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The whole thread makes me LOL, but I'm fairly sure everyone has contradicted each other at least once.
I should also add, this is usually at the end of a long trip, I'm jet lagged, usually hungover on the final morning, and facing trying to pack up a bike and not get the hotel room covered in grease or mud. As has also been quite clearly pointed out, I am an idiot. th whole 'opposite to the way you pedal' thing just makes me even more confused
OK, so to conclude:
Bike upside down, Allen key into pedal, Allen key pointing up the way and push it towards the front of the bike.
Bike correct way up, Allen key into pedal pointing straight up - push it towards the rear of the bike.
Is that correct?
It's correct if you're trying to fit the pedals, incorrect if you're trying to undo them.
FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN MAKE SOME STICKERS
I know which way the threads work but I absolutely can't stop myself from sorting pedals in confined spaces rather than getting the bike out properly and so I always end up smashing my hand into a neighbouring bike's chainring or something equally stoopid
Can anyone make me a pedal spanner with "stop being a lazy ****" written on it please ?
If it's upside down in a hotel room you need to you youtube it in the bathroom mirror.
Bike upside down, Allen key into pedal, Allen key pointing up the way and push it towards the front of the bike.
I think that is right for allen key in the back of the pedal ! Doesn't matter which way up the bike is.
Bike correct way up, Allen key into pedal pointing straight up – push it towards the rear of the bike.
And that's wrong!
With allen key- put pedal forward, allen key into pedal, below the frame- this is the only sane way to do it with allen keys anyway. Rotate crank til allen key hits frame, allen key now turns towards frame, which again the only sensible way to do that is forwards. Sorted, you don't even need to think about directions, because naturally you'll select the right direction
If it’s upside down in a hotel room you need to you youtube it in the bathroom mirror.
Didn't know you got those sorts of videos on YouTube? Whatever, this thread has made my ears bleed.
My technique: if it doesn't work one way try it the other. Also works for pedals.
(**** me. Editing to say what I actually do. Pedalling tightens them - so unscrew in opposite direction to the one they turn in when pedalling. Whew...)
I think that is right … And that’s wrong!
But they're both the same!
Why do people insist on thinking in terms of pushing towards the front or rear? That's how you get screwed up when you turn it upside down or have the allen key pointing a different way.
Right hand threads. Left hand threads. Stick to those and you're fine. There's a reason why engineers don't talk about "threads where you push towards the back of the bike if you're trying to undo it, assuming you've got the spanner pointing upwards, unless you've turned the bike upside down in which case assuming you've got the spanner pointing downwards, and not forgetting that if you've done both then it's fine, although if you're taking an alternative reference point for what constitutes up and down then we'll have to go through this all again, pass the gin would you?".
To undo, turn the spanner the same way as the wheel would be rotating if you were cycling backwards. Simple.
Backwards = undo, forwards = do up.
Pedal spanner or Hex key parallel with seatpost. Turn 90 towards towards chainstay.
This works no matter which way up the bike is....
Pedal spanner or Hex key parallel with seatpost. Turn 90 towards towards chainstay. This works no matter which way up the bike is….
IT BLOODY DOESN'T! THERE ARE TWO OPPOSING DIRECTIONS WHICH ARE PARALLEL WITH THE SEATPOST AND TURNING TOWARDS THE CHAINSTAY IS CLOCKWISE FOR ONE AND ANTICLOCKWISE FOR THE OTHER!
I know you mean "pointing towards the saddle" but hell's bells, man, we got 45 posts in and the OP seems to have come to entirely the wrong conclusion: we need all the accuracy we can muster here.
IT BLOODY DOESN’T!! THERE ARE TWO OPPOSING DIRECTIONS WHICH ARE PARALLEL WITH THE SEATPOST AND TURNING TOWARDS THE CHAINSTAY IS CLOCKWISE FOR ONE AND ANTICLOCKWISE FOR THE OTHER!!
Are you serious? Of course it works. The bike remains in the same spot so moving to the other side means you are turning the other way. And pedal threads go in different directions depending depending on LH or RH.
Are you serious?
Yes. You're using the word "parallel" when that's not quite what you mean.
IT BLOODY DOESN’T!
,😁😁😁😁😁
And yes i do mean pointing to the saddle 🙂
But it is parallel to the seatpost. If the spanner is anywhere other than pointing towards the seat then its not parallel. If its pointing towards the floor its in line with the seatpost but not parallel.
And yes i do mean pointing to the saddle 🙂
Yes. Then it works 🙂
Problem is, the OP asked for a way to remember how to remember which way to undo pedals. He's got about thirty different descriptions of techniques for undoing pedals, some of which for various reasons are prone to misinterpretation, but if he can't remember "right is right-hand, left is left-hand" then I can't see any of them being memorable.
Hence stickers. Then there's no need to remember.
Hence stickers.
Ha ha ha - fair point.
If its pointing towards the floor its in line with the seatpost but not parallel.
I suspect hols2 will be back to tell me I shouldn't be using the meaning of words to determine what words mean 😉 but…
By the conventional/mathematical meaning of "parallel", the arm of the allen key is parallel to the seatpost whenever a line through its axis, projected for an infinite distance in either direction, maintains a constant distance from an infinite line similarly projected through the axis of the seatpost. So for each pedal there are two orientations of the allen key which fulfil this: one upwards, one downwards.
