You won’t need very many tools when you decide to change the pedals on your mountain bike. In fact, you probably already have all you’ll need at home… in case you decide to do this simple task yourself instead of bringing your mountain bike to the shop. Changing your pedals is one of the fastest and easiest things to do when it comes to “Do It Yourself” maintenance on your bike. It should only take about 15 minutes, maybe less.
Most likely you will be using a metric wrench (right around 15mm) or an Allen wrench. You’ll probably be using the 15mm but some mountain bike pedals have a recessed spot on the back of the spindle for an Allen wrench. You also need to have some good pedal grease. If you don’t lube your pedals before you put them on, they could fuse to the crank arms and you’ll never get them off. Then you’ll need new crank arms too…$$$. There’s alot of good grease out there, I use Park Tool Polylube 1000.
Here we go… Easy as 1-2-3
Step 1: Removing The Old Pedals
To loosen and remove the left pedal, put your wrench on or your Allen wrench in the hole, and turn the pedal clockwise. The opposite for the right pedal, counter-clockwise. If one or both of the pedals is not turning…STOP… your pedal and crank arms are probably fused together. It takes a little bit of force to turn them, depending on how tight they were put on last, but they should pop free with moderate pressure. If they won’t budge then more than likely you’ll have to get new crank arms also.
Step 2: Prep New Pedals and Cranck Arms
You have to make sure to clean the threads of your new pedals, I prefer a damp cloth, although you have to let it dry completely if you use anything damp. The same goes for the crank arms, give them a nice cleaning, removing any dirt and debris from the threading. High pressure air is a great way of cleaning the threads, if readily available.
Step 3: Putting On The New Pedals
Once all the threading is clean of debris and dry it’s time to fasten your new pedals, this is when you need some grease. Eject a small amount of lube onto the spindle of the pedal then screw it back into the crank arm. This time it will be…. right pedal turn clockwise and left pedal turn counter-clockwise while holding wrench. Remember not to over tighten the pedals, it makes it so much harder the next time to get them off. Tighten them until almost snug, this will suffice.
FINAL THOUGHT:
As far as “do it yourself” maintenance, you can’t get much easier than this. A very simple task and it should only take a few minutes, however, as I always say… If you’re not sure, bring it to the shop. It’s better to play it safe rather than being sorry you didn’t when you’re out on the trails.
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