How to Remove Bike Pedals

Removing pedals is genuinely easy, and it is also the job that produces more stripped crank arms than any other piece of home bicycle maintenance. The reason is a single design detail that nobody mentions until you have already forced something the wrong way.

The left pedal is backwards

The right-hand pedal has a conventional right-hand thread: counter-clockwise to loosen, like every other bolt on the bike. The left-hand pedal has a left-hand thread: it loosens clockwise.

This is not an inconvenience, it is what stops your left pedal falling out. As you pedal, friction between the pedal axle and the bearing tries to rotate the axle within the crank thread — a process called precession, which turns the axle in the direction that would unscrew a conventional thread. Reversing the left thread means that same effect tightens it instead.

What you need

• A 15 mm pedal wrench — long, thin and specifically shaped to fit the flats on a pedal axle. A standard 15 mm spanner is usually too thick and too short.
• Or an 8 mm Allen key, if your pedals take one through the back of the crank arm. A long-handled one, ideally.
• Grease, for refitting. Not optional.
• A rag, because pedal threads collect a remarkable amount of grime.

Removing them

Step by step

1. 1

   Shift to the largest chainring

   If your hand slips, it lands on the flat of the chainring rather than being raked across the teeth. This costs nothing and saves the occasional stitches.

2. 2

   Work on the right pedal first

   Position the right crank arm forwards, roughly horizontal, so you have room to pull.

3. 3

   Fit the wrench and push towards the rear

   Hold the opposite crank or the frame for counter-pressure. Push steadily rather than jerking.

4. 4

   Spin it out by hand

   Once it breaks free it should unwind easily. If it stays tight all the way, the threads are corroded — see the section below.

5. 5

   Now the left pedal, same rule

   Wrench on, turn towards the rear of the bike. On this side that is clockwise, which will feel wrong. It is correct.

6. 6

   Mark or bag them

   Pedals are usually stamped L and R on the axle end. If yours are not, label them — fitting a left pedal into a right crank will destroy the crank thread.

Freeing a seized pedal

Pedals self-tighten every time you ride, and a steel axle in an aluminium crank arm will corrode into place given a few damp years. A pedal that has never been removed can be very tight indeed.

1. 01Get more leverage. A longer pedal wrench, or a length of pipe over the handle, multiplies your force without you having to jerk at it.
2. 02Apply penetrating oil at the join between axle and crank, and give it several hours — overnight is better. Reapply once or twice.
3. 03Use body weight rather than arm strength. With the crank arm horizontal and the wrench pointing forward, press down slowly and steadily.
4. 04Steady pressure beats sudden force. A sharp yank is what rounds off the wrench flats and turns a difficult job into a very difficult one.
5. 05Heat is a last resort and a risky one — it can damage bearings, paint and any carbon nearby. At this point a bike shop with a proper vice is cheaper than the parts you are about to break.

Before you put them back

Clean both threads and grease the axle threads properly before refitting. A dry steel axle in an alloy crank will corrode, and the person who has to remove it next — quite possibly you — will not enjoy it. The full fitting procedure, including how to avoid cross-threading, is in installing bike pedals.

Pedals are also worth a periodic check as part of a general going-over — see tuning up a bike. If you are taking pedals off in order to get at the crank itself, that is a different job with its own specific tool: see removing a bike crank.