Crank bolt "insert" (?) extended, can't install crank arm

Zwift Shop Zwift Equipment
1

See attached picture -
Have had the Zwift Ride since September and done roughly 1000km on it so far.

Ordered the adjustable crank arms last week and in anticipation of them arriving today according to FedEx (that you should never trust, really), I figured I’d remove the original crank arms meanwhile.
I grabbed my trusty tools and set at it.

Something that immediately got me wondering was that the crank bolts where barely tight (I know I tightened them when the Ride arrived, and have done so once more, both times with a torque wrench set to 45nm), but none of the crank arms were loose and they were properly on there, as I noticed when using the crank puller.
Just as I got the drive side crank arm off of the Ride, I checked on FedEx who had updated the delivery date to monday instead of today as was planned and communicated…
“Oh well, no 165mm workout goodness today then.”, I figured and put the crank arm back on (after cleaning and lubricating all threads and friction surfaces).

As I was tightening the drive side bolt with the torque wrench, I could still wiggle the crank arm (not by much, but still some movement). I tightened slightly more by hand, but there was still movement.
I checked and compared the drive and non-drive side and just then noticed that the drive side crank was way more (about 2mm perhaps) outboard than the non-drive side crank.

I took the drive side bolt out again and just then noticed that the threaded “insert” inside the square taper was way out past the square. This meant I was tightening the bolt against that instead of pushing the crank arm onto the taper.

So far, I have tried (gently, I might add!) tapping on the “insert” with a hammer (cushioned with some wood), but it won’t budge. I have also tried grabbing onto it with a wrench (with some cushioning there aswell) to try and rotate it, but same result - No budging.

In all my years tinkering with all sorts of bike I haven’t seen this happen - Not sure if it’s a Zwift Ride-specific design or if I’ve just had the good fortune to not run into something like this before.

So now I ask all of you; What do? This is my only exercise option at the moment and I would hate to lose a bunch of days/weeks to returns/exchanges or getting in line at a bike shop.

zwift ride square taper
zwift ride square taper658×512 96.5 KB

2

The Zwift support got back to me and had misunderstood the problem - They’re going to send me a new drive side crank and repair kit (crank bolts, dust caps).

The crank looks primo, no indication of any wear at all. The problem is with the square taper thread.
I’ve replied to the email, but with the (understandable) response times now I don’t have high hopes of getting this sorted any time soon.

As a backup plan I’ll be on the lookout for a spacer or washer that can press on the cranks as I tighten it. No idea if the insert will extend further when tightening it for real. It won’t budge as it is now, so here’s hoping…

3

Hi @Jey_B-H welcome to Zwift forums.

Shuji at Zwift HQ here. In my long years in the bike industry, I have not seen a square taper bottom bracket spindle that looks like that.

Question for you: can you take two pictures of the original crank that used to be installed there? Specifically: I’d like to see both sides of the square hole in that crank. TIA.

4

Scratch everything - ‘twas the tip of the crank puller that was stuck… It’s out now, after some violence to it (nothing damaged on the bike).

This is what I get for being a desk jockey for 10 years :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: Should’ve been obvious from the start…

5

@Jey_B-H
Yup, makes sense. Out of curiosity, which make / model of crank puller did you use?

6

That’s because it’s completely proprietary. There’s nothing like it on the market that I know of.

7

Used my (quite old now) BBB one - Haven’t had any problems with it on other bikes, not sure if it’s been marred from use (didn’t look it when I used it), or if there’s a tolerance stack issue going on somewhere.

But, it’s out now and the crank is coming back on as soon as I can get to it.