RH or LH thread?

Weatherlawyer

Which way is the thread on the housing? for the pedal axle on the
chain wheel side of the bike?

I can't seem to budge the damn thing in either direction. I think I'm
going to need a new axle. Or would I be better off looking for a
cheapo replacement for the whole bike?

Helen Deborah Vecht

Weatherlawyer <Weatherlawyer@hotmail.com>typed


> Which way is the thread on the housing? for the pedal axle on the
> chain wheel side of the bike?

> I can't seem to budge the damn thing in either direction. I think I'm
> going to need a new axle. Or would I be better off looking for a
> cheapo replacement for the whole bike?

The chainwheel side is the right side.
The right pedal has a 'normal' (RH) thread.

Try penetrating oil, a bit of heat and a long strong 15mm spanner
(applied anti-clockwise) to free a seized pedal.

Good luck!

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk
Edgware.

Doki

"Weatherlawyer" <Weatherlawyer@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:cd96dcf8-413b-426f-9871-cfbdf56c7ba6@e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> Which way is the thread on the housing? for the pedal axle on the
> chain wheel side of the bike?
>
> I can't seem to budge the damn thing in either direction. I think I'm
> going to need a new axle. Or would I be better off looking for a
> cheapo replacement for the whole bike?

£12 got a me a new crank the other day at Paul's Cycles after a mate's
square taper had gone non-square. Sheldon brown will tell you which way the
thread goes.

Weatherlawyer

On May 2, 7:16 pm, Weatherlawyer <Weatherlaw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Which way is the thread on the housing? for the pedal axle on the
> chain wheel side of the bike?
>
> I can't seem to budge the damn thing in either direction. I think I'm
> going to need a new axle. Or would I be better off looking for a
> cheapo replacement for the whole bike?

Thanks both. I haven't messed with a cycle in yonks, I vaguely
remembered there being on thread going the wrong way. Maybe it's car
wheel-nuts?

So there is nothing welded or screwed in to hold it?

I imagine I will have to replace both cups as well as the ball cages
and axle. There again it's only a £15 junker I got from a Sunday
market. I may just replace the bearings and forget about it.

Pete Biggs

Weatherlawyer wrote:
> On May 2, 7:16 pm, Weatherlawyer <Weatherlaw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Which way is the thread on the housing? for the pedal axle on the
>> chain wheel side of the bike?
>>
>> I can't seem to budge the damn thing in either direction. I think I'm
>> going to need a new axle. Or would I be better off looking for a
>> cheapo replacement for the whole bike?
>
> Thanks both. I haven't messed with a cycle in yonks, I vaguely
> remembered there being on thread going the wrong way. Maybe it's car
> wheel-nuts?

The left pedal has a left-hand thread (unscrews clockwise).

> So there is nothing welded or screwed in to hold it?

The pedal is just screwed into the crank.

~PB

Weatherlawyer

On May 2, 10:16 pm, "Pete Biggs"
<p...@pomegranateremovehighlyimpracticalfruitbiggs.tc> wrote:
> Weatherlawyer wrote:
> > On May 2, 7:16 pm, Weatherlawyer <Weatherlaw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >> Which way is the thread on the housing? for the pedal axle on the
> >> chain wheel side of the bike?
>
> >> I can't seem to budge the damn thing in either direction. I think I'm
> >> going to need a new axle. Or would I be better off looking for a
> >> cheapo replacement for the whole bike?
>
> > Thanks both. I haven't messed with a cycle in yonks, I vaguely
> > remembered there being on thread going the wrong way. Maybe it's car
> > wheel-nuts?
>
> The left pedal has a left-hand thread (unscrews clockwise).
>
> > So there is nothing welded or screwed in to hold it?
>
> The pedal is just screwed into the crank.

Sorry, my terminology went west with my age. Crank arm not pedal. Its
the axle on the crank that has pitted. Not too bad but since I have
it stripped....

Pete Biggs

Weatherlawyer wrote:

>>> So there is nothing welded or screwed in to hold it?
>>
>> The pedal is just screwed into the crank.
>
> Sorry, my terminology went west with my age. Crank arm not pedal. Its
> the axle on the crank that has pitted. Not too bad but since I have
> it stripped....

I guess you mean the bottom bracket? .... http://tinyurl.com/5kho77
(Google Images)

If so, you could just replace the whole BB for one with maintenance-free
cartridge bearings (like most decent BBs have nowdays). This need be no
more expensive than replacing parts of the existing BB.

There are special tools to remove & fit BBs (and different ones for
different makes/models), though sometimes you can bodge the classic type
without.

For a British standard BB, opposite to pedals, the right side has a
left-hand thread, and the left side a right-hand thread. See
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html - scroll down to "Bottom
bracket".

~PB

Rob Morley

In article <cd96dcf8-413b-426f-9871-cfbdf56c7ba6
@e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>, Weatherlawyer
Weatherlawyer@hotmail.com says...
> Which way is the thread on the housing? for the pedal axle on the
> chain wheel side of the bike?
>
> I can't seem to budge the damn thing in either direction. I think I'm
> going to need a new axle. Or would I be better off looking for a
> cheapo replacement for the whole bike?
>
Do you mean the bottom bracket (i.e. the crank axle that goes through
the frame)? If so that's (in the vast majority of cases) a LH thread on
the drive side, RH thread on the other side. Pedals are the other way
around - RH pedal RH thread, LH pedal LH thread.
If it's a steel bearing cup with flats on the outside then one way to
remove it is to grip the flats firmly in a large vice and use the frame
as a lever. Another method is to weld a large nut to the cup - that
gives you something easy to grip and the heat tends to free things up.

