Experience with liquid wrench?

[mstone]

You need a bigger wrench. Penetrating oil won’t hurt (will work better than wd40). I’d actually suggest a hex bit and breaker bar rather than a hex wrench.

[vern]

I had that problem a while back on my left pedal, and I solved it by lubricating the moving parts-springs on the cleated portion of the pedal (Look Keo).

[worktheweb]

+1 on the bigger wrench, leverage is your friend. I had pedals that were impossible to get off until I went to a shop that had a large pedal wrench. The right tool for the job. I’ve subsequently invested in one since I seem to wear out my Speedplay Frogs at least annually, it has saved me a ton of knuckle busting and loud swearing.

[notlost]

@mstone 110972 wrote:

You need a bigger wrench. Penetrating oil won’t hurt (will work better than wd40). I’d actually suggest a hex bit and breaker bar rather than a hex wrench.

Or a piece of pipe that will fit over your current wrench.

A penetrating spray like PB Blaster will make a huge difference if corrosion is the issue, trick is to spray it on and wait overnight.

[Vicegrip]

Heat. Bigger wrench or cheater adds torque but also increases chance of twisting the threads out with the pedal. Heat the end of the arm to just a bit too hot to touch and the metal will expand and let go of the pedal stem. Penatrating oils work but you want to let them soak in for a while. I soak and heat hard stuck stuff in aluminum. It is soft metal but also expands quite a bit with heat.

[Anonymous]

@Terpfan 110971 wrote:

I or someone during a tuneup was superhuman because it’s really on there.

Did you let the guys at Spokes put your pedals on? I’ve found that if I let them put pedals ON my bike, I have to take it to them to later get the pedals OFF my bike (which, thankfully, costs me no monies, just embarrassment).

[sam_aye_am]

You are turning in the correct direction? I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve tried to loosen a pedal or two from a crank arm, only to find out that I am actually tightening. Just for a sanity check, you can look here:

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/pedal-installation-and-removal-pw-3-pw-4-pw-5-hcw-16

When installing, I always put a dab of grease on the threads to prevent future problems.

[Harry Meatmotor]

quick way to remember which way to turn the pedal wrench:

to tighten the pedal spindle into the crankarm: turn both pedal spindles towards the front of the bike.

to loosen the pedal spindle from the crankarm: turn both pedal spindles towards the back of the bike.

leave lefty and righty out of it ’cause they’ll only confuse things.

front = tight

back = loose

[Powerful Pete]

Others have provided useful advice. I will add that cursing loudly always helps.

Just don’t curse too loudly around one of your toddlers/young children, or alternatively expect to have some explaining to do when she has difficulty with her toys right after Sunday lunch at your parents’ house and expresses her frustration using… colorful language you used the day before. But I digress…

[Terpfan]

So I tried pipe bit to no avail. I was going to buy the liquid wrench at Home Dept while my wife ran into the Springfield Mall, but I figured on a whiff, I would check to see if the mechanic was in at Performance. Turns out they only charge $10 for pedal installation ($5 if you’re a member, which I am), which would also include getting one off. So I held the bike while he sprayed something, had the wrench, and then a pipe over the wrench. Between both of us, it came loose much faster than anything I had tried by myself. Anyway, he put on a plastic pedal for me to test and see if it was indeed the pedal, which it was. So I just bought a new set and figured I can keep the old set around to toy around with to see what may have been causing it since neither of us could find anything on the threads.

Bright side, problem fixed with new pedals and almost talked my wife into buying a decent hybrid (her office is moving and new place will have a shower, which was her primary drawback to riding before). Downside, well, spent money on new pedals.

Thanks for the all the advice. I think i’m going to buy the stuff anyway and maybe also design a little slot where my tire can go into, but come out of without lifting to give me the same ability to create enough tension as he had.

[Boomer Cycles]

One always does better when they have leverage:-)

[Harry Meatmotor]

@Terpfan 111320 wrote:

So I tried pipe bit to no avail. I was going to buy the liquid wrench at Home Dept while my wife ran into the Springfield Mall, but I figured on a whiff, I would check to see if the mechanic was in at Performance. Turns out they only charge $10 for pedal installation ($5 if you’re a member, which I am), which would also include getting one off. So I held the bike while he sprayed something, had the wrench, and then a pipe over the wrench. Between both of us, it came loose much faster than anything I had tried by myself. Anyway, he put on a plastic pedal for me to test and see if it was indeed the pedal, which it was. So I just bought a new set and figured I can keep the old set around to toy around with to see what may have been causing it since neither of us could find anything on the threads.

Bright side, problem fixed with new pedals and almost talked my wife into buying a decent hybrid (her office is moving and new place will have a shower, which was her primary drawback to riding before). Downside, well, spent money on new pedals.

Thanks for the all the advice. I think i’m going to buy the stuff anyway and maybe also design a little slot where my tire can go into, but come out of without lifting to give me the same ability to create enough tension as he had.

glad to hear it wasn’t really frozen. couple general tips to help safely tackle stubborn nuts/bolts:

1) always try to secure your workpiece (i.e. the bike, or any parts on the bike). when doing any work on crank arms, pedals, or chainring bolts, I like to secure one crankarm to a chainstay using a double-wrap of a toe strap.

2) generally try to apply force to a wrench by pulling it towards you, rather than away from you. this is the opposite of what most people tend to do. similarly, try to apply force to a wrench pulling up, rather than pushing down.

3) if a bolt is frozen, try tightening it by an 1/8th of a turn first to break the threads free before trying to loosen it.

4) always give penetrating oils at least 24 hours to do their thing.

[DismalScientist]

You can get more leverage pushing the wrench with your leg than your arm. The disasters achieved in this matter are more spectacular.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@DismalScientist 111446 wrote:

You can get more leverage pushing the wrench with your leg than your arm. The disasters achieved in this matter are more spectacular.

Guy comes into the bike shop, “can i borrow a pedal wrench?”

Mechanic: “Sure!”

Guy puts the wrench on the pedal, then starts stomping on the wrench.

Mechanic: “Hey man – I’m gonna dial 9, then 1, and then wait for you to finish that up!”

[Crickey7]

What does “reverse thread” mean?

[Author]

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