G'day it's Michael here from MTB Direct
Today we're gonna cover how to install a set of pedals
on your mountain bike.
Installing pedals on your mountain bike is a pretty simple job,
however there's a few things you've got to know
so you don't stuff it up.
Otherwise, it can be quite expensive to fix.
So the first thing you're gonna need
is to determine what size tool you're gonna need
to get it off.
So there's three typical styles that you'll find.
One is a 6mm allen key that screws in from the back,
next is an 8mm allen ken that screws in the back,
or there's a 15mm flat.
Some even have a combination of
a 6mm allen key in the back
and a 15mm flat.
So you can use a pedal spanner
which is essentially just a 15mm wrench
however they can be quite thin.
Because some pedals have quite a thin surface
to get, there, that's where the pedal wrench comes in.
So the first step to installing your new pedals
is removing your old ones first.
Now you do need to be aware that,
the pedals are one of the two threads on the bike
which are reverse.
Which means the drive side, the side without the chain,
is a reverse thread,
which means that to loosen it you actually need to turn it
clockwise when looking at the pedal.
The non-drive side is a regular thread though.
So, to make a start,
I find it's actually much more helpful
rather than trying to pull on the tool like that,
to actually have the tool in line with the crank
that allows me to actually grab the crank and the tool
at the same time and pinch with my hands
so that's the first step to trying to get your pedal off.
Now if it's still too tight, the next step
is to try and use my body weight,
so I'm going to grab my brakes on
stand on the pedal and then kind of put my heel into the tool like that,
and that's usually enough.
So if I've got a really tight pedal that I can't get off
and it's got a 15mm flat on it
what I'm gonna do is get a 15mm spanner
and another larger spanner which I'm gonna use as a lever.
You could also use a pipe on the end of your tool.
Put it on here like this, use this as a lever.
And stand behind the bike.
Hold the other pedal, bit of a balancing act,
there we go, so that's cracked it,
and now I'm able to get it off
Another thing you can do, if your pedal is very tight
and it also happens to have a 15mm flat
plus an allen key on the back
you can torque both at the same time
so if you install the allen key and the pedal wrench
you get your mate to pull on this one here
and you pull on this one here
at the same time you can lift upwards
and get it off that way as well.
So we're gonna repeat the same to the other side, except
on the drive side it's a regular thread
so anti-clockwise is gonna get it undone.
With the old pedals off, it's time to put your new ones in.
So now we come to the most important part of installing your pedals,
getting the correct pedal in the correct side.
Because one of the pedals uses a reverse thread,
if you install the wrong pedal in the wrong side
you will damage the crank
and you will probably need to get it repaired by a mechanic.
Nearly all pedals are going to have a marking on them
just saying right or left,
so you typically just look for an R or an L on the pedals
If you are unsure have a look at the thread on the actual pedal itself
to make sure you've got the right one
and just remember the drive side is the normal thread
and non-drive is the reverse thread.
Okay so before we install the pedals themselves
we're just gonna put some grease on the thread here
wipe the old one,
just any excess dirt that may be building up around there.
Now put the allen key in from the back
this is quite important,
we need to make sure the pedal is going in straight
so you can do it by just eyeballing it,
so line it this way, and line it this way,
and just wind it in.
If you were to start and it was tight immediately,
that's a good chance that the pedal itself is cross-threaded.
If that is the case,
if the start of the thread on the crank is
is damaged for whatever reason
one tip you can do, is actually come in from the back
so screw it in the reverse way
all the way home,
and that's one way you can actually clean up
the pedal thread if you don't have a pedal tap handy.
But for the most part it should just go straight in
if you've just removed your old pedals,
so you're just gonna wind that in by hand,
it should go in nice and easy.
In terms of how much to torque the pedals,
with a normal allen key you should be able to do it quite firm
and that should be all you need.
So now the pedals are installed,
I'm gonna look at adjusting the cleat tension.
So on Shimano SPD pedals
they have an adjustment feature where you can adjust
how much pressure is required to get into the pedal
and out of the pedal.
That's done by this 3mm allen key here,
so essentially both pedals have two springs on them.
Now you should make sure they are even on both sides
so they are detented which means you can count the clicks.
I'm gonna wind them all the way off
and then I'm gonna count how many clicks there are.
So I'm gonna run ten clicks on,
When you're starting out on clipless pedals
if it's your first time,
you usually run them all the way loose.
That's just so that it's easier to get in
so you're used to that,
and it's also easier to get out which is
great if you are just starting out on clips.
As you get stronger and more used to the pedals
you are going to put more force on them
so the last thing you want is the pedal
unclipping inadvertently,
so you want to tighten that up as you get comfortable with it.
Now I'm just going to copy that exact same setting
on the other side here.
Now I'll just take them for a ride, see how they feel,
if they're a little loose, I might add another
two clicks on each spring
if they're too tight I might take two off.
And that's how to install a set of pedals on your bike.
I hope you found that helpful,
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