Can I grease a crank spindle/bracket without disassembling the crank set?












1















A bit of history: the grooves on the spindle are partially destroyed/skewed by cycling with a loose crank, so I applied a lot of force to a hexdriver to get the crank arm on. Now, it would be quite hard, if possible, to disassemble it. I got the bicycle on a garage sale for a price of two cups of coffee.



The crankset began to creak.



Can I get a grease on it without disassembling the crank set?



I tried leaving the bike laying on a side and pouring WD-40 on the side of crankset. It helped for some time, because it's fluid enough, but WD-40 is not a proper grease; it needs to be reapplied once in few days, and then it makes it worse because it also acted as a solvent for the original grease.



Maybe there's a grease I can heat up to about 80°C to make it fluid enough to get into the crankset and curdle inside?



I don't have access to special the tools like crank arm remover, or whatever else could be needed. I only have generic wrenches, screwdrivers and hexdrivers.



I would highly appreciate NOT receiving these answers/comments:




  • invest time and money -- buy proper tools and disassemble it. I recognize this is probably the right answer; but it's just a creak of a bicycle that costs me two cups of coffee.

  • replace the whole crankset. I'm pretty sure I can get a few more hundred miles out of it and replace it later. Plus, it costs as much as a new (used) bicycle - more than this whole one, - plus the time and tools to install.

  • take it to a bicycle shop. I live in a very expensive area; it will probably cost me more than buying a new bicycle.

  • WD-40 is not a (proper) grease, use the right one.


Thank you.










share|improve this question









New contributor




Victor Sergienko is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • It doesn’t matter how expensive your bike is, all that matters is that you maintain it properly.

    – Swifty
    6 hours ago






  • 1





    What I would do is get some regular auto grease (the thick yucky stuff), lay the bike on its side, smear the grease around the gap between the rotating piece and the fixed piece, and then try to press the grease into the gap. The exact technique is going to depend on the details of your setup, and it will be hard to get behind the chainrings (if you can't somehow remove them), but the procedure can be modestly effective (though nowhere as good as disassembling and coating the parts with grease).

    – Daniel R Hicks
    6 hours ago











  • Does the bike have a cartridge BB or is it loose balls in a cup and cone race?

    – Criggie
    42 mins ago






  • 1





    It's a sealed cartridge.

    – Victor Sergienko
    35 mins ago
















1















A bit of history: the grooves on the spindle are partially destroyed/skewed by cycling with a loose crank, so I applied a lot of force to a hexdriver to get the crank arm on. Now, it would be quite hard, if possible, to disassemble it. I got the bicycle on a garage sale for a price of two cups of coffee.



The crankset began to creak.



Can I get a grease on it without disassembling the crank set?



I tried leaving the bike laying on a side and pouring WD-40 on the side of crankset. It helped for some time, because it's fluid enough, but WD-40 is not a proper grease; it needs to be reapplied once in few days, and then it makes it worse because it also acted as a solvent for the original grease.



Maybe there's a grease I can heat up to about 80°C to make it fluid enough to get into the crankset and curdle inside?



I don't have access to special the tools like crank arm remover, or whatever else could be needed. I only have generic wrenches, screwdrivers and hexdrivers.



I would highly appreciate NOT receiving these answers/comments:




  • invest time and money -- buy proper tools and disassemble it. I recognize this is probably the right answer; but it's just a creak of a bicycle that costs me two cups of coffee.

  • replace the whole crankset. I'm pretty sure I can get a few more hundred miles out of it and replace it later. Plus, it costs as much as a new (used) bicycle - more than this whole one, - plus the time and tools to install.

  • take it to a bicycle shop. I live in a very expensive area; it will probably cost me more than buying a new bicycle.

  • WD-40 is not a (proper) grease, use the right one.


Thank you.










share|improve this question









New contributor




Victor Sergienko is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • It doesn’t matter how expensive your bike is, all that matters is that you maintain it properly.

