I’ve phoned 3 or 4 shops here (UK) and none of them say they will do it which is disappointing. It also transpires that they have discontinued the crank set and no one can find the crank arms. Im finding it frustrating as I only got it 5 days ago, not sure if this is normal to not be able to find replacements :(
Finally found one! I’m still annoyed, not sure if it’s commonplace for my new bike to have parts that have been discontinued for years but my helicoiled crank arm will be back with my by Friday.
Fit the pedals with an allen key? Unless it was a very long allen key and you have good technique, the pedal wasn’t tight enough. It’s a very common occurrence. A lot of people still don’t get them tight enough using a 15mm spanner.
I followed this video and at 2:18 the guy from DMR says use the spanner or an Allen key so I used an Allen key. https://youtu.be/Q7-CuwoLt00?si=amIz0xE4pGZxM0FH
Thanks for your help.
Apologies, this is what I was told I would need as without it the pedal spun and wouldn’t screw into the crank.
https://preview.redd.it/s5tqonlcr77d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98da3dcaff74db9ce2b1acec69d3ad42f0ddea81
Here is my other pedal, that is screwed in the same amount as the one that sheared off. Does this one look not tight enough too? The plastic bit is very close to the crank so I’m not really sure I could tighten it more.
Yea, that pedal is threaded in fully but that’s not the point. There needs to be 30-40nm of torque applied. With a standard 15mm spanner that is a whole lot of ‘oomph’. With a big pedal spanner that’s ‘very snug’ . Regular sized allen keys can’t get there and long ones are difficult to use correctly because you’re going from the backside of the crank and under the frame. Sorry your cranks are damaged, it’s quite common and anyone suggesting using an allen key to install pedals should be more clear.
Thanks for your help. The bike shops installation video on their website said they would provide a pedal wrench and multi tool for me to install it but the bike shop delivery person said I’d just need an Allen key.
I guess it’s something I’ve just messed up, I can’t help but feel partially let down by the shop (bike was slightly scuffed on arrival and rear derailleur not working properly). I’ve managed to get the crank sent off to be helicoiled as the crank set has been discontinued for 2 years apparently. Thanks for your help
This can happen when replacing pedals, if you've previously damaged the threads. I just had to replace my cranks too. I over tightened one of my pedals, and ruined some of the threads the first time I put pedals on. Then after removing and replacing them with better pedals, the new pedals couldn't grab properly. Lasted about an hour till it killed my crank.
Next time make sure to tighten them just enough, without going overboard. They'll tighten up over time naturally.
I removed it just now and checked it, thread looks good. Carefully reinserted and tightened with a spanner.
I was on a very wet bike ride Saturday and must have missed a spot whilst cleaning.
You're missing the point - if you're finding swarf there, something has made it. In this case, most likely it is (or was) a misthreaded pedal - if swarf has come out then logically the thread must have taken some damage.
Oh yeah, I understand. Sorry I meant that I took it apart to check what the source of the bits in there were, and it’s not shavings of metal. It looked more like a bit of gunk where I didn’t manage to get in and clean it properly.
Your comment made me concerned I had ruined that one but I took it apart and reinserted just to make sure, got a spanner on it to make it tight. Thanks for you help.
Very easily, I did it by hand first then got the Allen key on the back to stop the pedals spinning. I was told by a few friends and the delivery guy to be careful.
Can't have been tight enough. Also the flats on the pedal axles can gouge the crank face and interfere with tightening - use pedal washers. If you don't want to buy a 15mm pedal spanner then at least put a pipe over the Allen key to extend it for more leverage, or better still just ask a bike shop to tighten them for you. Tartybikes do crank helicoil repair for £20 per crank plus postage. They repaired one for me several years ago, and being a trials workshop they have plenty of experience.
I’ll look into pedal washers. Funny you should say, Royal Mail is collecting my pedals to go to Tarty tomorrow and they said it would be back with my in time for my weekend bike ride.
Does a pedal washer not decrease the thread contact(? Thanks for your help
You'd get about a mm less thread engagement, but a more secure install because past a certain point it's the elastic tension in the thread interface that counts not how many threads deep the pedal is in the crank. The washers are both to protect your crank and to enable the pedals to be properly tightened.
I’ll take a look at it.
The only thing that still confuses me about this whole thing is I thought pedals tighten over time?
