Pedal Removal.
 

I'm trying to remove the pedals on an older Nishiki, circa...maybe mid 80s. There is an allen key, probly a 6mm, on the inside. I tried to remove the pedals on the outside using a proper 15mm thin blade long wrench. Probly 14inches long. So I had plenty of torque. I was trying to remove them in the correct direction. Oh, and I squirted some WD on the threads and tried a while later, and still nothing. I'm not sure if I would have much torque on a little ole 6mm allen key.

Is it possible that the allen key is some sort of lock that needs to be released first? I'd like to remove them myself. But it is seeming 9impossible.

My next step is to take it to a shop. But I don't know what they might do that I have not already done.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Saul

No, there isn’t an extra lock.

It's just really stuck. The recess Allen head is just an option, not a lock. WD-40 is not a good penetrant. You could try penetrating oil. More likely it's a matter of getting enough torque with the tool. Try placing the crank arm forward, find the wrench position pointing the wrench handle to the rear, as close to aligned with the crank as possible, put one hand on the pedal, one on the wrench, and push down. This works for opposite threads on both sides. You might need a bigger wrench if you don't have a pro model.

Also keep in mind that the left pedal is reverse threaded.

wear gloves

Put a piece of pipe over the end of wrench for extra leverage. Use your foot on it for more force. Don't forget to yell, "Ouch," when your leg hits something unintended.

I'd think about using a penetrating oil along with some moderate heat. Even a hair dryer. I'd do three or four circuits a few hours apart. Oil, heat, removal attempt. I've removed freewheels that way. A bit of heat will expand the parts, including the gap between the threads, and it seems to improve the penetrant's effect. (Assuming alloy expands more than a steel pedal spindle.)

On one stuck pedal set I was using the Park 15mm tool that is also a headset wrench. As I would not put a cheater pipe over the end of that, I ended up buying a Park PW3 wrench that allowed a cheater pipe off the end. A LOT of pressure eventually got the pedals free.

Make sure you are shifted into the bigger ring on the bike (you will all thank me later). Make sure you are turning the tool in the correct direction and I would use a pedal wrench which is designed for the purpose and also penetrating oil as other have suggested. Some heat could help depending on the metals in question. If you are unsure I would just go to the shop because it can be quite a lot of work to remove stuck pedals and I hate doing it if I can avoid it, we have had to use harsh chemicals before to remove pedals and it is not fun. If you are 100% positive and would be a large sum of money on which way the pedal removes from the backside using that 6mm wrench you could use an impact gun and that can help sometimes but I don't recommend it if unsure at all and you don't have experience with power tools. I had a mechanic late last year who broke 3 wrenches and I said lets go to the Impact and the bolt was out in seconds it is that quick jolt of extreme power and torque that got it free. It is not something I recommend on bicycles often if it all unless sure but it can come to the rescue with stuck stuff that is threaded.

I agree with the penetrating oil suggestion. Also, try some heat, from a hair drier or heat gun. It can help the oil penetrate more easily, and the aluminum arm will expand faster than the steel pedal spindle, which can also help loosen things. Finally, if you have a securely mounted bench vise, you can remove the arm from the bike, clamp it in the vise, and use a cheater pipe on your wrench to get more leverage, or an impact socket from the back side of the arm. This is easiest with the non-drive side arm, but can be done on the drive side as well. Use soft vise jaws to avoid marring the crank arm.

Ok, I‘ll bite: Why??

So you don't hit your knuckles on exposed chainring. If you leave it in a smaller ring you can just bang right into them as careful as people think they are I have seen enough mechanics and people not do that and get into trouble.

I once had to use an Iwatani butane cooking torch (set on diffuse) on the pedal spindle from the back of the crankarm (for a few seconds).

In 10 years of professional wrenching, I had never banged my knuckles on a chainring while trying to remove a pedal. I suppose for home mechanics without a stand it’s a pretty good common-sense idea.

That is excellent luck, I have seen plenty of professionals do it and I have done it myself. It is a good extra bit of caution, never hurts to do it and is just good practice and good to teach others. Having crushed a finger nail in a fixed gear cog on the bike I try to be a bit more careful these days. That one was really dumb trying to clean grease and whatever stuff I got in there to disinfect it which was stickier than I should have put on was quite painful. I had no real reason to rush, the old shop was open late and I was cleaning my bike and lubing the chain and just went a little too fast for some dumb reason.

No, it's so you don't completely lacerate your knuckles on the chainring when the pedal breaks free.

Luck? Over 10 years? Nah. Just skill.

Thanks!
 

Thanks to all for the excellent advice! I gave up and took it to the bike shop. The young man had it off in half a jiffy. He had the Park tool, which I may buy one of. But I think I also might have loosened it for him. ;-)

And I remember now that back in the shop we always applied some grease on the threads when we installed pedals to help prevent just this sort of thing. The action of pedaling works to tighten the pedals on the crank. So there is no danger of them coming off. And when it is time to remove them, it goes easier.

Anyway, now I can remove the 165 cranks and install the 171s and reuse the pedals.

Thanks again!

Saul

40+ years of unprofessional (very!, lol) bike mechanic-ing and I've never racked my knuckles on a chainring removing a pedal.
I've never found one I couldn't remove although more than once I brought the threads out too. I didn't use penetrating oil.
Use the penetrating oil, it'll save your crank arm.

Glad you got it off! I had a similar situation not long ago where I had to get some ancient pedals off in a time window with bike shops all closed. I tried all the standard tricks and then started to make stuff up in desperation. The way I got them off was with a standard 15mm wrench and a hand sledgehammer. A couple pounds on the wrench end and it was free. The heat / oil probably helped as well. I heard hammering is a bad idea but it worked for me. Sledgehammers have a lot of mass so put a lot more inertia into it compared to a regular hammer.

I use old, silver, anti-seize, that I bought 2 decades ago (& an old French pedal wrench I found on Craigslist, or an Allen wrench for the pedals that require it)

if I remember correctly, I position the pedal forward, slightly up with the wrench facing backward. so that I can use my body weight downward w/o worrying about having to hold the other pedal on the other side

sometimes, w/ stuff like this, shops don't charge. I make sure to have a respectable cash tip ready in hand for such occasions

Yeah, that's pretty important, just like freewheel threads.

I'm not really buying that. And I've seen riders stranded because their pedal came loose. You just need to use your 6mm allen wrench on the backside and tighten with force by hand. No need to do anything else, like using a long 15mm wrench.

I have at least twice resorted to using an impact wrench with an 8mm hex socket after other options failed. Both occasions were immediately successful. Definitely be absolutely sure you're turning in the correct direction if you do that. Keep in mind that the correct direction from the POV of a hex wrench is the opposite of an open-end wrench on the other side.

The note I used to remind myself: "The right-hand pedal has a right-hand thread, and the left-hand pedal has a left-hand thread. However! When using a tool passed through the crank arm, the opposite action must be taken. Thus, to loosen the right-hand (drive-side) pedal with an allen wrench, one must turn to the right, and to loosen the left-hand (non-drive-side) pedal with an allen wrench, one must turn to the left."