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So you’ve just got your new Mango bike or decided to upgrade the pedals, maybe it's even the case that you're building a bike from scratch, therefore you are going to need to know how to fit the pedals correctly. For some reason pedals seem to be the place where a lot of people go wrong, which can cause some costly repairs if a crank arm is threaded! Keep reading and get it right first time.

THE THREADS

Pedals come threaded to match the thread on your crank, which means they are both threaded in different directions. This holds them in place so you can put the power down, but can cause some problems if you try to twist both pedals on the same way. 

First, you're going to need to pick up those pedals and take a look. On our metal pedals you will notice an L and an R on the end of the pedal with the thread on. On the upgraded platform pedals these little letters can be found on the inside of the pedal (see below image). You guessed it—L is for Left and R is for Right!

The reason for the specific pedal sides is that each pedal is threaded differently so they don’t unscrew while you're riding. The Left pedal is threaded in reverse and the Right side has a standard thread, like a screw. If it's starting to sound really simple that's because it is, you've just got to remember the directions of the threads so you don't ruin your crank!

Let's get started

Now we have identified and are confident that we know which pedal is going on which side of the bike lets get started.

Take some grease and place it all over the thread on the pedals. You can dab a little on the threads of the crank if you fancy it too. This gets a bit messy so make sure you’ve got a hand towel ready, and try not to stroke the family pet until you're finished.

Be sparing but put on enough to cover the entire thread. If you don't use grease and decide that you want to change your pedals down the line then prepare for them to seize up a bit. 

Next, place your pedal washers over the threads, one on each pedal. These will help stop the pedals seizing against the crank and also aids with the join from pedal to crank.

Get 'em on!

Now it's time to finally get the pedals fitted. Take the Right pedal for the right side of the bike and thread in with your fingers, to the right. It should run pretty smoothly up to a point where it is finger tight. Take the Left pedal for the left side of the bike and twist it in with your fingers to the left. A little trick here that works on both sides is to turn the crank backwards when the pedal is in loose and it will tighten itself! Magic!

Lastly, tighten fully with a pedal spanner. Don't overdo it, just make sure they're not going anywhere, and repeat on both sides.

Now your pedals should be on correctly and if you ever need to remove them then you can just reverse this process.