21 Responses to “How To Replace Your Pedals”

1. Niallo on April 29th, 2008 5:16 pm
   

   Alex, I found this tutorial very helpful in replacing my pedals. Thanks very much for all you do to make cycling safe and more cost effective for everybody.
2. BPS on July 11th, 2008 1:56 pm
   

   I really recommend not to force pedal wrenches when you don’t know which way your turning!, good tutorial explanation
3. Jonathan Morrison on July 14th, 2008 12:22 pm
   

   People sometimes get confused by clockwise and counter clockwise. So we teach it, “with the pedal wrench pointed straight up, push it to the back of the bike to loose, and to the front to tighten.” That way they don’t have to remember rotation, just front and back.
4. Frédéric on July 22nd, 2008 1:24 pm
   

   Hello,
   I successfully overhauled my bottom bracket using your tutorials, thanks a lot.
   However, I think my pedal bearings need to be re-greased.
   I am having trouble taking the pedal apart. Are you able to provide any tips? Thanks…

   Status of this Request
5. Rob on August 18th, 2008 1:16 pm
   

   Just found your site. It’s fantastic. My SPD told me how to put them on, but forgot to tell me how to take the old ones of. Thanks so much, now I have to dive into all the other tutorials you have. Great Stuff!
6. Larry on August 21st, 2008 8:29 pm
   

   My pedals are the kind that you have to insert an allen wrench into from the other side of the crank arm. I usually get really messed up doing that, I have to remember which side of the bike I’m standing on and which pedal I’m working on. Also my pedals usually get so tight that to get them off, I have to put a piece of pipe on the end of the allen wrench like a breaker bar. Someday I’ll snap off my allen wrench. Is there a better tool for working with these pedals?
7. Alex on August 21st, 2008 10:05 pm
   

   If your pedals don’t have flats on the other side (so you can use a pedal wrench), then you’re pretty much stuck with using an allen key. The best thing I can suggest is what you’re already doing… using an extension bar. Does anyone else have suggestions?
8. Tony on August 22nd, 2008 2:14 pm
   

   Found your site by searching for “remove bicycle pedals”.

   It couldn’t be simpler than following your straightforward instructions. Good job that man!
9. Leland on August 26th, 2008 6:18 pm
   

   @ Larry -

   I probably have the same pedals. It works much better to use an honest-to-goodness Allen wrench instead of a small key. I just used one from my L-wrench set (it’s about 8-9″ long) to remove & regrease my pedals.

   I have to be conscious of which direction I’m pulling, too — which, incidentally, is why I came to this page. I think of it as the right side being the “right way”, like every other screw out there — righty tighty, lefty loosey. I could also think of putting the crank arm forward, and pulling its pedal off — which means, literally, that I’d pull the wrench upwards, whether it’s the right or left crank.
10. Leland on August 26th, 2008 8:06 pm
    

    I should clarify my last tip –

    Pulling up on the crank means putting the arm forward, putting the wrench even farther forward, then pulling up on both the rearward arm of the crank and the wrench itself. With the pedals that use a hex wrench through the back, this is pretty much the only way to fit a long wrench like I mentioned above.

    Great site, Alex, I’ve recommended it to quite a few people.
11. Thom on September 1st, 2008 7:29 pm
    

    Leland,

    Great add to this tutorial. I had a set of pedals with Alex only removal which were really tightly screwed in. Used your advice, along with Alex’s great advice and the pedals are off.

    Thank you Alex for the great site and all the great tutorials, and Leland for the great add.
12. Dennis on October 10th, 2008 11:20 pm
    

    Alex, Great video!

    “That was easy!”

    Dennis
13. How to Replace Your Pedals | Aushiker: Bicycling & Hiking in Western Australia on November 8th, 2008 9:27 pm
    [...] Alex, the Bicycle Tutor, has a very helpful video on removing pedals. [...]
14. Andrew Priest on November 8th, 2008 9:28 pm
    

    Another handy video Alex. Thanks for that. One thought, a video on repairing pedals, e.g., Shimano SPD pedals would be helpful.

    Status of this Request
15. Thomas Siebert on February 10th, 2009 4:43 am
    

    Thanks for this it was very helpful. I was out riding the other day and my left pedal arm snapped off so this helped a lot because I didn’t have to pay the guy to fix it.
16. Rick Woods on December 27th, 2009 5:13 pm
    

    I am trying to remove a pedal on the right side of my beach cruiser, but not having any luck loosening it. I am turning counter-clockwise. Tried liquid wrench.It is on there too tightly. Do you have any other direction that i could follow?
17. Julian Pearse on January 25th, 2010 4:10 am
    

    What a result! What a find!

    Left pedal removal, just what I needed must have saved me untold troubles just saying it is reverse threaded.

    I was being lazy and thought I will just see if there are any pearls of wisdom for holding pedals still for removal, this was the 1st site I got to. Genius.

    I was only replacing the left pedal, critical info in one paragraph.

    All good.
    Thanks
18. George Brahos on March 4th, 2010 5:56 am
    

    I recommend shifting into the big chainring to prevent the teeth from lacerating you if you should slip.
19. Ryan on May 27th, 2010 8:38 am
    

    Thank you so much for this tutorial tho i went to walmart and the threads were to small so i will run to bike america with my cannondale mtn bike and have them size it to get the right size.
20. Charles on July 6th, 2010 12:42 pm
    

    I alway spend 5min trying to remember which way to unscrew the pedals before coming here to for the pleasant reminder…
21. Travis on August 28th, 2010 9:08 am
    

    Thank you so much- it took a lot of head scratching out of the equation for me

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