This was the first mistake I made on a bike as a child, My father caught me beating the living daylights out of the cotter on my Grifter XL but not in time to prevent the whole mushroom situation. I still remember him cursing me as he hacksawed the cotter pin off, at least I didn't cross thread the pedals though :) Thanks for taking the time to make another video, these videos really do make a difference to people by providing useful reference when maintaining, restoring or self building and they are great just to watch.
I love the older British bikes. I have a few . I follow RJ so I found his video where he made the pin press and made one for myself. The pin I was working on at the time was stuck so tightly it started to bend the tool. A friend welded some steel plate on it for more strength. That worked but was still a major effort to break it loose. When it did break free it made rather loud metallic pop. Others came loose like yous did though. Great tool. Great video for British bike fans.
Excellent idea, I've always used heat and penetrating fluid to loosen really stuck parts and I've not been beaten yet but I'm so gonna be looking for a cotter press.
Tool will work even better with grease on its bearing surfaces - ie the thread and the driver cup. Same with chain splitters. You'd be amazed at what difference a little grease makes.
Hi, I wish that tool had been around when I started cycling back in the fifties, I well remember having to bash cotter pins out with a hammer which usually meant buying new ones and likely having to file the flats down to make them fit, all part of the cycling experience back then.
Cotter presses date back to the late 1800s. In the ''50s every bike shop had one. They also had "cotter vices" that fit in a bench vice, to hold cotters securely, for filing to fit your crank/spindle combination.
It actually should have been a really nice bike. 1961 top of the line Dawes I think. It definitely had downtube shifters and derailleurs at some point as the "shadow" of the old parts has been left on the paint.
Ah Eroica Britannia. The weekend festival for vintage bikes and that. The organisers are pretty poor this year though and still haven't released a date or replied to anyone about it.
Just looking at the shape of the press and wondering if It would fit more snugly if you lay it flat to the chain ring instead of in line with the axle?
When punching the pin out better to still have the bottom of the crank supported so it doesn't spin. I've had the pin rewedge, this redefines difficult to remove.
Hi monkeyshred, I know that this is not on topic of this video but I wanted to ask what you use to shine up old frames when you dont repaint them? Such as what did you use for the Triumph Palm Beach in your last video?
That bike was just cleaned and lacquered. The lacquer (or clear coat) brought out all the old colours and shine. A good polish and wax would have the same effect though.
I didn’t have much problem removing old pins but after installing new ones I run into the problem of arms not being 100% opposite to each other. I’ve ordered more than 10 pins and I guess will have to try again. Any tips regarding alignment? Any help appreciated. My bike is old 80’s Raleigh 3 speed similar to Chiltern.
Hey can i make a request? I have a old retro bike and my stem suddenly broke apart and i was wondering if you can convert a threadless stem to normal stems from mtb (i forgot whats it called)
Convert from threadless to threaded? So you can use a "quill" stem? Yeh, you could. You would have to change the headset and fork, as well as the stem though. The threadless steerer tube won't accommodate and quill stem.
Got it from where? for the life of me, i can not find a cotter pin removal tool anywhere, and iv'e got 12 Raleigh bicycles all vintage too, already mushroomed a pin on a wayfarer. my kingdom for a cotter pin remover.
Is there a correct method to reinstalling the cotter pins? Where would be the best place to buy new ones also? Ive just managed to get two out on my bike but I think it would be best to replace them, ive never done it before so looking for some guidance please :)
My default place to go to is eBay for everything. SJS cycles sell cotter pins too. Amazon also have them if that's more your thing: amzn.to/31vrQM3 Just always double check the size. Best method to reinstall is with a cotter pin press but you can gently tap the back side with a hammer while doing the nut up too. If you just wrench on the nut it might not seat properly.
@@MonkeyShred Thank you very much, your videos have been a great help to be fair, I've just ordered this press on eBay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313132117597 it is different to your one but hopefully will do the job.
@@Loz20365 In the US, a cotter pin is a split metal fastener that is bent over to lock nuts or otherwise hold two pieces together. In the bicycle world folks will recognize what you mean by a cotter pin in relation to the fastener used on a crank.
What you would call a cotter pin in the states we would call a split pin over here. Usually used in automotive applications such as axle nuts etc. They are also used to stop clevis pins from dropping out in things like brake linkages.
This was the first mistake I made on a bike as a child, My father caught me beating the living daylights out of the cotter on my Grifter XL but not in time to prevent the whole mushroom situation. I still remember him cursing me as he hacksawed the cotter pin off, at least I didn't cross thread the pedals though :) Thanks for taking the time to make another video, these videos really do make a difference to people by providing useful reference when maintaining, restoring or self building and they are great just to watch.
I love the older British bikes. I have a few . I follow RJ so I found his video where he made the pin press and made one for myself. The pin I was working on at the time was stuck so tightly it started to bend the tool. A friend welded some steel plate on it for more strength. That worked but was still a major effort to break it loose. When it did break free it made rather loud metallic pop. Others came loose like yous did though. Great tool. Great video for British bike fans.
