How to unscrew pedals in Zwift Ride?
I used Zwift Ride for 3 weeks with its default pedals, but now I need to switch into SPD-SL now. And, I cannot unscrew them? I tried to use different keys, but it’s tightened very strong.
Any ideas what tools / techniques I can use?
I’m having no experience with the bike maintenance.
Thanks
Do the pedals have 15mm flats on the spindle? If so a long 15mm wrench would be the way to go. Keep in mind that the left side pedal is left-hand thread.
Yeah, so basically I have the 15 mm key aimed to unscrew pedals (Bike Hand YC-162), but the wrench is not 15 mm.
I bought a hex key - PRTLB040 - will see if that helps (expected delivery on Dec 19).
Not sure if that is clear enough, but I’m talking about Zwift Ride bike (with KICKR CORE).
Bike Hand YC-162 appears to be a 15mm pedal wrench so that’s the normal thing you would use on pedals that have 15mm flats. I haven’t seen the pedals yet but that would be a typical tool for most pedals.
You could also just take the frame to a bike shop and be riding on your new pedals before Dec 19
Hi @D_W7 welcome to Zwift forums.
Shuji at Zwift HQ here. Use the included orange-handled frame key with a 5 mm hex wrench to remove the pedals that come with the Zwift Ride. Look on the end of each axle (i.e. inside the crank hole) and you’ll see a hex shaped hole.
VERY IMPORTANT: the right pedal is normal-threaded. The left pedal is reverse-threaded. If you’re struggling to undo the pedal - you may be turning the wrench the wrong direction.
This visual from this Support article
Leverage is the thing.
To remove the right/drive side pedal:
0=======#
(the 0 is the chain ring, the # is the pedal, the == is the crank arm. The wrench should be in line with the crank arm, handle heading backwards towards the chain ring. If the flats or hex bolt doesn’t let you align the wrench perfectly with the crank arm, I’ve found it easier to bring the wrench up just a bit rather than down.)
To take off the left pedal, do the same thing–left crank arm pointing forward, wrench handle pointing back, pushing down while simultaneously pushing down on the right crank arm.
I had the same problem. I ended up taking it to a bike shop. The pedals were so tight that they had to take the crank arms off to get the pedals loose. They commented that maybe I should have added some grease to the pedals before attaching them.
Grease everything with threads on a bike. (Everything that doesn’t have locktite on it)
Reading above, interesting to note that pedals are affixed with only a small 5mm hex? Probably challenging to get leverage to remove with that size. My IRL pedals use an 8mm for comparison, or of course the previously mentioned 15mm pedal wrench, both of which would inherently offer more leverage. 30Nm torque is typical rating for Shimano pedals, though this is probably overkill – with a 5mm hex it seems unlikely?
Loads of people (including shop mechanics) overtorque pedals…probably as many as overtorque cassette lock rings. But you’re right that 5mm is quite small for a pedal. And in fact I just looked at Zwift’s video for assembly–that thing (the Frame Key used to put everything together, pedals included) is not 5mm.
It does look like the pedals do not come installed though. So overtorquing is happening at the user end. The video says to make them “very firm”, which…there’s a lot of interpretation that needs to happen there. And also no grease mentioned. They should provide a small packet of grease for assembly.
Great to know now but not described in the instructions.
Yeah, not faulting you at all. I think it’s an issue with a company that isn’t a bike company selling a thing that’s mostly a bike. 
You get the same thing by buying a bike at a Big Box Store–assembled by people who don’t know how to build a bike. Same thing you can get from companies like Canyon too. Customers who have never built a bike building one at home. Not their fault, there’s just a lot to know. We train builders for weeks at our shop.
I always put the pedal to the front of the bike, the wrench handle also towards the front of the bike, put my foot on the pedal, and pull up.
That works for either pedal.
If it works it works Stepping on the pedal won’t work if the bike is in a stand, so getting up over the bike and using your body weight to push the wrench down is the standard there. I’d think stepping on the pedal will make it harder if you’re dealing with a pedal with wrench flats, and the wrench is on the same side of the crank arm as the pedal. Trying to get a pedal wrench in there while stepping on an SPD could be difficult if you’ve got big feet, I’d think.
The other simple tool to have around is a breaker bar–just a length of pipe a few feet long that can slide over the wrench handle for a longer lever arm.
I actually learned it here -
First minute of the video.
Love it. Allen wrench from the back side makes sense with this technique.
I’ve finally brought the bike to the shop and they have changed pedals for me.
Thanks for all the suggestions around.
It would also be nice if the official manual mentioned the use of grease.
I’m having the same problem and I’m a woman and a can’t get the pedals off to Exchange them for SPD pedals… maybe a short video instruction about the tools too get the pedals off…