    – Swifty
    6 hours ago






  • 1





    What I would do is get some regular auto grease (the thick yucky stuff), lay the bike on its side, smear the grease around the gap between the rotating piece and the fixed piece, and then try to press the grease into the gap. The exact technique is going to depend on the details of your setup, and it will be hard to get behind the chainrings (if you can't somehow remove them), but the procedure can be modestly effective (though nowhere as good as disassembling and coating the parts with grease).

    – Daniel R Hicks
    6 hours ago











  • Does the bike have a cartridge BB or is it loose balls in a cup and cone race?

    – Criggie
    42 mins ago






  • 1





    It's a sealed cartridge.

    – Victor Sergienko
    35 mins ago














1












1








1








A bit of history: the grooves on the spindle are partially destroyed/skewed by cycling with a loose crank, so I applied a lot of force to a hexdriver to get the crank arm on. Now, it would be quite hard, if possible, to disassemble it. I got the bicycle on a garage sale for a price of two cups of coffee.



The crankset began to creak.



Can I get a grease on it without disassembling the crank set?



I tried leaving the bike laying on a side and pouring WD-40 on the side of crankset. It helped for some time, because it's fluid enough, but WD-40 is not a proper grease; it needs to be reapplied once in few days, and then it makes it worse because it also acted as a solvent for the original grease.



Maybe there's a grease I can heat up to about 80°C to make it fluid enough to get into the crankset and curdle inside?



I don't have access to special the tools like crank arm remover, or whatever else could be needed. I only have generic wrenches, screwdrivers and hexdrivers.



I would highly appreciate NOT receiving these answers/comments:




  • invest time and money -- buy proper tools and disassemble it. I recognize this is probably the right answer; but it's just a creak of a bicycle that costs me two cups of coffee.

  • replace the whole crankset. I'm pretty sure I can get a few more hundred miles out of it and replace it later. Plus, it costs as much as a new (used) bicycle - more than this whole one, - plus the time and tools to install.

  • take it to a bicycle shop. I live in a very expensive area; it will probably cost me more than buying a new bicycle.

  • WD-40 is not a (proper) grease, use the right one.


Thank you.










share|improve this question









New contributor




Victor Sergienko is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












A bit of history: the grooves on the spindle are partially destroyed/skewed by cycling with a loose crank, so I applied a lot of force to a hexdriver to get the crank arm on. Now, it would be quite hard, if possible, to disassemble it. I got the bicycle on a garage sale for a price of two cups of coffee.



The crankset began to creak.



Can I get a grease on it without disassembling the crank set?



I tried leaving the bike laying on a side and pouring WD-40 on the side of crankset. It helped for some time, because it's fluid enough, but WD-40 is not a proper grease; it needs to be reapplied once in few days, and then it makes it worse because it also acted as a solvent for the original grease.



Maybe there's a grease I can heat up to about 80°C to make it fluid enough to get into the crankset and curdle inside?



I don't have access to special the tools like crank arm remover, or whatever else could be needed. I only have generic wrenches, screwdrivers and hexdrivers.



I would highly appreciate NOT receiving these answers/comments:




  • invest time and money -- buy proper tools and disassemble it. I recognize this is probably the right answer; but it's just a creak of a bicycle that costs me two cups of coffee.

  • replace the whole crankset. I'm pretty sure I can get a few more hundred miles out of it and replace it later. Plus, it costs as much as a new (used) bicycle - more than this whole one, - plus the time and tools to install.

  • take it to a bicycle shop. I live in a very expensive area; it will probably cost me more than buying a new bicycle.

  • WD-40 is not a (proper) grease, use the right one.


Thank you.







crankset bottom-bracket grease






share|improve this question









New contributor




Victor Sergienko is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




Victor Sergienko is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 5 hours ago







Victor Sergienko













New contributor




Victor Sergienko is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 6 hours ago









Victor SergienkoVictor Sergienko

1064




1064




New contributor




Victor Sergienko is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





Victor Sergienko is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






Victor Sergienko is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.













  • It doesn’t matter how expensive your bike is, all that matters is that you maintain it properly.