Excellent idea, I've always used heat and penetrating fluid to loosen really stuck parts and I've not been beaten yet but I'm so gonna be looking for a cotter press.
Tool will work even better with grease on its bearing surfaces - ie the thread and the driver cup.
Same with chain splitters. You'd be amazed at what difference a little grease makes.
Hi, I wish that tool had been around when I started cycling back in the fifties, I well remember having to bash cotter pins out with a hammer which usually meant buying new ones and likely having to file the flats down to make them fit, all part of the cycling experience back then.
Cotter presses date back to the late 1800s. In the ''50s every bike shop had one. They also had "cotter vices" that fit in a bench vice, to hold cotters securely, for filing to fit your crank/spindle combination.
I want one! Nothing like having the right tool for the job.
It's such a useful tool!
The Dawes build sounds cool , I’ve never seen a Sturmey Archer 4 speed .... great tool as well , no more grief !
It actually should have been a really nice bike. 1961 top of the line Dawes I think. It definitely had downtube shifters and derailleurs at some point as the "shadow" of the old parts has been left on the paint.
A car ball joint puller or a G clamp with a socket on the underside works as well. The press looks better though.
Park Tool used to make them but no more which is odd because they sell a spoke gauge rule that displays a cotter pin measurement size variants.
Oh did they? There must be a few stashed in toolboxes unused then now.
real nice tool, perfect for that job. what did you say camping event?
Ah Eroica Britannia. The weekend festival for vintage bikes and that. The organisers are pretty poor this year though and still haven't released a date or replied to anyone about it.
Just looking at the shape of the press and wondering if It would fit more snugly if you lay it flat to the chain ring instead of in line with the axle?
It depends on the chainring and offset but some I've found you can't get it flat against the ring.
When punching the pin out better to still have the bottom of the crank supported so it doesn't spin. I've had the pin rewedge, this redefines difficult to remove.
Excellent tool.
Hi monkeyshred, I know that this is not on topic of this video but I wanted to ask what you use to shine up old frames when you dont repaint them? Such as what did you use for the Triumph Palm Beach in your last video?
That bike was just cleaned and lacquered. The lacquer (or clear coat) brought out all the old colours and shine. A good polish and wax would have the same effect though.
Would the tool not go on without taking the bolt out if you’d put the tool along the frame instead of perpendicular?
I didn’t have much problem removing old pins but after installing new ones I run into the problem of arms not being 100% opposite to each other. I’ve ordered more than 10 pins and I guess will have to try again. Any tips regarding alignment? Any help appreciated. My bike is old 80’s Raleigh 3 speed similar to Chiltern.
Was just typing up how to do the vice method when it appeared :-)
Hey can i make a request?
I have a old retro bike and my stem suddenly broke apart and i was wondering if you can convert a threadless stem to normal stems from mtb (i forgot whats it called)
Convert from threadless to threaded? So you can use a "quill" stem? Yeh, you could. You would have to change the headset and fork, as well as the stem though. The threadless steerer tube won't accommodate and quill stem.
I mean threaded to threadless lol sorry
I did notice that the cotters were fitted both the same way so the cranks would not have been in line .
Got it from where? for the life of me, i can not find a cotter pin removal tool anywhere, and iv'e got 12 Raleigh bicycles all vintage too, already mushroomed a pin on a wayfarer.
my kingdom for a cotter pin remover.
I think they all sold out pretty quickly Tom :( They should still be available via Bike Smith Design though
@@MonkeyShred Okay, thanks for that, seen on that site you gave me. Keep up on all the good stuff.
Is there a correct method to reinstalling the cotter pins? Where would be the best place to buy new ones also? Ive just managed to get two out on my bike but I think it would be best to replace them, ive never done it before so looking for some guidance please :)
My default place to go to is eBay for everything. SJS cycles sell cotter pins too. Amazon also have them if that's more your thing: amzn.to/31vrQM3 Just always double check the size. Best method to reinstall is with a cotter pin press but you can gently tap the back side with a hammer while doing the nut up too. If you just wrench on the nut it might not seat properly.
@@MonkeyShred Thank you very much, your videos have been a great help to be fair, I've just ordered this press on eBay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313132117597 it is different to your one but hopefully will do the job.
Where do you get the tool from?
Can you give me a link to a website
It was just on eBay bud. It looks like they've all sold out now. Bike Smith Design do some in the States though
Anyone got a link to one of those cotter pin removal tools please?
Search eBay for a used one or check out Bike Smith Design for a new one.
where can i get this tool?
The chap I bought mine off only had a few, but he seems to have copied the design from bikesmithdesign.com/
Cotter pin in USA is not the same thing as Cotter pin in UK.
how so?
@@Loz20365 In the US, a cotter pin is a split metal fastener that is bent over to lock nuts or otherwise hold two pieces together. In the bicycle world folks will recognize what you mean by a cotter pin in relation to the fastener used on a crank.
seems like the same thing to me
@@Loz20365 look up cotter pin in Wikipedia and you will see the difference.
What you would call a cotter pin in the states we would call a split pin over here. Usually used in automotive applications such as axle nuts etc. They are also used to stop clevis pins from dropping out in things like brake linkages.