How To Remove Stuck/Seized/Frozen Bottom Bracket Fixed Cup
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- Опубликовано: 3 фев 2025
- I show my favorite methods for stubborn, hard to remove bottom bracket drive side fixed cups from a bike. Watch to the end to see the fun method using an impact wrench! I have not encountered a fixed cup that I couldn't get out. My goal is always not to damage the frame. BTW, the pipe method does not usually damage the cup at all. It contacts the cup inside of where the bearings roll. It is also a softer steel than the cup.
No, this won't generally damage the bearing race. The pipe is a smaller diameter than the bearing race and hits well inside where the ball bearings ride.
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5 years after the video was posted and it saved me! This was what finally got my seized cup off! Thank you!!!!!
I was about ready to hacksaw the bike in half out of frustration! 😅
You saved me a lot of headache and saved a bike too!
Does it just sit right there for 5 years?
Kudos for the reference to Sheldon...he was a great asset for us basement bike mechanics.
was and still is.
This video is almost 5 years old, but I am new to the world of bike repair so it was new to me. I tried the bolt/pipe procedure and it worked absolutely perfectly for me. What an awesome and practical solution! Thank you for taking the time to make the video.
I tried PB Blaster, then this pipe method, then cheater bar, and still stuck. I don’t have an impact wrench, but turned the drill to #10 which hammered on it, but didn’t turn it.
Then, clamped a crescent wrench to the flats with the bolt and large washer and a lock washer between the wrench and flat washer because the wrench is thick. With this, I picked up the frame and smacked the wrench on the hard floor. Two hits worked.
I would not have thought of this without this awesome video. Thanks!
I had to use the impact method to finally get the fixed cup off of my Raleigh Sport. What I did, in addition to the video, is to use the Park Tool HCW-11 sandwiched between the washer and the fixed cup. This allowed more surface area to grip the washer, and also allowed a visual as to when the fixed cup starts to move. Once the fixed cup begins to move, I stopped using the impact tool and used just the Park Tool to remove the fixed cup the rest of the way off. I was afraid to "spin off" the fixed cup, as shown in the video, as it might strip the threads. Thanks to RJ for developing the tool, and posting this video!
I gotta say R.J., I FINALLY GOT MY FIXED CUP OUT! I played with it for two weeks and finally went to the hardware store and got myself a 1/2 inch bolt (wish home depot had 5/8') and washers, penetrating oil, a breaker bar and a long pipe for extra torque; I thought I might break the bolt with how tight I was getting it BUT man did it feel good when it started to move! Now I can install my new Campy record Crank to a new phil wood BB! Thx RJ, use your videos all the time!
Just got the fixed cup off my 1980 Peugeot U0-8 thanks to this video! I used both the water pipe 'tool' and the Park HCW-4 wrench. For anyone wondering: It's a left thread. Got to rotate clockwise to remove the cup.
Unless it's an Italian or French bike, or a few random others...
@@RJTheBikeGuy I believe my French made Peugeot has the Swiss threaded bottom bracket. Same thread as the French: 35mm-1, but left hand. The only information I could find was on Sheldon Brown's site: www.sheldonbrown.com/bbtaper.html
I just used the breaker bar method and it worked great! I put a square of cut up inner tube rubber between the cup and the washer to add some extra grip and hopefully reduce the necessary compression force a bit. I was a little scared to use by impact gun the first time but next time I'll give that a shot. You are a life saveer! This vintage Bianchi will live agian thanks to you 🙂
I thought about using rubber between the washer and the fixed cup, but did no even though I had a blown out inner tube just sitting there. I could not get the pipe and washer to tighten to fixed cup because it kept slipping. Great Idea!
I just used the enhanced method with a cheater bar and it worked great. Thank you very much.
RJ's video help me out of a jamb. Almost got the nut in such bad shape that it was never coming out, but once I got the 6" bolt and nut and used a 1/2 break over it came right out. My 95 Schwinn Homegrown lives to ride another day Thanks so much!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Using your modification of (my late friend) Shelly Brown's friction trick I was able to remove the fixed cup of my 50 year old Moulton Mk III. Raleigh cups are notoriously hard to remove. After a couple of failed attempts your instructions helped me get it out. Now to re-tap it 1.37x24 and install a modern bottom bracket. I added one refinement; I 3D printed sleeves to go between the bolt and the nipple and nipple and the shell to hold everything in close alignment during the removal process.