    – Swifty
    6 hours ago






  • 1





    What I would do is get some regular auto grease (the thick yucky stuff), lay the bike on its side, smear the grease around the gap between the rotating piece and the fixed piece, and then try to press the grease into the gap. The exact technique is going to depend on the details of your setup, and it will be hard to get behind the chainrings (if you can't somehow remove them), but the procedure can be modestly effective (though nowhere as good as disassembling and coating the parts with grease).

    – Daniel R Hicks
    6 hours ago











  • Does the bike have a cartridge BB or is it loose balls in a cup and cone race?

    – Criggie
    42 mins ago






  • 1





    It's a sealed cartridge.

    – Victor Sergienko
    35 mins ago



















  • It doesn’t matter how expensive your bike is, all that matters is that you maintain it properly.

    – Swifty
    6 hours ago






  • 1





    What I would do is get some regular auto grease (the thick yucky stuff), lay the bike on its side, smear the grease around the gap between the rotating piece and the fixed piece, and then try to press the grease into the gap. The exact technique is going to depend on the details of your setup, and it will be hard to get behind the chainrings (if you can't somehow remove them), but the procedure can be modestly effective (though nowhere as good as disassembling and coating the parts with grease).

    – Daniel R Hicks
    6 hours ago











  • Does the bike have a cartridge BB or is it loose balls in a cup and cone race?

    – Criggie
    42 mins ago






  • 1





    It's a sealed cartridge.

    – Victor Sergienko
    35 mins ago

















It doesn’t matter how expensive your bike is, all that matters is that you maintain it properly.

– Swifty
6 hours ago





It doesn’t matter how expensive your bike is, all that matters is that you maintain it properly.

– Swifty
6 hours ago




1




1





What I would do is get some regular auto grease (the thick yucky stuff), lay the bike on its side, smear the grease around the gap between the rotating piece and the fixed piece, and then try to press the grease into the gap. The exact technique is going to depend on the details of your setup, and it will be hard to get behind the chainrings (if you can't somehow remove them), but the procedure can be modestly effective (though nowhere as good as disassembling and coating the parts with grease).

– Daniel R Hicks
6 hours ago





What I would do is get some regular auto grease (the thick yucky stuff), lay the bike on its side, smear the grease around the gap between the rotating piece and the fixed piece, and then try to press the grease into the gap. The exact technique is going to depend on the details of your setup, and it will be hard to get behind the chainrings (if you can't somehow remove them), but the procedure can be modestly effective (though nowhere as good as disassembling and coating the parts with grease).

– Daniel R Hicks
6 hours ago













Does the bike have a cartridge BB or is it loose balls in a cup and cone race?

– Criggie
42 mins ago





Does the bike have a cartridge BB or is it loose balls in a cup and cone race?

– Criggie
42 mins ago




1




1





It's a sealed cartridge.

– Victor Sergienko
35 mins ago





It's a sealed cartridge.

– Victor Sergienko
35 mins ago










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















3














No.



It seems that you have already done your homework and know why you don't want to fix things properly or why WD-40 doesn't really work. But you had to ask, didn't you.






share|improve this answer
























  • Thanks. Sure, I wanted to get a confirmation and more ideas. I will accept one of the answers depending on whether a spray grease works.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • From the description it sounds like the creaking may also be from crank-spindle interface.

    – ojs
    2 hours ago











  • Thanks! I think I tried rotating it with a single pedal, on both sides, but I'll test again.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago



















2














Given the parameters of the question...



The goal is to get a better lubricant than WD-40 into the bottom bracket.



Two suggestions:




  • Do the "leaving the bike lying on a side" thing and use motor oil. It's much better than WD-40 but not as good as grease.

  • I have a can of spray lithium grease. It's thicker than oil and you might be able to spray something like that into the bottom bracket between the axle and the cup.


Heating grease changes it's characteristics. My thought is I'd rather use motor oil than heated grease.



Keep your eye out for a different two-cups-of-coffee bike from a garage sale.






share|improve this answer
























  • Thanks! Pushing it in with a pressured air may work. Otherwise, I will do it properly, eventually.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • Heating the oil to 100ºC shouldn't harm anything - it's the normal motor oil operation temperature. It could rather harm the paint, but I doubt that as well; exposing a black bicycle to the sun for an hour would heat it the same.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago



















1














I'm going to offer the contrary answer - why not fix it properly?