Daring to go Full Pedant (try and stop me), it's not truly in line with the seat post unless that distance is zero, ie it's collinear, whereby you'd be holding the allen key either above the saddle or below the BB shell… or you'd carelessly got it stuck inside the seatpost—and given the apparent mechanical aptitude of some people here to be honest I wouldn't rule that out 😉 But of course it can also be described as "in line" when the two are observed from a viewpoint that results in them appearing parallel and superimposed, and many people would (as you did) use the term even without the superimposition business. Which is fine. It's just that any lack of clarity and the OP's going to be swearing in hotel rooms for the rest of his life.
😀
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So whats a rhombus?
So whats a rhombus?
It's like a square, except that it comes with a 70-post argument about whether it's been tilted to the right or the left.
ha ha ha. Thats easy to remember
As above
RH is RH thread, use RH rule (thumbs up sign)
LH is LH thread, use LH rule (thumbs up sign)
I like BB is bloody backwards, not heard that before!
Problem is, the OP asked for a way to remember how to remember which way to undo pedals.
Allen key/spanner pointing to saddle, push to back of bike. Works for both sides.
Sure it works for both sides, but fast forward two months and assuming you’ve remembered it’s allen key up and not down, and that it’s push to the back and not the front, what are the chances of remembering whether that’s how to undo them or do them up?
For me that wouldn’t work at all as a means of memorising it: there are three details to remember and there’s no logical connection between them that allows you to recover any one of those details if you forget it. YMMV, but given how much the OP’s evidently struggled to remember it so far I’m guessing we need a fairly robust method here 🙂
Can't be arsed to read the thread, but both undo towards the back of the bike and do up towards the front with the tyres on the ground. Get a big bar to leverage getting em off and job's a good 'un.
Can’t be arsed to read the thread, but both undo towards the back of the bike and do up towards the front with the tyres on the ground.
See, this makes no sense as you don't know if the wrench is pointing up or down.
Was the bike on a treadmill?
Get into the habit of only ever undoing pedals while working from the drive side. Regardless of whether you use a spanner on the spindle or an allen key from the rear, whether undoing the RH or the LH pedal, whether the bike is in a stand or upside down on the floor...... the tool will always need to move anticlockwise from your perspective.
They tighten up in the same direction you pedal.
Get into the habit of only ever undoing pedals while working from the drive side.
Hurrah! A simple system that works.
They tighten up in the same direction you pedal.
Hm…
If you hold the spanner at a steady angle and turn the cranks in the same direction you pedal, the pedals loosen.
If the pedal axle were to seize and you pedalled forwards, the pedals would loosen.
I think I know what you mean (the spanner turns in the same rotation as the crank on the same side does when you pedal forwards), but like half the stuff on this thread there’s at least one valid interpretation of the instructions that gives the incorrect result. (Even if you remember whether that’s the technique to tighten or to loosen.)
the trick is to not do them up tight in the first place and a liberal coating of anti-sieze paste/grease when fitting.
my solution = have a pair of shimano pedals to hand whenever undoing pedals - they have tighten -> arrows stamped on them
Get a big bar to leverage getting em off
Seriously?! Wtf are people putting them on so tight? I just nip mine up, then when I take them off, if they don't undo easily, I know I'm trying the wrong way!
I’ve got it! Works every time for the allen key method -
put the allen key in the pedal hole and push - if the freewheel um freewheels, thats undo. if the cranks drive the wheel thats do up.
Works for both sides, bike right way up or upside down.
Hang on, if it works, I dun a vid
Not sure if video makes it any clearer!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yqvv1klJN2x36b4HO7hb7sJ7FnpoKPOG/view?usp=drivesdk
Pedals tighten in the same direction you pedal, so taking them off is just the opposite. The drive side crank is always turning clockwise so your tool for removal must go counter clockwise to remove the pedal. Your non-drive side crank is moving counter clockwise so your removal tool must go clockwise to remove the pedal.
This way means it doesnt matter what orientation the bike is or what tool is used to remove it. Just remeber that pedals tighten in the same direction you pedal.
Yeah but the problem with the “tighten in the direction you pedal” tips is that when you pedal the drive side pedal rotates anti-clockwise relative to the crank, which is the way to loosen it 😀
If it works for you, great, it’s just not foolproof.
In a hotel? Call room service
Stood at the drive side looking at the axles end on: both pedals undo anti-clockwise.
Stood at the non-drive side looking at the axles end on: both pedals undo clockwise.
Simple as.
The pedals undo in the direction that they rotate on their axles when you are pedalling the bike forwards . I know this has already been said but it's totally foolproof unless your name is Bez .
Holy hell, not mentioning names but some people do overthink matters.
My point about doing up in the direction of pedal rotation is this. Imagine looking at the side of the bike your target pedal is on whilst someone is riding the bike. On the drive side their foot will describe a clockwise path - clockwise to tighten. Swap sides and the person's foot would describe an anti-clockwise path - anti-clockwise to tighten
Superb responses, you bunch of wonderful folks. Many still have me in tears, as when I read them, the words literally swim about and may brain goes la la 🥳
I will try a couple of the more 'practical for idiots' solutions in the coming days, and let you know what, for me (!) makes sense.
Stickers will definitely be deployed! Is there the possibility that Charlie TBM could sort these stickers? there's got to be a meme in here somewhere? Or maybe the next gen gnarppon t-shirt. Either would help!
And yes, as many, many of you have confirmed, I am almost totally and completely lacking in 'The Knack'
Put an O ring or small elastic band around the axle of left one to tell you it's a LH thread.