[Closed] Wot torque?

i only ever use max torque......

Go on then, what’s the most you can pull 🙂

"slightly tight". Pedals don't need to be super tight because of the direction of rotation, they naturally tighten not loosen

And make sure you grease the threads first! 🙂

Shimano say 35-45nM for pedals

“slightly tight”. Pedals don’t need to be super tight because of the direction of rotation, they naturally tighten not loosen

Except that this exposes the threads to a greater stress range and therefore a greater likelihood of failure from fatigue, even if they don't unwind themselves.

I'd use what Shimano says. Which equates to a lot more than "slightly tight".

A big shove on the calibrated pedal spanner or hex key

Might be a daft question, but what benefit does a dedicated peel spanner give over a standard 15mm spanner?

<div class="bbp-reply-content">"I’d use what Shimano says. Which equates to a lot more than “slightly tight”."</div>
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<div>If the 35nm quoted above is correct, for such a big bolt that's "slightly tight".</div>

Might be a daft question, but what benefit does a dedicated peel spanner give over a standard 15mm spanner?

Leverage if its a decent pedal spanner, my 15mm normal spanner is 19cm long, my pedal spanner is 40cm long, also has a big grip so doesn't dig into your hand. Some are slightly thinner as well to fit certain pedals.

Thanks everyone 🙂 I went for 40Nm, and used anti-sieze. Vaults don't have a spanner face, just a 5mm hex. Incidentally, whats the protocol for fitting chains for a full suspension over a HT, is it still chain around big big plus two links?

Depends on your suspension travel. Let the air out of your shock and move it fully through its travel to see how many extra links you'll need over and above big big 2.

Blimey, I've gone with ~5nM for years, just like with stem and seat clamp bolts.

Northwind, you sure about that?

edit for clarification: i agree with the slightly tight bit,

but ‘naturally tighten’? Surely the opposite is true?

They do naturally tighten due the effect of the resultant force from the bearing onto the axle. This is why the threads are opposite, so both axles tighten up.

So if the pedal bearings seize, both pedals will tighten?

that’s news to me

I do my pedals up hand tight plus a bit.  they self tighten.  Never had one come loose.l  I would never go anywhere near 40 nbm

Its counter-intuitive because if the bearings seize the pedals will loosen as you pedal- the tightening force is precessional force that works in the opposite way to the rotation.

Most of the problems i see with pedals are either A: failure to observe the LH or RH markings,

or B: being fitted with a 5’ pedal spanner and swinging on it like a chimpanzee. (Ie: too tight, by miles)

ive never had a pedal come loose, a decent allen key is plenty to keep them tight ime.

not sure I understand your explanation tj, surely they are just staying tight because they were tight enough to start with?

Using my Park Tool torque wrench, achieving 40Nm was just a small (approx 1/8th turn) up from hand tight. It certainly didn't feel excessive.

I use a pedal spanner, spin the crank to install and then two gentle taps with rubber mallet. Anti seize is an absolute must.

marty mac - its hard to describe.  but easy to demonstrate.  Sheldon brown has a decent exploanation
<h2>Pedal Threading</h2>
<div class="inset1">The right pedal has a normal thread, but the left pedal has a left (reverse) thread.The reason for this is not obvious: The force from bearing friction would, in fact, tend to unscrew pedals threaded in this manner. It is not the bearing friction that makes pedals unscrew themselves, but a phenomenon called "precession".

You can demonstrate this to yourself by performing a simple experiment. Hold a pencil loosely in one fist, and move the end of it in a circle. You will see that the pencil, as it contacts the inside of your fist, rotates in the opposite direction. This occurs because the pencil's diameter is smaller than that of the opening in your fist. The external threads of the pedal axle are slightly smaller, also, than the internal threads of the crank -- or they wouldn't fit!

Ignorant people outside the bicycle industry sometimes make the astonishing discovery that the way it has been done for 100 years is "wrong." "Look at these fools, they go to the trouble of using a left thread on one pedal, then the bozos go and put the left thread on the wrong side! Shows that bicycle designers have no idea what they are doing..."

Another popular theory of armchair engineers is that the threads are done this way so that, if the pedal bearing locks up, the pedal will unscrew itself instead of breaking the rider's ankle.

The left-threaded left pedal was not the result of armchair theorizing, it was a solution to a real problem: people's left pedals kept unscrewing! We have read that this was invented by the Wright brothers, but we are not sure of this.

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I had no idea about that, and i must admit i assumed that the threads were done that way as a sort of safety feature, in case of  bearing seizure.

I stand corrected.