Pedal is bent. Help please!

[revertebrate]

Hey folks,

Maybe someone can offer up a suggestion or two? I ride a 2007 "e-cycle" brand scooterbike (Vancouver BC company). I am thinking a neighbour's car hit/doored/tipped over my parked bike. As far as I can tell at present the only damage is the right sided pedal/axel is bent. I can't move the bike backward because of this (right sided pedal gets stuck on the bike body, back wheel freezes), so I cannot safely get it on the road to the shop for repair. I am not super technically inclined and have a friend who does (regular) bike repair trying to assist me. I think I have pressure fit pedals as I can't for the life of me find a spot for an Allen key to go. I seem to recall the pedals coming off by yanking them, but this is not working, despite adding muchos silicone lubricant to the fittings. Basically, I am on disability...this is my "ride", and I can't ride unless I get the one pedal off (then I can drive across town to the shop).

The pedal appears to be stuck, lopsided on it's fitting. I can't tell if the axel underneath is bent, though my friend seems to think so. Not sure if it will even affect battery regeneration either.

Does anyone out there have ideas on how I might unwedge this pedal? My last ditch idea is to cut it off with a saw and
ride with just one pedal. My ecycle is one if those plastic scooter looking types. Sorry to be vague, like I said...I'm not terribly technical.

(Thank you so much for anything and everything. I did a quick search of the boards and FAQ here, didn't really see the answers I was looking for - hope I posted in the right spot!)

 

[neptronix]

this is probably more like a bike problem and not an ebike problem.
I think you are talking about the crank here but i can only guess.

But it would really help if you posted a picture, otherwise you are going to get a lot of shots in the dark. You could have non-standard bike components.. i don't know.

If your crank is bent, look here:

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/crank-installation-and-removal-square-spindle-type

 

[DAND214]

It doesn't sound like a bent pedal. More like the crank arm or the lower bearng shaft.

The pedals are threaded in the crank, you should see 2 flats just at the crank arm.

If the crank arm is bent due to just a tip over, I would look into a replacement crank assembly of some strengh.

Does the bike require pedaling to make the motor run? If so you might look for a connector at the lower bearing. Maybe unplug it and it moight work if you also have a throttle.

Dan

 

[dogman dan]

Maybe some pics would help. The crank arm on older, and or cheaper bikes is held on by a bolt, which is often concealed under a pop in cover at the end of the axle. So to get the crank off, you pop off a plastic cover, then remove a nut or allen bolt underneath. Then a special tool is used to pull the crank.

 

[The Mighty Volt]

Has "Pedal" considered Gender-Realignment??

 

[amberwolf]

I suspect that since this is one of the "loophole ebikes" that is actually a scooter with removable pedals, that it's pedals do indeed just slip on and off normally, but after the incident cannot do so because the part where it slips on and off is now bent, and there is too much friction to overcome.

I haven't seen one in person, so I don't know how they come off, exactly, but if it is indeed a slip-off type, you'd have to have something akin to a 3-jaw puller to get it off if the friction forces are now too much to do so. An actual 3-jaw puller won't work because it needs something to push on in the center, and the body of the scooter won't work. Perhaps a long metal rod could be inserted next to the crankshaft against hte bike frame under it's housings, to give a support for the central screw in the 3-jaw puller.

Possibly a pry bar might work, but I expect that it will not because you'd be prying against the plastic housing of the bike, and it'd just break that.


If you can disconnect the chain from the motor end of things (presuming a hub motor), this would also solve the problem.

Must you move the bike backward, or could someone not help you with picking up one end and pivoting it around, instead?

 

[liveforphysics]

Slip a bar or something in anywhere you can get more leverage on it, grit your teeth, and pull for all you're worth. It will either straighten, pull out, or straighten and pull out.