Summary: Your spindle/crank interface is damaged, so the crank has been forced onto the spindle and is now at a high state of torque. Its confirmed that the spindle is damaged and likely that the crank arm is now damaged as a result. And the rest of the bike is OK.



So the worst case is that your BB needs replacing, and that the crank arm is damaged enough to need replacing too.



Replacing the BB with a nice new cartridge will give you a new spindle/axle, and it will give you a much better pedal feel. You will have to match the new spindle to your crank's interface, being square taper or octalink or whatever.



Shimano UN26 BB cartridge, square taper



You won't know if the crank's a writeoff till you get it off. So pick a time when you don't need the bike for a bit and can work on it.





Consider that had you changed the BB for a new cartridge, the crank arm would have gone on easier and not been damaged. By cramming it back together, you've made your problem worse. Do it right sooner, not postpone till later.



Just cos the bike had an initial cost to you of 2x coffees, doesn't mean its junk. You could look for another donor bike to salvage some cranks, or check Ebay/craigslist/gumtree/etc.



Note that your left and right crank don't need to match, they just need the same fittings and same overall length.



As for getting the current one off - leverage will help. If the bolt shears then the stub will be in the BB spindle/axle which is trash anyway, and the new one will come with replacement bolts.



You don't need a LBS for this - its dirty but its not hard. The only tool that will be odd is the fitting for the ends of the cartridge.






share|improve this answer
























  • Depending on your location, there are bike cooperatives around the world that can help you with access to tools, and advice in person. They often have parts available should your crank arm prove unserviceable once removed.

    – Criggie
    30 mins ago












Your Answer








StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "126"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});






Victor Sergienko is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fbicycles.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f61563%2fcan-i-grease-a-crank-spindle-bracket-without-disassembling-the-crank-set%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes








3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









3














No.



It seems that you have already done your homework and know why you don't want to fix things properly or why WD-40 doesn't really work. But you had to ask, didn't you.






share|improve this answer
























  • Thanks. Sure, I wanted to get a confirmation and more ideas. I will accept one of the answers depending on whether a spray grease works.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • From the description it sounds like the creaking may also be from crank-spindle interface.

    – ojs
    2 hours ago











  • Thanks! I think I tried rotating it with a single pedal, on both sides, but I'll test again.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago
















3














No.



It seems that you have already done your homework and know why you don't want to fix things properly or why WD-40 doesn't really work. But you had to ask, didn't you.






share|improve this answer
























  • Thanks. Sure, I wanted to get a confirmation and more ideas. I will accept one of the answers depending on whether a spray grease works.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • From the description it sounds like the creaking may also be from crank-spindle interface.

    – ojs
    2 hours ago











  • Thanks! I think I tried rotating it with a single pedal, on both sides, but I'll test again.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago














3












3








3







No.



It seems that you have already done your homework and know why you don't want to fix things properly or why WD-40 doesn't really work. But you had to ask, didn't you.






share|improve this answer













No.



It seems that you have already done your homework and know why you don't want to fix things properly or why WD-40 doesn't really work. But you had to ask, didn't you.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 4 hours ago









ojsojs

12.4k22245




12.4k22245













  • Thanks. Sure, I wanted to get a confirmation and more ideas. I will accept one of the answers depending on whether a spray grease works.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • From the description it sounds like the creaking may also be from crank-spindle interface.

    – ojs
    2 hours ago











  • Thanks! I think I tried rotating it with a single pedal, on both sides, but I'll test again.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago



















  • Thanks. Sure, I wanted to get a confirmation and more ideas. I will accept one of the answers depending on whether a spray grease works.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • From the description it sounds like the creaking may also be from crank-spindle interface.

    – ojs
    2 hours ago











  • Thanks! I think I tried rotating it with a single pedal, on both sides, but I'll test again.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago

















Thanks. Sure, I wanted to get a confirmation and more ideas. I will accept one of the answers depending on whether a spray grease works.

– Victor Sergienko
2 hours ago





Thanks. Sure, I wanted to get a confirmation and more ideas. I will accept one of the answers depending on whether a spray grease works.

