dweenk

I bought a Raleigh Olympian that had spent some considerable time near the sea. Everything cleaned up well, but now I am trying to separate the chain rings. I soaked them with Liquid Wrench, waited a day and failed. I soaked them with PB Blaster, waited a day and failed.

At this point I am open to advice from anyone.

FBinNY 

Chainring bolt sets are cheap enough to sacrifice. Plus you wouldn't want to reuse them with corrosion damage or rounded out hex heads.

The OD is 10mm, and the thread inside 8mm, so drill them out with anything in between, or a 5/16" since it's close enough. You can drill in slightly, and once through about 3mm or so, the front fact will pop off. Or you can drill from the back, where it'll be easier to follow the round vs. hex hole. All in all this is about a 5 minute job if you have a power drill.

dsbrantjr

Right tool for the job: https://www.parktool.com/product/chai...t-wrench-cnw-2

Matariki

I struggle with chainring bolts frequently. One of these days, I will buy one of these:

Amazon.com : Var Combined Tool for Chainring Bolts : Bike Chainrings And Accessories : Sports & Outdoors

Bob Pringle

That Park tool is possibly the most frustrating tool I own!

on the path

It has been called the Worst Tool In The World. I have one too, and I shudder to think of the next time I have to use it..

JonathanGennick 

Word! I detest that thing.

Now that VAR-brand tool, that one looks fantastic. Wonder if it would span around my bash guards.

cale

I think I've held a cone wrench against those in the past. It's been a long time since I wore out a chainring.

Rubato

The VAR is nicer to use than the Park by a long shot but I don't think it's as "beefy" as one would assume.... I've had good luck grinding the tip of an old, large, screwdriver to a tight fit.

dweenk

I bought the Park tool, and I must agree with those who said that it is terrible. I've always used a coin as my wrench in the past, but these fasteners are bonded by rust. I was trying to avoid drilling them out, but that looks like the only option. Thanks for your input.

Eric S.

Drill 'em out and replace with Truvativ bolts. One side is 5mm and the other is 6mm. Life is much easier with these.

ramzilla

Make sure to get a brand new high quality drill bit. Dip the tip of the bit in some oil before drilling. I use automatic transmission fluid or hydraulic oil for drilling.

reptilezs

drill it out or use an impact wrench

FBinNY 

We've gone full circle. See post no.2 for suggestions on the drill size to use. As I posted back then, it's a simple straightforward 5 minute job with no serious complications.

Kimmo

For the price of one of those, you can get quite a few sets of 5/6mm chainring bolts...

Nice tool, but I'd rather rid the planet of those rubbish slotted nuts.

FBinNY 

I rarely have issues with having to hold the slotted bolts. Most of the time, a bit of thumb pressure is all that's needed. If I need to hold them I use a modified screwdriver. They also make screwdriver style tools for this job, which IMO are easier to use than the flat tools.

One trick which makes holding the nut totally unnecessary, is to apply course lapping compound (or CF assembly paste) under the head. This binds the nut side to the inner ring so it won't turn easily, then use oil on the threads. I used to do this for the track, where chainring changes for the team were a regular occurrence (sometimes more than once a night on the same bike) and it made for fast one tool changes.

dweenk

Well the chain rings are free. I had to drill them out - never underestimate the power of salt air to fuse steel parts (even plated parts).

As FBinNY said, it takes about 5 minutes. Now I have to clean up the badly oxidized crank arm, but that's a piece of cake.

snowman40

How appropriate, I think mine are starting to fail for the same reason. I sheared one last night at the end of my ride, thought maybe I had bent a chainring, which is still a possibility since I finished not really knowing the problem fully.

Now for the mechanic question, If one chainring bolt fails, I should replace them all, correct? My crank arm covers one of them, how can I remove that to replace it? I'm hoping it is something I can do without spending hundreds on tools (or taking into a shop), but at the moment it doesn't appear that way. If a picture is needed, I can post one when I get home just let me know.

FBinNY 

What reason is that. Corrosion rarely causes the bolts to fail, just become impossible to remove. Other than that, they'll stay there forever, and most likely do a better job not getting loose than newly installed ones.

IMO- I can't see any reason to replace all because one failed. You do save by buying a set, but that doesn't mean you have to use them all together.

If you have a "blind" bolt, it might be bolted to the crank itself and will be different from the other 4. This is a plain stepped bolt, and is removed from the left. Don't lose or damage it because it's often as expensive as a complete set of 5 normal ones. It sometimes also requires a spacer, so don't drop or lose that when you remove the bolt.

snowman40

So replace the missing one, and make sure the others are tight and don't lose that stepped bolt. Got it!

I'm not against replacing them, I just don't want to be on a longer ride and only have just made the turn for home and have one or more of the other 3 fail. It is a triple (from what I have seen, the steps aren't too different for double and triples, correct me if I am wrong), so it not like I'd be stranded, but it definitely will not make for a speedy trip home.