No, not a Bill Clinton’esque question but my chainset.

I had a fairly big crash a couple of months ago and at the time I thought I had bent a pedal axle as my chainset felt ‘wobly’.

However, when I was cleaning the blood of the bike the other day I’m starting to think its actually the bottom bracket or crank arm that is bent. Whadda ya reckon?

_945 by e riddle, on Flickr

Crank arm…need a comparison pic of the other side though

looks to me like the crank’s bent

Try a bit of measuring? Both crank arms to the centre of the downtube? Pedal body to crank and rotate do the same again. I agree though something doesn’t look right.

Arm and maybe the pedal too. I think the pedal will be a feel thing if it’s slightly tweaked.. not sight. Swap the pedal back and forth with a new pedal once the new chainset is fitted to see if you can feel a difference.

In that pic, the crank looks as bent as a 9 bob note. But the eye is deceitful.

Something ain’t right. Your pedal should be at a 90 degree angle to the rest of your bike, which it most certainly is not in the pic. Maybe your crank arm is bent? Hard to tell from the pic though.

Your pedal should be at a 90 degree angle to the rest of your bike, which it most certainly is not in the pic

This, most obviously illustrated by the angle of the chainring to the pedal axle

Either crank arm or has pulled the pedal threads and the pedal isnt screwing in straight

IF your wheels are in line with the decking boards then yes it is bent.

Here’s another

_945 by e riddle, on Flickr

It definitely felt on the piss cycling back to the car. I think I’ve got a spare pedal so will try that. The decking is straight by the way 🙂

Shouldn’t the pedal axle be at right angles to the chain? In which case I think it’s your crank that’s gone (well, and possibly pedal as well)…

I’d be more worried about that green snake.

I’d be more worried about that green snake.

I think there might be 2 of them!

pedal cross threaded or crank arm bent.

Strap a mini maglight (or better a laser pointer) to the bottom of the pedal, pointing forwards. Put the bike in a darkish room pointing head-on towards a wall – ideally clamp the bike in a stand. Rotate the crank backwards a turn and watch the point of light. If it moves from side-to-side rather than just up and down then something’s bent. To test if it’s the pedal or crank, you could try the test again with a different pedal, or take the pedal off and inspect its axle.

Jeez, all that sounds complicated. Look, you’re on the decking there, it’s perfect. Line the front and rear wheels with a gap between the planks and then see if the same points on either side of the pedal are parallel with the lines in the decking. Dead simple.

That’s so bent it’s not even funny. Just looking at the first photo I can immediately tell, as should anyone else with eyes, from right across a very spacious room that that crank is the bentest thing anyone will see all day. Replace the crank, check the pedal. And as you had a crash big enough to do that much damage to a crank, check the rest of the bike (and yourself) closely too before riding again.

yeah thats bent, might be the pedal though/?

Either way looks like something is going to have to get replaced.

Made some enquiries but don’t think you can get spare axles for those pedals and obv a new chainset will be a fair chunk. What with the jersey I trashed and the dental work on my tooth this crashing malarky can be quite pricey 🙂

dental work on my tooth this crashing malarky can be quite pricey

That’s the pricey bit. A crash in 2009 has cost me upwards of £3k

Decking needs a treatment, hose is a trip-hazard, crank is a nine bob note.

new axles…

axles

edit: yep thats bent.