Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Pedal Installation

Pedals have a few quirks. There are two different thread sizes (1/2" and 9/16") depending on the type of crank they're used on. Most bikes use the larger 9/16" size, which is the size shown in this tutorial. These are installed with a 15mm wrench. The 1/2" size are used on bikes with one piece cranks (old Schwinns, BMX, crappy department store bikes). Regardless of size, the left pedal is always reverse threaded to prevent it from unscrewing itself in use. Keep in mind however that pedals are not self tightening, and that loose ones will strip out the threads in the soft aluminum cranks, rendering them useless. With that out of the way, let's begin:


Right side assembly:

Left side assembly:

Finish tightening each pedal before moving on to other tasks. This way you won't forget to tighten them properly. There should be quite a significant amount of force holding them in place. Obviously you don't want to overdo it, but in this case undertightening them can be just as bad. Cheers.


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