Sir, you are much appreciated! Thank you for all the bike repair lessons I have learned from you. You have been a tremendous help to this father working on my kids bikes. This "how to" video was really helpful today, worked like a charm after days of failure lol.
Thank You very much Sir! I broke the bolt the first time because the bearings are still in the cup, but I bought another one and successfully removed the bb cup the 2nd time. Huge fan of this channel!
Hello from Quebec, Canada , the tip with water pipe and bolt worked perfecttly , tank-you :)
RJ, Thanks for the useful info! I've been watching your videos as they appear on my recommended feed.
I have a GMC Denali 700c 6061 road bike. I've been fighting to removed the fixed cup, and tried the bolt and pipe method. I could not get it to tighten, to the fix cup, it would spin, even though I tighten with an impact gun. Then I was reading in one of the bike forums, one guy used a pipe wrench, to hold down the jaws to the slots. So I that gave me an idea since I have 36mm spanner, from Bike Hand (YC-153-L6). I use the washer to clamp the wrench to with the pipe to hold it down, and it finally worked. FWIW, I used a 3/4 x 3 1/2" black pipe nipple, and it deformed on both ends. I suggest using a harder steel pipe and a 3/4" Grade 8 bolt. Or use my method if you don't mind scratching the paint. I ended up whacking the wrench with a mallet before it broke free.
You know the adage, "Every twenty minute job is a broken bolt away from becoming a three day ordeal", well for me it took about a week to get the fixed cup out.
My bottom bracket on the drive side was really stubborn, but the pipe and bolt method worked a treat and saved my bike from being scrapped. Thanks for uploading this super video.
Thank you RJ. I used Sheldon's method. I couldn't find the pipe but I found lots of lock washers. It worked! I couldn't have removed that fixed cup without your help.
Wow!!! This is awesome! Just wish I had a hardware store in my basement. I’ll have to wait until one opens. Can’t wait to try this!!!!
Edit: it worked!!!! I had to get it so tight that it was a struggle to loosen it after, but it worked!!!! What a great tool!
This video really helped me with removal of the fixed cup on an old Raleigh. I used the Sheldon 5/8 bolt technique. Lessons learned - the washers sold with 5/8 bolts may be too big to fit in the shell. There may not be enough clearance inside the shell for a socket to get over the head of the nut. The lockwasher inside helps a lot (thanks Sheldon).
One related lesson learned - The BB shell of older and cheaper bikes may be out of round, complicating the process of installing a cartridge.
Perfect! I wrench at a local bike co-op. We find stuck BB fittings all the time. The "normal" Park tool and mallet technique kills the tool fast. I gonna try your impact tool and pipe method today
Wow, the part with the bolt and biiig wrenches works! Big thank you! Will save one old found bike before scraping! 😊
Well. Yet another timely solution - or three - to the exact problem I’m currently up against. My drive side is so jammed on it basically feels like part of the frame. At least I know now that in theory it can be removed. Thanks RJ.
It's so nice to see videos on how to work around problems when stuff just doesn't work. Mille grazie! Vielen Dank! Muito obrigado!
The Methode is very simple and very effective. This is an excellent solution for this problem and these tools are unexpensive. That is a good idea.
I had just about given up when I came across this video. One quick trip to the hardware store later (less than $5!), and success! Many thanks!
Absolutely superb - thank you, I was working on an old Peugeot frame and used your pipe/bolt technique. Worked a treat. Now properly cleaned, packet with fresh grease and rebuilt ready to ride. Thank you 👍👍
Another great top tips video on How to, I have confidence sending viewers your way. Big thumbs up Andy
Thanks!
ok where do i go to bring u a bike that has this same exact problem??????
Saludos desde Argentina!! For less than 2 bucks I made the pipe method... Thanks a lot!!
Oh, me of little faith. I watched RJ do it with the bolt-and-pipe method but was skeptical that I could do it that way myself. Hah! Cup loosened in twenty seconds. Another trip to the LBS avoided. Thanks again, RJ.
I want to say thank you for this video i had a stuck fixed cup on the bottom bracket on a old rusted mongoose i did the step you said with a long screw a couple washers and a bolt and it worked for m. I want to say i really appreciate you and your videos thanks so much again
Moises Rivera
I used a variation of your tip. I used a large bolt and washers to clamp the correct tool in place and a mallet to loosen the cup. Thanks for the hint!
