You are reading a single comment by @Skülly and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@Skülly
Here's my 2p:
1) Yes, there is a right side and a wrong side of the crank's hole for the pin to go through.
2) Beware, that all that hammering can damage the BB axle, bearings & cups. You should try to support the axle (in between the crank and BB) or at least the crank, if that gap is too small to get anything in there, with something whilst hammering the pins.
3) I would suggest that buying new pins isn't a good idea, especially if those are the pins that have come with the crankset/bb assembly. Try swapping the pins round, they may fit better in the other side. The older steel pins (I think those are steel, try them with a magnet if this matters to you) are much better than the new alloy ones you can get. And the alloy ones tend to be bigger so you'd have to do a lot of filing just to get them in, probably.
4) For a good, snug fit (especially if you're using a fixed wheel) you should take McNebula's advice. It's all about filing them where they contact with the axle, so that you increase the contact area. Best to fit them as best you can, ride for a good few miles (or until one or other of them starts to wobble) and then do the filing thing. Ride some more, reapeat til they feel solid. When you file, put the pin in a vice if you have one to keep your filing really flat. Look for a tide line (dark ring) around where the contact area is, file out from the contact to the blackened bit ...try to even the face of the pin out.
5) Throw the fucking things away and use cotterless cranks.
Actually, that last one ought to be point 1).