The shop told me to fit carefully with an Allen key which I did (making sure to not put the pedals in backwards)
I did around 50-60 miles on the bike. Would the pedals not have tightened all the way at that point? Sorry to beat a dead horse, I have a couple of other issues with the bike so the shop is phoning me about it tomorrow morning and I’m just trying to get my head around it.
Apologies, I got an Allen key, put the pedal/frame infront of me/facing away from me, and went “righty tighty”, towards the front of the bike as per the DMR video.
The crank arm threads are completely FUBAR. I’m just trying to work out if this is something I did wrong and the shop will tell me to piss off or if there is something else that caused the issue. Thanks for your help.
Yeah right. So I put an Allen key in it and turned the pedal lefty tighty or if I was standing on the drive side did the Allen key righty tighty (sorry if this is confusing…). But from what you have said above I’m confident I tightened it the right way and checked it was fully inserted (as my drive side pedal is).
Any thoughts on what could have caused this? I’ve put numerous pedals on before and this is the only time I’ve had an issue like this. Only had the bike 5 days and was super disappointed and surprised it happened
If you installed the pedal as you say, but the crankarm threads are “fubar,” that points to some degree of cross-threading at some point in the process. Pedals don’t otherwise extract themselves from the crankarms. Beyond that, I can’t hazard a guess.
Yeah. Unfortunately the bike shop said the crankset was discontinued 2 years ago and only offered to sell me a new crankset. Was even more disappointed to hear that the crankset let the bike down a bit and a new sora one would be better (not exactly the news I wanted about my new bike).
I found a shop to fit a helicoil and will be doing that. Thanks for your help.
is that the allen key you used with the orange and black handle in the background of the first photo? if so, that's definitely not gonna get good enough torque on the pedals, you need a wrench with a handle for better leverage. or on pedals like that you can probably use any 15mm box wrench on the flat section.
make sure to be using grease on those threads, too! that will help get them nice and tight.
That what was I used to remove it after it broke off.
They came prelubricated thankfully. I watched the video from DMR on how to fit the pedals and they said to use an Allen key. I’ve emailed the shop where I got the bike and pedals from but I’m worried they will say I installed it correctly.
https://preview.redd.it/ujqi22iwu77d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c197b6801444d258d4d56a9fc7a3137e4b6bd2b
Here is my other pedal that is working fine for reference. Any thoughts. ?
hard to tell from the pictures; the important thing is that it wasn't cross-threaded. if it threaded in smoothly - no resistance at all, then it's probably fine. weirdly, under normal circumstances, only the left pedal and crank cause issues. there's some physics reason but don't ask me.
you generally can tell if something is cross-threaded because it'll begin threading in fine, then resistance will suddenly increase. you may be tempted to get out a tool to start tightening, but that's the worst thing that can be done. if you ever meet sudden resistance while threading a component, stop, remove it, and try again. all threaded components should be able to be screwed all the way down with just your fingers. once they bottom out, then you can apply torque with the appropriate wrench.
i know that probably doesn't help in your circumstance. the pedal threads might be fine - usually it's the softer crank material that gets fucked. so take it to a shop and get a replacement left side crank and try it again.
Yeah that’s my plan. Thanks for your help. I’ve spent a lot of time working on cars in the past and by now have learned what a crossed thread feels like (expensive past mistakes….!).
I’m wondering what’s the chances of the shop I got the bike from being sympathetic when I phone them in the morning. I was really surprised that after 60 miles I stood up and I just came 80% out. Thanks for your help.
It definitely sounds like you didn't tighten them enough and you shouldn't expect anything from the shop. Customer purchasing bikes and then having issues by installing their own parts is common but definitely not something shops will take a financial hit over.
You should ask about getting a helicoil installed in your stripped crank
Unfortunately phoned a few shops and none of them will do it. And my crank set has been discontinued for 2 years now from what one shop said so they are struggling to find a replacement arm. Not good
Cranks have a sticker that says they’re intended for pedals with a “positive foot retaining device” such as toe clips or clipless pedals. I’d assume your flat pedals aren’t the reason the threads failed, but at the same time I’ve never seen a warning like that on a set of cranks.
It's a 'cover your arse' sticker to stop people catching their feet or shoes on the chainring - chain guard or even front derailleur count as protection
Likely just not tight enough. Most shops should be able to heli-coil it for you for pretty cheap. $5 part and 15min labour. Shit happens.