I know this is an old video but just wanted to let you know that this trick worked like a charm for me! Thanks! Keep making great videos!
Thanks, this is cool. I'm currently fighting this monster. re: the French Italian Counter-clockwise. All you need to do to trap the Fixed cup, is do most of what you do in the video-- but only to the point you really lock the pipe on, then a lock washer and another nut tightened down on the left side (non-gears), then muscle or impact wrench on the other side should turn it without loosening any of the nuts. Thanks for your help. Wish me luck....
Yep. Tighten from the non drive side.
@@RJTheBikeGuy Whew! Just got done. What a monster. I tried most of what you did, plus a few other things that didn't work (a hammer drill isn't a substitute for a impact driver) I ended up cutting into the sides with a carbide blade on a Sawzall, then driving a cold chisel into the two slots and cranking down on that with a big pipe wrench. And there was no rust in the seized side! original paint. WTF? tip for using a carbide blade on a Sawzall. You don't have to rest the support on your nut. Use different parts of the blade. Also that cup is pretty deep. I was worried about cutting into the threads on my frame. Not even close....except on the non-drive side. I never want to do that again.
@@WillN2Go1 Is it an aluminum frame?
@@RJTheBikeGuy It's a 1987 Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo steel frame.
Awesome video. I have an extremely stick fixed cup so I might try bolt method.
I just got a Vitus 979 aluminum frame (French bike) with Shimano 1.37x24T fixed cup. To loosen, should I go CCW or CW? Mahalo for all the helpful videos you put out!🤙🏽
Thank you. I managed to save a vintage marin mtb from the scrap yard as a direct result of this video. 😀
Great method. Thanks for sharing.
Heating up the bracket with a heat-gun before applying this method made a big difference for me.
Without applying heat the pipe would deform(!) but the bracket did not move. After heating it up the bracket moved rather easily. It seems not uncommon that some glue is applied to the threads on the right side bracket by the manufacturer. That softens, when heat is applied.
"Fun method" worked a treat, thank you for posting this
This def worked but it took me a bit. Def need some goood strength to get the nut, bolt and washer on really tight. When you think you cant get it any tighter, try it again. Also used a good amount of wd40 and let it set in with the cup facing down at a slight angle so the rest of the wd40 has time to seap in. Then I put a socket wrench in on the nut and a pipe wrench on the bolt and hit it a couple times with a hammer until it fiiinally got loose just when I thought it wouldnt so thanks for the video!
Great instructable! I've used the Sheldon method with 100% success. I do like the impact wrench method though 😊
One tip to anyone trying the pipe method, make sure if you've sprayed any pentrating oil in the bb don't let any oil get between the cup and washer.
I like the fun part a lot.
Besides all the other tricks!
Thank you so much been trying to remove mine for about a week now, didn’t know the name of it so glad I stumbled across this. Got the part tool coming Thursday along with some penetrating oil
Thanks for this, RJ. I've got a stuck fixed cup on a mid 90s Giant Acapulco that I'm working on (in my latest videos) and I've been driving myself crazy trying to get it removed. I'm going to try your pipe method tomorrow and upload a video if successful!
RJ, I don't know if you remember our conversation about my 1980ś peugeot from earlier this winter but a quick update on that; after several weeks, 3 guys helping and 5 of the Sheldon Brown device breaking we finally gave up and someone had a brilliant idea on how to get the rust out of the cup. we made one more Sheldon thing and placed sandpaper through the bold then we cranked on it for a while and it sanded the rust patches out. The fixed cap never moved but the inside is nice and smooth and the bearings spin in there like butter.
I would have gotten it off. Keep in mind made in France Peugeots would have right hand threading. But made in Canada Peugeots would have left hand threading.
So the bearing race was rusty? Why not just sand it down by hand to remove the rust? Use a bit of penetrating oil as well. I've sanded races that were nasty with pitting and they feel fine after. Obviously not as good as a new cup but it isn't like you are doing the tour de france.
because we couldn't get the cup to move either direction at all we ended up sanding out the race. we used Sheldon's stacked washers to reach it.
Interesting. Seized BB's are a pain in the butt!
Thanks for making this video. I just won a 2 day war with a fixed cup. Seeing that it was possible gave me the will to keep going!
