A guy at the trailhead showed me a weird way to fix a stripped pedal thread

I was packing up after a ride at the Mill Creek trails last weekend when a guy rolled up with his crank arm hanging loose. The pedal thread was totally stripped. He said he was done for the day, but I had my multi-tool and a random idea. I remembered an old trick from working on cars: using a piece of a steel brake line as a thread insert in a pinch. I didn't have that, but I did have a short M6 bolt from my bag. I told him we could try threading the bolt in from the backside of the crank to act as a temporary stud, then screw the pedal onto that. It was janky, but it got the pedal tight enough for him to ride the two miles back to his truck. He looked at me and said, 'You just turned a tow truck call into a five minute fix.' Has anyone else used a bolt as a makeshift stud in a field repair like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

laura_black311mo agoMost Upvoted

Ever think about carrying a small tube of epoxy putty for stuff like this? I keep some in my repair kit because you can mold it into stripped threads, let it set for a few minutes, and then screw the pedal right in. It's not a forever fix but it holds way better than just a bolt and gets you home. That trick with the bolt from the back is clever for a real pinch though.

terrybennett1mo ago

Epoxy putty? That's just fancy glue.

ellis.hayden1mo ago

Honestly though, does that epoxy trick actually hold up under real riding pressure?