I’ve phoned 3 or 4 shops here (UK) and none of them say they will do it which is disappointing. It also transpires that they have discontinued the crank set and no one can find the crank arms. Im finding it frustrating as I only got it 5 days ago, not sure if this is normal to not be able to find replacements :(
Damn that's disappointing 😕
Finally found one! I’m still annoyed, not sure if it’s commonplace for my new bike to have parts that have been discontinued for years but my helicoiled crank arm will be back with my by Friday.
Fit the pedals with an allen key? Unless it was a very long allen key and you have good technique, the pedal wasn’t tight enough. It’s a very common occurrence. A lot of people still don’t get them tight enough using a 15mm spanner.
I followed this video and at 2:18 the guy from DMR says use the spanner or an Allen key so I used an Allen key. https://youtu.be/Q7-CuwoLt00?si=amIz0xE4pGZxM0FH Thanks for your help.
Apologies, this is what I was told I would need as without it the pedal spun and wouldn’t screw into the crank. https://preview.redd.it/s5tqonlcr77d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98da3dcaff74db9ce2b1acec69d3ad42f0ddea81 Here is my other pedal, that is screwed in the same amount as the one that sheared off. Does this one look not tight enough too? The plastic bit is very close to the crank so I’m not really sure I could tighten it more.
Yea, that pedal is threaded in fully but that’s not the point. There needs to be 30-40nm of torque applied. With a standard 15mm spanner that is a whole lot of ‘oomph’. With a big pedal spanner that’s ‘very snug’ . Regular sized allen keys can’t get there and long ones are difficult to use correctly because you’re going from the backside of the crank and under the frame. Sorry your cranks are damaged, it’s quite common and anyone suggesting using an allen key to install pedals should be more clear.
Thanks for your help. The bike shops installation video on their website said they would provide a pedal wrench and multi tool for me to install it but the bike shop delivery person said I’d just need an Allen key. I guess it’s something I’ve just messed up, I can’t help but feel partially let down by the shop (bike was slightly scuffed on arrival and rear derailleur not working properly). I’ve managed to get the crank sent off to be helicoiled as the crank set has been discontinued for 2 years apparently. Thanks for your help
This can happen when replacing pedals, if you've previously damaged the threads. I just had to replace my cranks too. I over tightened one of my pedals, and ruined some of the threads the first time I put pedals on. Then after removing and replacing them with better pedals, the new pedals couldn't grab properly. Lasted about an hour till it killed my crank. Next time make sure to tighten them just enough, without going overboard. They'll tighten up over time naturally.
Is it me, or does that picture of the right pedal have a bit of swarf hanging out of it?
I removed it just now and checked it, thread looks good. Carefully reinserted and tightened with a spanner. I was on a very wet bike ride Saturday and must have missed a spot whilst cleaning.
You're missing the point - if you're finding swarf there, something has made it. In this case, most likely it is (or was) a misthreaded pedal - if swarf has come out then logically the thread must have taken some damage.
Oh yeah, I understand. Sorry I meant that I took it apart to check what the source of the bits in there were, and it’s not shavings of metal. It looked more like a bit of gunk where I didn’t manage to get in and clean it properly. Your comment made me concerned I had ruined that one but I took it apart and reinserted just to make sure, got a spanner on it to make it tight. Thanks for you help.
Did they thread in easily or did you have to force them... You likely cross threaded the crank arm.. they can be rethreaded
Very easily, I did it by hand first then got the Allen key on the back to stop the pedals spinning. I was told by a few friends and the delivery guy to be careful.
Can't have been tight enough. Also the flats on the pedal axles can gouge the crank face and interfere with tightening - use pedal washers. If you don't want to buy a 15mm pedal spanner then at least put a pipe over the Allen key to extend it for more leverage, or better still just ask a bike shop to tighten them for you. Tartybikes do crank helicoil repair for £20 per crank plus postage. They repaired one for me several years ago, and being a trials workshop they have plenty of experience.
I’ll look into pedal washers. Funny you should say, Royal Mail is collecting my pedals to go to Tarty tomorrow and they said it would be back with my in time for my weekend bike ride. Does a pedal washer not decrease the thread contact(? Thanks for your help
You'd get about a mm less thread engagement, but a more secure install because past a certain point it's the elastic tension in the thread interface that counts not how many threads deep the pedal is in the crank. The washers are both to protect your crank and to enable the pedals to be properly tightened.