I know this video is over a year old but I wanted to say thanks anyway. My washers were cheap and started to bend. I used my old pedal arm in place of the washer and once it was stuck in there, I hammered it in some more. That allowed me to just loosen the other side and just spin the pedal arm around and spin the cup along with it.
Thanks for posting this, it really helped
+RJ the bike guy Thanks again, the impact wrench is the best! Two thumbs up.
RJ- best method yet is 2 Pipe Wrenches (one long, the other smaller(to tighten long one). Grip the seat post in a death grip, use penetrating oil prior (2-3 days often) the bash upward with Sledge Hammer (small handheld)
For bottom bracket fixed cup?
Super useful. Very clever problem solving.
Nice new ideas. When the steel bottom bracket was stuck in my alloy frame, the only thing that helped was heat from a heat gun. It didnt even break the paint, like a blowtorch would've.
well good video its a brilliant way to fix it,shall remember this for sure-after all them years, good old googling it,have messed about with bikes for years would never have dreamed of that
Thanks again for you helpful videos! I have a question, when I pulled the spindle out of my 1982 PUCH 12 speed I forget to take mental note of which side sticks out on the drive side. Is it the long side on the drive side? Thanks!!
You can also use your long bolt, over-sized washers and pipe setup to clamp your Park Tools HCW-4 solidly onto the shallow fixed cup so it wont slip off when you use your wooden mallet.
Nice methode, have the same problem, will try it tomorrow, regards from Germany...
Nice, mine had some sort of slot instead of something you could put a wrench on so I ended up resorting to driling out some of the cup and using an angle grinder to make the slot a bit deeper give myself a fighting chance with the masonry chisel. The whole bottom bracket was trash anyway so if anyones looking to just get the thing off then the destructive option is always there.
Park HCW4. Consider that ordered. I normally just use a massive adjustable or a vice but that seems like a more elegant tool 👍
You're my saviour man, thanks!
thank you so much.
the threading really confused me, the bike I'm working on is an old, possibly late 70s early eighties peugeot leisure bike.
I went with English thread as its most common.
i almost gave up but used Sheldons bolt/nut tool, and when I connected it correctly to my amazement and joy it came off.
I used a breaker bar😊
That's even better than the last two videos. How about placing the HCW-4 sandwiched in there?
that is perfect! I have seen that on another video@!
If a fixed cup doesn't come out easily with a BB wrench, I go straight to the Seldon tool. No sense busting knuckles, chipping paint or thrashing the cup. It works ridiculously well and has never failed me. Wish I had an impact wrench though.. :)
none of these methods have worked yet on my 1975 peugeot py10e. going to try using some heat next to see if metal expands a bit. Question is it possible to repack cup with bearings with out removing the fixed cup
Thank you RJ!
Bracket magician.
Well done great tips Thanks.
RJ your the man 👍👍love the videos plz keep them coming 🤜🤛👍
Thank you!! The impact hammer setup did it!
Dirty great pipe wrenches work perfectly to !
Very interesting and probably useful!
I liked it.
I want to thank you very much for showing me how to repair a sticky rear derailleur.
I know it's old, but THANK YOU!!!!!!
I’ve got a Mongoose Hitch Fat Bike. My fixed cup is stuck. I don’t have a tool. I’ve tried a crescent but keeps slipping off. I might try using the pipe method.
Good that you used a corded impact wrench...my inexpensive cordless with 150 ft-lb of torque has failed to unstick a pedal.
This thing rocks! I have a couple air impact wrenches, but they suck.
If it is really stuck does it hurt your wrists, or try to rotate the bike/stand? I don't have an impact gun so I like the 'adjustable wrench with a 5 foot leverage bar' method. I snapped my first adjustable wrench and upgraded to a larger Mastercraft one with a handle narrow enough to get a bar over it. It didn't snap.
William Hitchens its stuck. I even tried a 3 foot length of pipe on a hex wrench (bike on the ground, tires pumped up) till the hex was close to shearing off >> over 200 foot pounds. I was hoping the impact wrench would kick it loose.
A bike mechanic friend of mine showed me a trick where you use a flat chisel and tap(increasingly more forcefully) the cup from each side, back and forth while spraying some penetrating oil. The vibration helps crack the seal. Careful not to slip and hit the BB shell!
6:50 "anyway, i hope you find this shi.... video useful or interesting" :)
Not!