– Victor Sergienko
2 hours ago













From the description it sounds like the creaking may also be from crank-spindle interface.

– ojs
2 hours ago





From the description it sounds like the creaking may also be from crank-spindle interface.

– ojs
2 hours ago













Thanks! I think I tried rotating it with a single pedal, on both sides, but I'll test again.

– Victor Sergienko
2 hours ago





Thanks! I think I tried rotating it with a single pedal, on both sides, but I'll test again.

– Victor Sergienko
2 hours ago











2














Given the parameters of the question...



The goal is to get a better lubricant than WD-40 into the bottom bracket.



Two suggestions:




  • Do the "leaving the bike lying on a side" thing and use motor oil. It's much better than WD-40 but not as good as grease.

  • I have a can of spray lithium grease. It's thicker than oil and you might be able to spray something like that into the bottom bracket between the axle and the cup.


Heating grease changes it's characteristics. My thought is I'd rather use motor oil than heated grease.



Keep your eye out for a different two-cups-of-coffee bike from a garage sale.






share|improve this answer
























  • Thanks! Pushing it in with a pressured air may work. Otherwise, I will do it properly, eventually.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • Heating the oil to 100ºC shouldn't harm anything - it's the normal motor oil operation temperature. It could rather harm the paint, but I doubt that as well; exposing a black bicycle to the sun for an hour would heat it the same.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago
















2














Given the parameters of the question...



The goal is to get a better lubricant than WD-40 into the bottom bracket.



Two suggestions:




  • Do the "leaving the bike lying on a side" thing and use motor oil. It's much better than WD-40 but not as good as grease.

  • I have a can of spray lithium grease. It's thicker than oil and you might be able to spray something like that into the bottom bracket between the axle and the cup.


Heating grease changes it's characteristics. My thought is I'd rather use motor oil than heated grease.



Keep your eye out for a different two-cups-of-coffee bike from a garage sale.






share|improve this answer
























  • Thanks! Pushing it in with a pressured air may work. Otherwise, I will do it properly, eventually.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • Heating the oil to 100ºC shouldn't harm anything - it's the normal motor oil operation temperature. It could rather harm the paint, but I doubt that as well; exposing a black bicycle to the sun for an hour would heat it the same.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago














2












2








2







Given the parameters of the question...



The goal is to get a better lubricant than WD-40 into the bottom bracket.



Two suggestions:




  • Do the "leaving the bike lying on a side" thing and use motor oil. It's much better than WD-40 but not as good as grease.

  • I have a can of spray lithium grease. It's thicker than oil and you might be able to spray something like that into the bottom bracket between the axle and the cup.


Heating grease changes it's characteristics. My thought is I'd rather use motor oil than heated grease.



Keep your eye out for a different two-cups-of-coffee bike from a garage sale.






share|improve this answer













Given the parameters of the question...



The goal is to get a better lubricant than WD-40 into the bottom bracket.



Two suggestions:




  • Do the "leaving the bike lying on a side" thing and use motor oil. It's much better than WD-40 but not as good as grease.

  • I have a can of spray lithium grease. It's thicker than oil and you might be able to spray something like that into the bottom bracket between the axle and the cup.


Heating grease changes it's characteristics. My thought is I'd rather use motor oil than heated grease.



Keep your eye out for a different two-cups-of-coffee bike from a garage sale.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 6 hours ago









David DDavid D

8915




8915













  • Thanks! Pushing it in with a pressured air may work. Otherwise, I will do it properly, eventually.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • Heating the oil to 100ºC shouldn't harm anything - it's the normal motor oil operation temperature. It could rather harm the paint, but I doubt that as well; exposing a black bicycle to the sun for an hour would heat it the same.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago



















  • Thanks! Pushing it in with a pressured air may work. Otherwise, I will do it properly, eventually.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago











  • Heating the oil to 100ºC shouldn't harm anything - it's the normal motor oil operation temperature. It could rather harm the paint, but I doubt that as well; exposing a black bicycle to the sun for an hour would heat it the same.

