Help, my crank is stuck

Lee,
yeah i bought some deity cranks, and i put them on but needed to take them off because the spacing for the sprocket was wrong, and now those things wont budge at all. even with the crank puller that came with them. do u have any suggestions?
Martin

Yikes.

I don’t know those cranks, or that tool, but here are some things to try, in this order:

1. Grease the threads on the tool. Make sure the tool is seated properly.

2. Make sure you’re turning in the correct direction. This sounds like a “duh,” but we’ve all made that mistake.

3. Always push/pull perpendicular to the wrench, as close to the end as possible. Think about maximizing torque.

4. If the wrench won’t budge, make your lever longer. For example, slip a pipe onto the end of your wrench. ***Before you hulk out, make sure everything is seated properly.***

5. If the crank still won’t budge, spray some penetrating oil into the crank/spindle junction (keep the oil away from the bearings!). Let the oil soak for a while, then go back to Step 1.

Good luck. Hassles like this make me really appreciate Shimano!

— Lee

PS: This is another reason to support your local bike shop. If you’ve been a good customer, they’ll happily help you with this sort of stuff. If you only show up when one of your Web bargains goes wrong, they won’t show you much love.