Haha! I didn't notice that but it definitely sounded like he was going to say that. But since RJ has never said that in any of his vids I doubt he was going to :) As for Cagney, well , he's obviously a really easy going, classy guy, lol.
16mm bolt for the metric Boys and Girls 😊
Skip all other methods, including the Park Tool (I own several), and go directly to the bolt and pipe method at 3:56. This is what really works. Be sure you have a friend to help hold the non-drive side wrench while you turn the breaker bar. If holding it doesn't work, they might need to stand on it while you turn the breaker bar. Seriously, this is hard even using this method, but it actually works!
Mine is not coming loose. I have the park tool, it’s a kent GMC Denali, I’m up grading my dads bike. This thing is really really tight. My question is, is it possible a right handed thread???
hi, how tight should we go with the fixed cup in the first place, so as not to end up in a situation like this? is hand-tight-with-foot-on-frame-for-leverage enough? or should one tap the spanner with a mallet to tighten it firmly? thank you
Hi @RJ, will a 1/2" bolt work? I can't seem to file a 5/8" bolt that is longer than 3 1/2".
Shrug. I am guessing you aren't looking very hard.
Do you travel?
We would love to have you live at our local bike co op. Im sure you get this question a bunch
It cost me $7.00 at Lowe's for all the hardware. This method worked perfect, in less than 3 minutes! If I took it to a bike shop, I would've had to leave it, and it would've cost a minimum of $20.00
What also works everytime is to clamp the thing down on a strong vice with enough space around. Like this the frame can be used as a big lever.
I needed to remove a 38mm hexagonal stronglight cup from a Vintage Peugeot. Could not find the right tool anywhere. I followed your suggestion and it worked!! THANK YOU!
good one Im trying to convert my bike to an ebike to get to work.......needed that.
I just bought a BDSHD mid-drive. I’m having the same problem. I guess I’ll try the pipe method. But there’s always welding a nut and using an impact to get it out.
very useful method! thanks!
Very nice just for everyone these are not bike specific methods. These are mechanically inclined methods that work in different situations
3:58 "Elegant Sheldon Brown method" parts list:
3/4" 4" long pipe
5/8" 6" long bolt with nut and 2 washers
Dimensions are approximate, adjust as needed. It's RJ
Good job, man!
I made my own bolt nuts and tighted it down broke loose in a few secs even with the tool by itself didnt help. But thank u for your diy tools
Can you do the same with French BB threaded?
Can you do this only using bicycle parts? That's what I'm in the process of doing now.
Amazing, thank you
nice ideas! GRACIAS
very useful, I have to try it out on my bike, I have exactly this problem
Let me know how it goes.
RJ The Bike Guy it worked out quite nicely. Thanks a lot
unrelated question. Is it ok to remove the manual lockout of a suspension fork and replace it with another coil spring with the same tension and length to make it a dual coil spring suspension fork? how will it change the characteristics of the fork?
DONT there is a dampener on the other side and i would feel super bouncy and i dont think itll even fit
thanks for the tips Sheldon and RJ.
Unfortunately, it seems that because of the torque used to install my Italian threaded fixed cup, the torque needed to remove it with the nut/bolt/washer jig resulted in me breaking the cup and also fouling the spindle seal. off to ebay to get a new fixed cup i guess.
the hozan tool is only $54 dollars on amazon. only marginally more expensive than a new fixed cup and the improvised jig. those with italian threaded bb's might consider that since they are torqued on so much more than english threaded DS cups.
Only $54 (and $43.49 shipping)
they always get ya somehow don't they? cheers and love the channel
Special tools such as Hozan C-358 and VAR BP-03000 are designed to remove and install fixed cups. These tools fit various sizes of cups and are very capable. With the Hozan tool one can produce twice the torque compared to a regular Park Tool fixed cup wrench.
Downside is they are very pricey. Consider them if you install and uninstall fixed cups a lot!
this was like quasi bike ASMR... nuthin more relaxing than when a seized bb is released...
What about penetrating spray while the pug is on side to allow some gravity pooling?
Early 70s bike boom pugs were sometimes made in Canada with RH BB fixed cup threads?
Thought the Canada assembly didn't occur til the 80s?
good ideas for cheap but effective fixed cup removal tools.. i have the Var tool, which works very well but is much more expensive. The only advantage the Var tool would have is that you don't have to hold the nut on the other side while turning the drive side nut.... in my option...
I was looking at the Hozan tool. Not cheap either.