    – Victor Sergienko
    2 hours ago

















Thanks! Pushing it in with a pressured air may work. Otherwise, I will do it properly, eventually.

– Victor Sergienko
2 hours ago





Thanks! Pushing it in with a pressured air may work. Otherwise, I will do it properly, eventually.

– Victor Sergienko
2 hours ago













Heating the oil to 100ºC shouldn't harm anything - it's the normal motor oil operation temperature. It could rather harm the paint, but I doubt that as well; exposing a black bicycle to the sun for an hour would heat it the same.

– Victor Sergienko
2 hours ago





Heating the oil to 100ºC shouldn't harm anything - it's the normal motor oil operation temperature. It could rather harm the paint, but I doubt that as well; exposing a black bicycle to the sun for an hour would heat it the same.

– Victor Sergienko
2 hours ago











1














I'm going to offer the contrary answer - why not fix it properly?



Summary: Your spindle/crank interface is damaged, so the crank has been forced onto the spindle and is now at a high state of torque. Its confirmed that the spindle is damaged and likely that the crank arm is now damaged as a result. And the rest of the bike is OK.



So the worst case is that your BB needs replacing, and that the crank arm is damaged enough to need replacing too.



Replacing the BB with a nice new cartridge will give you a new spindle/axle, and it will give you a much better pedal feel. You will have to match the new spindle to your crank's interface, being square taper or octalink or whatever.



Shimano UN26 BB cartridge, square taper



You won't know if the crank's a writeoff till you get it off. So pick a time when you don't need the bike for a bit and can work on it.





Consider that had you changed the BB for a new cartridge, the crank arm would have gone on easier and not been damaged. By cramming it back together, you've made your problem worse. Do it right sooner, not postpone till later.



Just cos the bike had an initial cost to you of 2x coffees, doesn't mean its junk. You could look for another donor bike to salvage some cranks, or check Ebay/craigslist/gumtree/etc.



Note that your left and right crank don't need to match, they just need the same fittings and same overall length.



As for getting the current one off - leverage will help. If the bolt shears then the stub will be in the BB spindle/axle which is trash anyway, and the new one will come with replacement bolts.



You don't need a LBS for this - its dirty but its not hard. The only tool that will be odd is the fitting for the ends of the cartridge.






share|improve this answer
























  • Depending on your location, there are bike cooperatives around the world that can help you with access to tools, and advice in person. They often have parts available should your crank arm prove unserviceable once removed.

    – Criggie
    30 mins ago
















1














I'm going to offer the contrary answer - why not fix it properly?



Summary: Your spindle/crank interface is damaged, so the crank has been forced onto the spindle and is now at a high state of torque. Its confirmed that the spindle is damaged and likely that the crank arm is now damaged as a result. And the rest of the bike is OK.



So the worst case is that your BB needs replacing, and that the crank arm is damaged enough to need replacing too.



Replacing the BB with a nice new cartridge will give you a new spindle/axle, and it will give you a much better pedal feel. You will have to match the new spindle to your crank's interface, being square taper or octalink or whatever.



Shimano UN26 BB cartridge, square taper



You won't know if the crank's a writeoff till you get it off. So pick a time when you don't need the bike for a bit and can work on it.





Consider that had you changed the BB for a new cartridge, the crank arm would have gone on easier and not been damaged. By cramming it back together, you've made your problem worse. Do it right sooner, not postpone till later.



Just cos the bike had an initial cost to you of 2x coffees, doesn't mean its junk. You could look for another donor bike to salvage some cranks, or check Ebay/craigslist/gumtree/etc.



Note that your left and right crank don't need to match, they just need the same fittings and same overall length.



As for getting the current one off - leverage will help. If the bolt shears then the stub will be in the BB spindle/axle which is trash anyway, and the new one will come with replacement bolts.



You don't need a LBS for this - its dirty but its not hard. The only tool that will be odd is the fitting for the ends of the cartridge.






share|improve this answer
























  • Depending on your location, there are bike cooperatives around the world that can help you with access to tools, and advice in person. They often have parts available should your crank arm prove unserviceable once removed.

    – Criggie
    30 mins ago














1












1








1







I'm going to offer the contrary answer - why not fix it properly?