Peter Grange

On Fri, 2 May 2008 11:16:41 -0700 (PDT), Weatherlawyer
<Weatherlawyer@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Which way is the thread on the housing? for the pedal axle on the
>chain wheel side of the bike?
>
>I can't seem to budge the damn thing in either direction. I think I'm
>going to need a new axle. Or would I be better off looking for a
>cheapo replacement for the whole bike?
To unscrew, the spanner, assuming it is held above the pedal, always
goes towards the back of the bike, for either side. If it does come
unscrewed on the crank side, be very careful you don't punch your hand
down the chainwheel. I still have the scars.
pete

Weatherlawyer

On May 3, 10:01 pm, Peter Grange <pe...@plgrange.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> On Fri, 2 May 2008 11:16:41 -0700 (PDT), Weatherlawyer
>
> <Weatherlaw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >Which way is the thread on the housing? for the pedal axle on the
> >chain wheel side of the bike?
>
> >I can't seem to budge the damn thing in either direction. I think I'm
> >going to need a new axle. Or would I be better off looking for a
> >cheapo replacement for the whole bike?
>
> To unscrew, the spanner, assuming it is held above the pedal, always
> goes towards the back of the bike, for either side. If it does come
> unscrewed on the crank side, be very careful you don't punch your hand
> down the chain wheel. I still have the scars.

Once again thanks for the posts everyone.

I just cleaned the ball bearings (the drive side cage broke) and there
are a couple with faces ground down to 3/4 spheres so I am pretty sure
the cup needs to come off. I'll just cobble it back together for now
as I don't have the tools or the space to do a repair/replacement.

Anathema to some perhaps but I will cope until I get back in the
frame.

Thanks again.
Mike.

Pete Biggs

Weatherlawyer wrote:
>
> It's been so long since I was on a bike I am not looking forward to
> it. I only bought the thing on the spur of the moment as it was so
> cheap.
>
> It turned out to have a tube stuck down the seat stem, probably a
> piece of conduit or something. I can't imagine why. But I couldn't get
> it out so I left it in until it occurred to me to take the axle out
> and knock it down.
>
> Now I need a new axle and the brakes want sorting. I used to enjoy
> this sort of thing once but I can still remember the last time I got
> on a bike after several years.

I bet it will all be worth it, and you will enjoy that ride!

~PB

Pete Biggs

Weatherlawyer wrote:
> I just cleaned the ball bearings (the drive side cage broke) and there
> are a couple with faces ground down to 3/4 spheres so I am pretty sure
> the cup needs to come off. I'll just cobble it back together for now
> as I don't have the tools or the space to do a repair/replacement.

The cups probably do need replacing, but the bike should be rideable
meanwhile if you just fit new balls and grease. You may need to leave some
play in the bearings to allow them to turn freely enough, though they don't
need to feel super-smooth when turning the axle by hand.

Cages are just for convenience. In fact it's better not to use them in
order to fit more balls, which allows load to be spread more evenly.

The bike might be worth doing up properly if the frame and wheels are good.
Otherwise I would just do the minimum to get it safely rideable, have a bit
of fun with it, then replace the whole bike.

~PB

Rob Morley

In article <addaabc3-705d-4368-b830-
b412fd5199de@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com>, Weatherlawyer
Weatherlawyer@hotmail.com says...

> I just cleaned the ball bearings (the drive side cage broke) and there
> are a couple with faces ground down to 3/4 spheres so I am pretty sure
> the cup needs to come off. I'll just cobble it back together for now
> as I don't have the tools or the space to do a repair/replacement.

Use loose balls instead of clipped ones - you'll get a couple more in
which spreads the load better, and there's no clip to fail and jam
things up.

> Anathema to some perhaps but I will cope until I get back in the
> frame.
>
If you can get it to go around without much slack/crunching/knocking
it's good enough, as long as the cup isn't so knackered that it's
splitting and damaging the frame. It's possibly that the cup isn't too
bad - the ball clips are a lot softer than the bearing surfaces, and the
bearings are likely to have fractured rather than ground down (although
the resulting shrapnel probably didn't do anything much good).

Weatherlawyer

On May 4, 3:32 pm, "Pete Biggs"
<p...@pomegranateremovehighlyimpracticalfruitbiggs.tc> wrote:
> Weatherlawyer wrote:
>
> > It's been so long since I was on a bike I am not looking forward to
> > it. I only bought the thing on the spur of the moment as it was so
> > cheap.
>
> > It turned out to have a tube stuck down the seat stem, probably a
> > piece of conduit or something. I can't imagine why. But I couldn't get
> > it out so I left it in until it occurred to me to take the axle out
> > and knock it down.
>
> > Now I need a new axle and the brakes want sorting. I used to enjoy
> > this sort of thing once but I can still remember the last time I got
> > on a bike after several years.
>
> I bet it will all be worth it, and you will enjoy that ride!

I bet it will break my arse for a week like it did before.