Have you ever had one of those days where everything you touch turns into a lesson in patience? At some point last summer between
What Not to Do with Creaky Pedals and the finale and eventual solution:
Pedal Update to Trek Antelope 830, I took a commenter's advice and attempted to dismantle four allen bolts on each Tioga Surefoot pedal...
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| I completely took apart one pedal, though I stripped a bolt head. A menagerie of parts and tools, strewn, but semi organized. Driveway bike mechanics: liberal use of rags, greasy hands, with spray cleaner nearby, just in case I have to answer the phone at a moment's notice. |
...Which led to semi-frozen bolts and semi-frustration, exasperation and a lot of groaning on my part. (Heaven help if any neighbors were within earshot.) And semi-success. But, at least I tried to save my beloved pedals. In the end, I tossed one and kept one for back up.
After setting my unsuccessful salvage project aside, I replaced the pedals on one of our children's bicycles from spiky metal things—which my husband and I thought our kid would relish using toeclips (what were we thinking?)—back to simple, rubberized platforms. An easy, successful and satisfying fix.
We all need projects like these every now and then.
All you can do is try Annie sometime parts just don't *want* to be repaired. I had a speed-play pedal completely come apart on me during a ride and attempted to rebuild it but eventually had to concede I just needed a new set. I see the big rubber mallet in one of your photos and it made me chuckle as I have banned all hammers from my work area because if patience runs thin I don't trust myself....LOL.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the rubber mallet...I use it for leverage, whacking the end of the pedal wrench to free the initial stickiness. I've heard of one home mechanic who retrofitted a length of pipe that slips over the wrench handle, creating an extension that does the same thing - a brilliant idea. Was that you, Ryan?
DeleteI can't take credit for the idea but yes I use a length of pipe over the wrench handle for removing freewheels and the extra long lever has yet to fail me (knock on wood)
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