand new so hopefully wiggle will help me out.!

Any thoughts appreciated.

Cheers
Bob:D

Morgan

The pedal spindle actually snapped? I've never seen that before. What pedals are they? - sounds like something which should be covered under warranty.

Getting the end of the spindle out of the crank may be tricky if there's nothing sticking out to grab onto - you could try cutting a slot into the end of the spindle and using a large screwdriver to remove it (hopefully you greased it before installing). Alternatively you might have to drill it out.

daymobrew

Sometimes there is a big allen key socket on the back of the pedal arm (bit that goes into the crank - the arm that is attached to the bike).

bobtjustice

Morgan wrote: »

The pedal spindle actually snapped? I've never seen that before. What pedals are they? - sounds like something which should be covered under warranty.

They're a set of Crank Brothers Candy's, not hugely expensive but are supposed to be good pedals, I only have them about a month or so. I bought them from wiggle so hopefully they'll cover em. I reckon they were a faulty pair.

Morgan wrote: »

Getting the end of the spindle out of the crank may be tricky if there's nothing sticking out to grab onto - you could try cutting a slot into the end of the spindle and using a large screwdriver to remove it (hopefully you greased it before installing). Alternatively you might have to drill it out.

Yeah I switch these pedals between my hardtail and my commuter quite often so they are well greased. I might try notching the spindle like you suggested and see if I can get it out with a screw driver.

Cheers

Morgan

daymobrew wrote: »

Sometimes there is a big allen key socket on the back of the pedal arm (bit that goes into the crank - the arm that is attached to the bike).

Now why didn't I think of that? Yeah, Candy's are fitted using an allen key so you'll be fine.

blorg

Unless you are very unlucky there should be an allen key fitting on the inside of the pedal spindle that will let you get the pedal out (I hope for your sake you greased the threads before installation.)

Not all pedals have this but almost all beyond the very entry level do.

bobtjustice

Morgan wrote: »

Now why didn't I think of that? Yeah, Candy's are fitted using an allen key so you'll be fine.

ooops... that was embarrsingly easy My bad.! I never even seen the socket on the back....I've always used a pedal wrench.!
Wiggle came back to me too, they're sending me a new set... happy days.!

blorg

Yeah, some pedals don't even allow the use of a pedal wrench and are allen-key only. You have to be _extra_ sure to grease those ones ;-)

This is not the first time I have heard of a Crank Bros pedal spindle snapping though.

bobtjustice

blorg wrote: »

This is not the first time I have heard of a Crank Bros pedal spindle snapping though.

Really?, I've heard nothing but good things about these pedals. The fact that i switch these between my bikes quite frequently wouldn't be weaking them in any way would they?

Like I make sure anytime i switch that they're greased. I'd switch em about once a week.

They are in the "all mountain" category but I use them to commute to work 3-4 times a week and then switch to my hardtail for weekend trail riding.

blorg

There are plenty of reports of issues with Crank Bros pedals across innumerable forums, just do a search. General consensus is that Shimano SPD pedals are a fair bit more reliable but many prefer the functionality of the Crank Bros.

Switching them back and forth shouldn't weaken them as far as I know.

milod

blorg wrote: »

Switching them back and forth shouldn't weaken them as far as I know.

It shouldn't, but depending on the torque you use with the pedal wrench, you can stress the metal. If the OP is switching them a lot, it might be better to tighten with an allen key from the back to ensure that it's not over-tightened.