thumpism 

An ELDI.

zacster

I always use whatever open end wrench I have plus a breaker pipe. It is one tool I never thought I needed. And most pedals I use these days are Allen keys anyway and a big heavy one came with my Assioma pedals, or for a tough one I have a long ratchet wrench with allen bits.

djb

SHRINKAGE!
Cool idea (sic)Will keep that idea in mind.

I still find the rubber mallet sharp tap to work pretty darn well.

ThermionicScott 

I use a 15mm wrench that I thinned down a bit with the bench grinder.

leob1

At my shop we have a variety of pedal wrenches. They all work. Those with a longer handle are easier when a pedal is really stuck, but any work when some persuasion is required with the dead blow hammer.

davidad

I am an old boilermaker. I used a small 4 pound maul and it still wouldn't budge. The crank arm was being held in a vise at the time.

djb

Geez, that's pretty serious. Hate to mention it, but do be sure about reverse thread on the left hand crank. Sorry if you know already..
i guess penetrating oil for a day or so is next up.
Maybe that and heat cold to break rust seal.
Good luck. And not breaking the crank arm too!

Mad Honk 

davidad,
You Purdue grads always grab the big hammer first! Smiles, MH

davidad

Thanks for the laugh. I did that to a new engineer in the refinery 35 years ago.

Bikeswapguy

I've had one of the Trek Wrench Force wood handled pedal wrench for years. Its always served me well. Typically in the shop I end up using the park pw-4 as its a fixture at all the benches.

prairiepedaler

Wow! Thank you all for the bevy of responses and experiences shared. Despite applying anti-seize to the pedals and no fouled threads on either crank, the pedals on my own packmule were on there but good. I had to take it in to the LBS to have them loosen them but not too much so I could ride it home, just enough to break the "seal". Still, being previously loosened they required effort to spin off completely back at home. These pedals don't allow for room to receive a standard 15mm open end wrench. Thankfully the threads on the pedals were fine and same for the cranks. Thus I figured it was a good time to once and for all obtain a wrench made for the job. I like home-made innovative stuff and there is always the time / fudge factor to consider fabricating a piece. Many times it's best just to bite the bullet and obtain a pre-made tool.

This bike is used heavily over winter & gets the full gamut of crud thrown it's way. I think it would certainly pay to re-grease crucial threads throughout the bike every season (rather than every four years ). Some of the wrenches mentioned in this thread are not available up here. You guys have it good down Stateside for selection let me tell you! I noticed why one of the pedals was squeaking (the reason for wanting to remove them in the first place (for a repack); it's o-ring is non existent. Still a salvageable pedal and I'll ride it into the ground.

I had looked into these wrenches 1 2 but I think the metal quality might not be there.

richart

I use an old ELDI pedal wrench from back in the '60s. Plenty of leverage. I've met very few pedals that it won't handle. If I get one that is really stuck I will saturate with Kroil and let it soak overnight to give a chance for the penetrating oil do its job. If that doesn't do it a careful application of heat will help.

enock111

My personal favorite is the Park Tool PW-4. I made this video going through and demonstrating every Park Tool pedal wrench ever made. Check it out and let me know what you think.

notmyke

I just recently took a 15mm open-end combination wrench out of a set (VW does not make use of 15mm fasteners - so it will not be missed ), and put it onto my grinding wheel to narrow the head from about 7mm thick down to maybe half that. Tested on a set of old Look pedals and some SPDs - works like a charm. Total cost: $0.02 (in electricity, I'm guessing).

studbike1

Invest in a pipe extension, not a "better" wrench.

Stop over tightening your pedals. When it's someone else's bike, I understand the urge, but for my own bikes I go wrench-snug, maybe 8-10 pound-feet, and I have never had a problem, even on my mountain bike that I ride down Stowe in the summer. The pedals naturally tighten themselves as you ride, and you'd have to be exceptionally daft not to notice if it started to unwind.. there would be a ton of play beneath your feet.

u235

Pedals are susceptible to galvanic corrosion. Steel spindles and aluminum arms. No doubt people overtightning is a cause but not the only one.

FiftySix

Same here, it allows for a wider bite on the pedal axle. Mine's from a long reach wrench set, so my 15mm is 11" long. So far, so good.

FiftySix

Look at those soon to be rare Forged in USA Craftsman wrenches. Still workin' hard.

djb

This
I've got the same tube of white grease from decades ago that I use for seat posts and pedal threads.
Always grease threads, and even after years only a tap of a mallet or hammer will release a pedal, even if tightened reasonably.

studbike1

I use a product called PB Blaster for corroded parts. Available at any auto parts store.

I once bought a bike with a pedal that was so stuck inside a carbon arm that the bike shop who packed it decided to go through the trouble of removing the crankarms from the frame instead of freeing the pedal.

Came right out after soaking with PB for a few minutes.

notmyke

The poor-man's PB Blaster is some ATF (automatic transmission fluid) mixed with acetone 50/50.
$15 probably yields you a lifetime supply ($5 for 1L of ATF; $10 for 1L of acetone = 2L of your rust-buster. Shake before using.)

From an automotive thread - someone did a study that someone copied to some internet forum that someone posted that I copied to here. So, there's that. But still...
The lower the number (of pounds), the less torque it took to break free the controlled / same corroded fastener.

shine2000

I just bought pw3 Park tool.little expensive but a must have makes everything Easy.

SlowJoeCrow

For pedals with wrench flats I have an old Pedro's tool with a 15mm on one end and a cog wrench on the other which saves space and money as well as being easier than a chain whip. Pedro's or Park are still good choices as standalone wrenches. For socket head pedals I just use Bondhus style hex keys.

u235

Here's a recent first hand version with varied results.

Numerozero

My PW-3 looks different from yours, and from the current version. Note how the areas around the openings are thicker. Anyone else have a PW-3 like mine?