What's causing looseness in crankset?

Hi guys,

sorry if my bicycle-terminology is off, english is only my second language.

I keep experiencing a little looseness somewhere in the crankset, so when I step on the pedal hard it gives just a little bit before I actually pull on the chain. I tried tightening the bolts, they seem to be screwed on tightly but they can always still go a little bit more. Any hints before I break down and un-screw the entire thing into parts?

Nice job with the site BTW, I'll keep checking in

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Permalink Reply by FullMoonRider on September 9, 2008 at 10:41am
Can you take a close-up of your rig, maybe if we can see then we can help.
Hey, your english is fine.
Permalink Reply by Karl Malefyt on September 10, 2008 at 1:23pm
if you are using an older style cotter-pin crank set, that could be the issue.
i have the same problem, im using the original crank set from my 25 year old bike. it has cotter-pins. the cotter-pins are not designed for all of that backward pressure, so they wear out and cause the pedals to feel like they drop a cm before any action. i just bought a couple sets of cotter-pins to hold me over until i could find a new crank set and bottom bracket.
hope that helps
karl
Permalink Reply by Androushka on September 11, 2008 at 1:46am
Thnx for the reply guys, I'm gonna take a closer look and try and get a pic up.

You might be on to something with the cotter-pin crank set (even though I never heard the term before, ha!), I thought the looseness begun after some unforgiving skidding
Permalink Reply by TwoZeroFixed on September 14, 2008 at 4:49pm
Couple of possibilities (tough to diagnose without seeing it). Your rear wheel could have pulled forward in the drops, leaving more than expected lag. Second, it could be if you have a square spindle in the bottom bracket, it may not have the same taper as the crank arms.

Get it fixed before you drop your chain and have to find another way to slow down!
Permalink Reply by slossy on September 18, 2008 at 11:15pm
Does it also happen when you skid too? If so your cog may be slipping in which case you need to tighten it down pronto. This happened to me when I first started riding fixed and as a result I threaded my hub. It seems obvious now but when it started happening i thought it was my crank or maybe me slipping on something slick on the road.
Permalink Reply by skyler irish on October 12, 2008 at 5:38pm
i had a problem like this before.
it turned out my bottom bracket was a bit loose and it needed to be tightened.
Permalink Reply by Devin on October 13, 2008 at 1:02am
I had an issue like this too at one point. Thought it was loose cranks or something, but then I tracked it back to the cog. My cog was actually loose, and then it was actually stripped. Either the cog had been installed incorrectly or it had become loose and then jumped threads when I went to skid. Also the teeth on the chain ring will have a small amount of play in the chain itself, i don't think a tiny amount of play is an issue.
Permalink Reply by Jeff on October 14, 2008 at 7:58pm
Yeah definitely check your cog. I had the same problem too once with a newly built bike. If it's a tiny bit loose it can spin a tiny bit between the hub and the lockring before the wheel will turn. Good luck.

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