Summary: Your spindle/crank interface is damaged, so the crank has been forced onto the spindle and is now at a high state of torque. Its confirmed that the spindle is damaged and likely that the crank arm is now damaged as a result. And the rest of the bike is OK.



So the worst case is that your BB needs replacing, and that the crank arm is damaged enough to need replacing too.



Replacing the BB with a nice new cartridge will give you a new spindle/axle, and it will give you a much better pedal feel. You will have to match the new spindle to your crank's interface, being square taper or octalink or whatever.



Shimano UN26 BB cartridge, square taper



You won't know if the crank's a writeoff till you get it off. So pick a time when you don't need the bike for a bit and can work on it.





Consider that had you changed the BB for a new cartridge, the crank arm would have gone on easier and not been damaged. By cramming it back together, you've made your problem worse. Do it right sooner, not postpone till later.



Just cos the bike had an initial cost to you of 2x coffees, doesn't mean its junk. You could look for another donor bike to salvage some cranks, or check Ebay/craigslist/gumtree/etc.



Note that your left and right crank don't need to match, they just need the same fittings and same overall length.



As for getting the current one off - leverage will help. If the bolt shears then the stub will be in the BB spindle/axle which is trash anyway, and the new one will come with replacement bolts.



You don't need a LBS for this - its dirty but its not hard. The only tool that will be odd is the fitting for the ends of the cartridge.






share|improve this answer













I'm going to offer the contrary answer - why not fix it properly?



Summary: Your spindle/crank interface is damaged, so the crank has been forced onto the spindle and is now at a high state of torque. Its confirmed that the spindle is damaged and likely that the crank arm is now damaged as a result. And the rest of the bike is OK.



So the worst case is that your BB needs replacing, and that the crank arm is damaged enough to need replacing too.



Replacing the BB with a nice new cartridge will give you a new spindle/axle, and it will give you a much better pedal feel. You will have to match the new spindle to your crank's interface, being square taper or octalink or whatever.



Shimano UN26 BB cartridge, square taper



You won't know if the crank's a writeoff till you get it off. So pick a time when you don't need the bike for a bit and can work on it.





Consider that had you changed the BB for a new cartridge, the crank arm would have gone on easier and not been damaged. By cramming it back together, you've made your problem worse. Do it right sooner, not postpone till later.



Just cos the bike had an initial cost to you of 2x coffees, doesn't mean its junk. You could look for another donor bike to salvage some cranks, or check Ebay/craigslist/gumtree/etc.



Note that your left and right crank don't need to match, they just need the same fittings and same overall length.



As for getting the current one off - leverage will help. If the bolt shears then the stub will be in the BB spindle/axle which is trash anyway, and the new one will come with replacement bolts.



You don't need a LBS for this - its dirty but its not hard. The only tool that will be odd is the fitting for the ends of the cartridge.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 32 mins ago









CriggieCriggie

45.8k578158




45.8k578158













  • Depending on your location, there are bike cooperatives around the world that can help you with access to tools, and advice in person. They often have parts available should your crank arm prove unserviceable once removed.

    – Criggie
    30 mins ago



















  • Depending on your location, there are bike cooperatives around the world that can help you with access to tools, and advice in person. They often have parts available should your crank arm prove unserviceable once removed.

    – Criggie
    30 mins ago

















Depending on your location, there are bike cooperatives around the world that can help you with access to tools, and advice in person. They often have parts available should your crank arm prove unserviceable once removed.

– Criggie
30 mins ago





Depending on your location, there are bike cooperatives around the world that can help you with access to tools, and advice in person. They often have parts available should your crank arm prove unserviceable once removed.

– Criggie
30 mins ago










Victor Sergienko is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










draft saved

draft discarded


















Victor Sergienko is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













Victor Sergienko is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












Victor Sergienko is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















Thanks for contributing an answer to Bicycles Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid



  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fbicycles.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f61563%2fcan-i-grease-a-crank-spindle-bracket-without-disassembling-the-crank-set%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

How to label and detect the document text images

Vallis Paradisi

Tabula Rosettana