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I organised to go riding on Good Friday on Thursday evening and then realised my bike was in my dad's garage after already having a few sherbets.. no probs, it isn't far so walked around collected bike and pedalled home. But when I hopped on, the left hand pedal was seized solid so ended up pushing/free-wheeling most of the way home.
I had some new DMR V12s on my gravel (repurposed CX..) bike so rather than trying to fix the seized pedals I thought I would quickly swap them out.. another beer opened, tunes on, in the garage and trying to be a clever shite thought I'd use my torque wrench as it doesn't get much use. Removed the pedals from both bikes (not with torque wrench!) and installed the RH pedal no probs, 10Nm, nice click, job jobbed. Flipped the switch on the wrench to torque up the left hand pedal and the only click I got was a snap as the allen bit sheared into two pieces..
So turns out torque wrenches (well mine at least!) doesn't work the other way round.. every day is a school day I guess and I should have known something was up by the amount of welly I was giving it but I was half cut by this point and I didn't.. So, couple of questions if I may:
1) Even though the bits were relatively cheap I would have thought at least 2-3 times (more?!) the recommended torque went into the pedal than recommended.. should I leave well alone and just replace the cranks/pedals together when one fails? Or try and get them out now? I'm conscious of how much strain I'd be putting through the BB shell on a carbon frame trying to wrestle them off when I could just leave it.
2) Whilst the DMRs are fine on my big enduro skills compensator and now appear to be permanently mated to the cranks.. I'm not sure they were great on the gravel bike.. pins felt a bit long and only 1 length provided. Any recommendations for a flat gravel pedal? Or am I a lunatic for removing the clipless pedals I had on there?!
Thanks to anyone who got this far
Any comments/recommendations/ridicule greatly appreciated
Cheers
I don't really understand this. All three of my torque wrenches work both clockwise and counterclockwise clockwise.
Pretty much every pedal I ever had come into the shop was done up TAF by a gorilla using the full length of the park pedal wrench. So long as the threads haven't stripped it should be ok to remove and refit.
Torque wrenches work both ways. I is confused.
10nm is no where near enough for pedal axle into crank arm. You need to almost swing on it to get it on tight enough.
You’ll not break your cranks getting it off either.
From DMRs website
Please Note: Torque setting at the Axle to Crank, for all the DMR Bikes pedal range, is 40 - 55Nm.
My big chunky torque wrench doesn't work both ways. I figured this out when installing some BB shells into a frame. Unfortunately I wasn't pissed like the OP so realised that I was putting way more torque into one BB shell than the other 🙂
Neither of mine work in reverse, and in fact specifically say not to use for undoing things too. They’re not bike specific tools though.
I would say it’s new bike time OP.
Thank you for the replies everyone. Now I’m proper confused.. 🤣 but I agree the only sensible thing to do now is buy a new bike.
The 10Nm was printed on the Saint pedals that came off.. but, I have since looked at the manual online and this is for the spindly tighteny thingy not the actual pedal! I mean if you’re gonna print a torque setting on a pedal right next to the thread shimano surely it should be the main torque for tightening into the crank. Ah well, another learning for me.. pedals are torqued more than 10Nm.
But my main learning is don’t work on bikes pissed 🙂
10nm is no where near enough for pedal axle into crank arm. You need to almost swing on it to get it on tight enough.
Why would one do this? Pedalling will act to tighten the axles, overdoing the torque just makes it a skinned knuckles affair to remove them (or new cranks if the electrolytic corrosion welds them together).10 years of hand tight and then a nip with the pedal spanner on the work fleet and never a loose pedal. Plenty of shagged bearings but no pedals coming off.
10nm is no where near enough for pedal axle into crank arm. You need to almost swing on it to get it on tight enough.
WTF! Don't listen to this! (Gotta hope it was humour!)
I never use a torque wrench on my pedals. Just do them up and then a little tweak so they don't come undone, which is pretty unlikely anyway. Unless you want seized pedals of course, then have a good lean on the torque bar.
All three of mine work in both directions, often find left hand threads on the car. And yes, you shouldn't use them for undoing things - that's not the purpose of them being able to torque both ways.
Torque wrenches work both ways. I is confused.
I know right, it's amazing how some manufacturers make stuff different to others! So confusing!
You can even get socks in different colours these days!