 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I've got a couple of bikes with HT2 cranks that are an extremely tight fit in their bearings, making it very hard to get the cranks in and out. Has anyone got any tips for getting them in and out (other than hitting them), or know why some are so much tighter than others? I'm always a bit scared of damaging the frame if I hit it too hard - usually held by the seat post in workstand.
Hit the axle with a rubber / plastic mallet.
I've always had to use a mallet to get mine in/out, bike held in stand by seatpost and bottom of seat-tube in left hand.
7 bikes undamaged by this method so far 😆
When I tap mine I always out the bike on the floor, with wheels on, and lean on the seat with my chest , give it a good tap and out they come
I smack mine with a plastic hammer,if it's tight then that's a good thing,if it's loose it usually means that the bottom bracket has worn a grove into the crank which is never a good thing.
If there's any marks, corrosion or dirt on the axles, give them a clean- nothing too harsh, though. But don't worry too much if they're just a bit tight.
Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds like I just need to be a bit less shy with the mallet. The one I was taking out today also stuck firmly as the non drive side surface when through the drive side bearing, at which point the end of the axle is in the middle of the frame so you can't hit it. Eventually wiggled it out but chainsets aren't easiest things to get a good grip on.
They need to be pretty tight in order to engage the bearing. Otherwise all that would happen is that the spindle would spin against the unloaded bearing, polish and eventually split the axle.
stuck firmly as the non drive side surface when through the drive side bearing, at which point the end of the axle is in the middle of the frame so you can't hit it
Yeah you can, tap the chainring bolts from the inside with the soft faced Mallet. It'll tap out easy enough 🙂
LBS uses a rubber mallet, you'll not do any damage. Then give the axle a quick polish with some wire wool to remove any corrosion.
Make sure you have the BB faced so it is square i had a frame were i could not get the cranks in until it was faced a Ragley Mbop.
Although we have plenty of mallets in the workshop, I find some wood on the axle and a ball pein hammer more effective. Also less likely to miss and hit your frame.
When I tap mine I always out the bike on the floor, with wheels on, and lean on the seat with my chest , give it a good tap and out they come
This. Give it good old whack.
Couldn't find my rubber mallet last week so knocked my cranks out with a plastic-headed meat tenderiser. Not the best tool for the job but did the trick.
Conveniently my rubber mallet's handle is just under 24mm so once I've whacked the cranks half out I can reverse it, poke the handle in, then give it a boot.
(remember kids, when whacking out a crank, make sure you don't have a chain device fitted. It does make a lovely nose though when you explode a chainguide.)