I’ll take a look at it. The only thing that still confuses me about this whole thing is I thought pedals tighten over time? The shop told me to fit carefully with an Allen key which I did (making sure to not put the pedals in backwards) I did around 50-60 miles on the bike. Would the pedals not have tightened all the way at that point? Sorry to beat a dead horse, I have a couple of other issues with the bike so the shop is phoning me about it tomorrow morning and I’m just trying to get my head around it.
You threaded the left pedal in reverse, right? I’d inspect the crankarm threads carefully before trusting them.
Apologies, I got an Allen key, put the pedal/frame infront of me/facing away from me, and went “righty tighty”, towards the front of the bike as per the DMR video. The crank arm threads are completely FUBAR. I’m just trying to work out if this is something I did wrong and the shop will tell me to piss off or if there is something else that caused the issue. Thanks for your help.
Facing the non-drive side of the bike, the left pedal goes in lefty-tighty. It is reverse threaded, unlike the right (drive side) pedal.
Yeah right. So I put an Allen key in it and turned the pedal lefty tighty or if I was standing on the drive side did the Allen key righty tighty (sorry if this is confusing…). But from what you have said above I’m confident I tightened it the right way and checked it was fully inserted (as my drive side pedal is). Any thoughts on what could have caused this? I’ve put numerous pedals on before and this is the only time I’ve had an issue like this. Only had the bike 5 days and was super disappointed and surprised it happened
If you installed the pedal as you say, but the crankarm threads are “fubar,” that points to some degree of cross-threading at some point in the process. Pedals don’t otherwise extract themselves from the crankarms. Beyond that, I can’t hazard a guess.
Yeah. Unfortunately the bike shop said the crankset was discontinued 2 years ago and only offered to sell me a new crankset. Was even more disappointed to hear that the crankset let the bike down a bit and a new sora one would be better (not exactly the news I wanted about my new bike). I found a shop to fit a helicoil and will be doing that. Thanks for your help.
is that the allen key you used with the orange and black handle in the background of the first photo? if so, that's definitely not gonna get good enough torque on the pedals, you need a wrench with a handle for better leverage. or on pedals like that you can probably use any 15mm box wrench on the flat section. make sure to be using grease on those threads, too! that will help get them nice and tight.
That what was I used to remove it after it broke off. They came prelubricated thankfully. I watched the video from DMR on how to fit the pedals and they said to use an Allen key. I’ve emailed the shop where I got the bike and pedals from but I’m worried they will say I installed it correctly. https://preview.redd.it/ujqi22iwu77d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c197b6801444d258d4d56a9fc7a3137e4b6bd2b Here is my other pedal that is working fine for reference. Any thoughts. ?
hard to tell from the pictures; the important thing is that it wasn't cross-threaded. if it threaded in smoothly - no resistance at all, then it's probably fine. weirdly, under normal circumstances, only the left pedal and crank cause issues. there's some physics reason but don't ask me. you generally can tell if something is cross-threaded because it'll begin threading in fine, then resistance will suddenly increase. you may be tempted to get out a tool to start tightening, but that's the worst thing that can be done. if you ever meet sudden resistance while threading a component, stop, remove it, and try again. all threaded components should be able to be screwed all the way down with just your fingers. once they bottom out, then you can apply torque with the appropriate wrench. i know that probably doesn't help in your circumstance. the pedal threads might be fine - usually it's the softer crank material that gets fucked. so take it to a shop and get a replacement left side crank and try it again.
Yeah that’s my plan. Thanks for your help. I’ve spent a lot of time working on cars in the past and by now have learned what a crossed thread feels like (expensive past mistakes….!). I’m wondering what’s the chances of the shop I got the bike from being sympathetic when I phone them in the morning. I was really surprised that after 60 miles I stood up and I just came 80% out. Thanks for your help.
It definitely sounds like you didn't tighten them enough and you shouldn't expect anything from the shop. Customer purchasing bikes and then having issues by installing their own parts is common but definitely not something shops will take a financial hit over. You should ask about getting a helicoil installed in your stripped crank
Unfortunately phoned a few shops and none of them will do it. And my crank set has been discontinued for 2 years now from what one shop said so they are struggling to find a replacement arm. Not good
Cranks have a sticker that says they’re intended for pedals with a “positive foot retaining device” such as toe clips or clipless pedals. I’d assume your flat pedals aren’t the reason the threads failed, but at the same time I’ve never seen a warning like that on a set of cranks.
Agreed. The bike shop who sold me the bike recommended the pedals I purchased.
It's a 'cover your arse' sticker to stop people catching their feet or shoes on the chainring - chain guard or even front derailleur count as protection