To be looking at the bike crank you need to be fairly familiar with basic bike repair and maintenance. While learning about the bike crank you are wondering if you can remove a bike crank without a puller. It is extremely difficult to do without the required tools.
Removing the bike crank without a crank puller is possible but very difficult and near impossible to do without damaging the crack in some capacity. A lot of the suggestions on the internet will definitely damage the crack.
In this post, we will go through how to remove a bike crank without a puller. So let’s get started!
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Do I Need A Crank Puller?
Yes, there are ways to remove cranks without the crank puller but they will almost certainly do a lot of damage.
There is no reason not to buy a crank puller as they a fairly priced starting from $8.99 upwards. Or just borrow from a friend.
Is Crank Pullers Universal?
You will need to ensure that the tip of the crank puller is suited to the BB you have on your bike. Remember that most modern square tapers are generic any generic puller will do the job.
Most majority of the cranks have a thread size of 22×1. There are other older cranksets that use different sizes but these would only be on what would be considered vintage bikes today.
Tools and Materials Required
There are a couple of tools and materials needed to remove the bike crank without a puller. These are as follows.
- CWP-7 or CCP-22, for M8 crank bolts, or CWP-7 or CCP-44 for bigger M14 and M12 bolts.
- Spindle driver.
- Wipes to remove any dirt.
How To Remove Bike Crank Without A Puller?
It is possible to remove the bike crank without necessarily using a puller but it is not for beginners as the majority of methods can cause damage. It is easier to borrow a puller from a friend.
Below is a method to remove a bike crank without a puller.
- First, you need to remove the bolt. Turn the bolt of the spindle’s end in a counter-clockwise direction.
- Once the bolt has been removed, you will need to pedal around for a while. You should not pedal hard.
This YouTube video below will give you more methods of trying to do this and the damage it can cause. I tried the one with the screwdriver and it slightly damaged my test bike.
How To Remove Bike Crank?
If you want to try and remove the crank without a crank puller, that is up to you. Remember more than likely you are going to do some damage.
Below are how to remove a bike crank with a puller.
- Firstly you need to remove the crank nut or bolt then slowly rotate it counter-clockwise direction. This will loosen the crankset and bolt. Making it easier for you to remove it.
- You can remove the dust caps if the bolt is underneath them. You can also pry the threads out or remove them by slowly threading the bolt, depending on the crank arm type of your bicycle.
- Use a bolt or a spanner tool to remove and loosen the washers. The washers are metal and are relocated under the thread’s bolt and nuts.
- We need to get the right tool for removing the crank arm and crank bolts. Use a CWP-7 or CCP-22, for an M8 crank bolt and CWP-7 or CCP-44 for bigger M14 and M12 bolts.
- Use it to turn the puller’s threaded coupler. Do it until you feel the bolt already recessed out of it.
- With the spindle driver, insert it directly into the slot that’s made for it.
- Then slowly turn the driver in a counter-clockwise direction until the cranks have been fully tight.
- After you fully tightened it, turn the spindle clockwise. Ensure the crank arms are completely disengaged.
- Unthread the crank arm from the cranks. Gently unthread it out from the crank.
- The crack is removed.
Best Crank Pullers Available
There is no reason not to get a crank puller. Be careful about buying a cheap extractor as the quality can be poor and there can be slightly undersized and stripped tops of the threads of the crank.
Here are some good ones worth looking at.
Oumers Bike Crank Extractor
The Oumers bike crank comes with 20 teeth fit, made of high-strength steel. As well as being a crank extractor and puller. It is made of great quality ensures that it will not damage the BB teeth.
Suitable for any 20 teeth splined type bottom bracket and Standard Square Tapered cranksets.
Matykit 7Pcs Bike Tools
This bike kit comes with a good range of tools that can be used to remove the bike crank. It is produced for the most convenient bikes indoor or outdoor repair.
This kit comes with the following tools.
- Chain Whip Bike Tool.
- Cassette Removal Tool With Chain Whip.
- Auxiliary Wrench Bicycle Sprocket Removal Tools Sprocket Remover.
- Chain Whip Tool For All Replacement Hubs Or Adjustments All In One Set.
- 3 In 1 Combination Tool.
BIKEHAND 17 Piece Bike Bicycle Repair Tool
This bike kit comes with a wide range of tools, almost every tool that you will ever need. It does come with a crank puller. It is produced for indoor or outdoor repair.
This kit comes with the following tools.
- YC-637 Torque Wench
- Chain rivet extractor (YC-325P2).
- Flat 5mm /Philips screwdrivers (YC-611). Dust cap wrench(YC-27).
- Chainring nut wrench (YC-271). tire lever (YC-3123).
- 8mm hex key wrench (YC-812L).
- Pedal wrench (YC-161).
- Freewheel turner(YC-501A).
- Bottom Bracket wrench (YC-27BB).
- Hub cone spanner 13/14/15/16mm set of 2 pieces (YC-152)
- Lockring remover (YC-126-1A).
- Crank puller (YC-216C).
- Spoke wrench 0.127” 0.130” 0.136” (YC-1A). Cartridge B.B. tool (YC-26BB-1A)
- Flat screwdriver 3mm (YC-612), T25.patch kit (YC-123)
Wrapping Up
Finally, yes it is possible to remove the bike crank without a crank puller is possible but remember it is very difficult and near impossible to do it without damaging the crack in some capacity. A lot of the suggestions on the internet will definitely lead to some sort of damage to your bike.
And that’s it for now! I’d love it if this post on how to remove bike crank without puller was helpful to you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there is more to add.
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