Pedal Problem Fixed
May 4th, 2005 by MikeWell my pedal problems are over. I did the smart thing and took the Raleigh M80 into Bikes Unlimited yesterday to get the pedal taken off. Yeah it took all of 3 seconds. Needless to say I’ll just take it over there right off the bat from now on. Lesson learned. They did tell me to put grease on the threads before putting anymore pedals on. It pays to have the right tools.
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This isn’t unusual. Any time you place two different metals in contact they will typically form corrosion. This is due to oxidation. In addition, adding water to the mix tends to accelerate the process, and it gets even better if there is any type of salt in the water. Aluminum and steel do a wonderful job of gluing themselves together partly because aluminum oxidizes almost immediately in contact with oxygen (which is in the air). Basically what happens is that you tighten the pedal or whatever and in the process grind the oxidation off the aluminum threads. Soon thereafter it starts to oxidize and whamo flamo metal glue. Any time you are screwing two components together that are not the same material its a good idea to consider using some type of anti-sieze or lubricant (if you want to get it apart later).