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I've got an Sram AXS Dub Crankset on my bike and noticed a few days ago, that the black cover around the crankset bolt (chainring side.. where you tighten/loosen usally to remove the crankset) has apparently.. fallen off. I didn't touch that but it's gone. I asked my dealer and he said Sram doesn't offer these covers, yet so he sent me a replacement crankset which is nice, but I am having problems removing the old crankset in the frame.

I tried and tried but couldn't remove it (by turning counter-clockwise with an 8mm hex key) so I started googling and it appears that this particular black cap is actually needed to remove the crank - is that true?

Or let me ask another way: is it possible (and if so how) to remove the crankset as is / shown in the picture?

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Jörg Battermann
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  • If you have a replacement crank, can't you use the bolt from it? – Klaster_1 Нет войне Jul 07 '19 at 10:13
  • @Klaster_1 - He'd need to use the cover from the replacement crank. – Daniel R Hicks Jul 07 '19 at 12:13
  • You probably can find a conventional crank remover tool that will fit, though you may have to look around a bit to find one that diameter. – Daniel R Hicks Jul 07 '19 at 12:14
  • Are you having trouble removing the bolt, or getting the crank off after removing the bolt? Can you provide a link to the resource you found by Google that says the cap is needed? – Argenti Apparatus Jul 07 '19 at 12:30
  • You could just order a replacement: https://www.jensonusa.com/SramTruvativ-GXP-Crank-Bolt-en.aspx – Daniel R Hicks Jul 07 '19 at 14:23
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    For those unfamiliar with the concept: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/11107/the-pros-and-cons-of-crank-self-extractors – Daniel R Hicks Jul 07 '19 at 14:25
  • @DanielRHicks yeah that's what I did about 15 minutes ago. I don't want to damage or use the replacement crankset (or its bolt) if I can just get a replacement part. Kind of surprised the dealer I bought the crankset from didn't know but the AXS ones do have different ones, i.e. here: https://r2-bike.com/SRAM-Crank-Bolt-for-DUB-Cranks-M18-M30-black . I'm more wondering if that'll actually DO it / allow me to loosen the M8 bolt/screw. Right now I cannot move it one picometer.. and that's why I started looking around what might be going on. – Jörg Battermann Jul 07 '19 at 14:27
  • @JörgB. - I've only once dealt with a "self-pulling" crank, and not this particular style, but I do know that it's quite common for the crank fixing bolt to be quite tight. You typically need an L-shaped allen wrench and often a "cheater" (a length of pipe). Or you could try a "socket wrench" with an allen bit. You do want to be sure the wrench fits tightly and doen't slip out, or you could bollix the bolt. – Daniel R Hicks Jul 07 '19 at 14:59

2 Answers2

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Yes, it's true!

The design is known as a self-extracting crank, you can find some excellent videos on how they work, by searching online. You'll see on page 24 of the installation manual that when the crank is removed in steps 1 and 2, it has the little cover with the four small holes in around the crank bolt (where yours is missing). The crank bolt turns against this cap to drive the crank off the spindle. The crank bolt might be nice and tight, but it is designed to be turned.

There isn't any other good way to remove the crank. Some people might remove the bolt and then start hitting the crank until it falls off the spindle, but I wouldn't do that unless it was a last resort to save a bike with a crank which will be scrapped.

Swifty
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The SRAM Road DUB BB/crank manual (page 24) says to simply 'lightly tap the spindle with a rubber or plastic mallet from the drive side'.

The manual actually isn't very descriptive of the crank removal process, but it does not mention use of a cap to get the crank off.

Update after OP stated that the issue is undoing the bolt.

Page 20 of the above linked manual specifies a torque of 54Nm on the crank bolt, which is pretty tight and will be difficult to undo. You'll need a full size socket driver or long 'cheater bar'. I'd also recommend a good quality hex bit which will be much less likely to round off the bolt.

Swifty
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Argenti Apparatus
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