First time hearing of these cranks

Wtf lol

Someone posted these before. Different, that's for sure.

They have a few different things, Company is based in Mexico if I recall correctly.

Their peg/hubguard combo is pretty neat.

Fixes a problem that doesn’t exist and even creates new problems. Cool idea on paper though.

Whatcha gonna do when your splines get stuck together? Hammer away at the back side of the crank arms, risking bending/denting them?

I like having the ability to pop my installation tool in the end of the spindle to hammer the spindle out. Doesn’t cause any damage whatsoever to the cranks😊

They've been out for a while, not a big fan of em, I like the ability to have all parts independent when it comes to cranks that way if something breaks i'm not a replacing an arm and a spindle. I think I'll always stick with 3 piece just for that reason. Same thing with traditional seatclamp etc.

Mutantbikes is a portuguese company, they've always done weird shits, the name suits them right at least.
I would never ride these cranks, they're also the geniuses behind this...

HardBMX_Tim wrote:

Fixes a problem that doesn’t exist and even creates new problems. Cool idea on paper though.

Whatcha gonna do when your splines get stuck together? Hammer away at the back side of the crank arms, risking bending/denting them?

I like having the ability to pop my installation tool in the end of the spindle to hammer the spindle out. Doesn’t cause any damage whatsoever to the cranks😊

I always hammer my thunderbolts off. Steel hammer sometimes, hasnt dented suprisingly.

Bulletpup wrote:

I always hammer my thunderbolts off. Steel hammer sometimes, hasnt dented suprisingly.

The taper makes that pretty easy, kinda like how a draft angle on an injection moulded part makes removal much easier than having a straight wall. I can quite often remove my Thunderbolts by hand; I just don't go nuts on the bolt torque.

HardBMX_Tim wrote:

Fixes a problem that doesn’t exist and even creates new problems. Cool idea on paper though.

Whatcha gonna do when your splines get stuck together? Hammer away at the back side of the crank arms, risking bending/denting them?

I like having the ability to pop my installation tool in the end of the spindle to hammer the spindle out. Doesn’t cause any damage whatsoever to the cranks😊

Bulletpup wrote:

I always hammer my thunderbolts off. Steel hammer sometimes, hasnt dented suprisingly.

Thunderbolts also pop right off once they break loose. Nothing even remotely similar to 48 splines, like the ones in the post, getting stuck together.

Hitting the spindle is much more efficient than whacking away at a crank arm with leverage on the spindle.. At least in my experience taking apart rusted 48 spline crank sets on used bikes that I’ve bought.

HardBMX_Tim wrote:

Fixes a problem that doesn’t exist and even creates new problems. Cool idea on paper though.

Whatcha gonna do when your splines get stuck together? Hammer away at the back side of the crank arms, risking bending/denting them?

I like having the ability to pop my installation tool in the end of the spindle to hammer the spindle out. Doesn’t cause any damage whatsoever to the cranks😊

Bulletpup wrote:

I always hammer my thunderbolts off. Steel hammer sometimes, hasnt dented suprisingly.

Steel hammer EVERY time. No problems.

HardBMX_Tim wrote:

Fixes a problem that doesn’t exist and even creates new problems. Cool idea on paper though.

Whatcha gonna do when your splines get stuck together? Hammer away at the back side of the crank arms, risking bending/denting them?

I like having the ability to pop my installation tool in the end of the spindle to hammer the spindle out. Doesn’t cause any damage whatsoever to the cranks😊

Bulletpup wrote:

I always hammer my thunderbolts off. Steel hammer sometimes, hasnt dented suprisingly.

p1p1092 wrote:

The taper makes that pretty easy, kinda like how a draft angle on an injection moulded part makes removal much easier than having a straight wall. I can quite often remove my Thunderbolts by hand; I just don't go nuts on the bolt torque.

Damn! Ive never been able to remove mine by hand after a session...I even use anti seize grease!

I usually have to smack the crank arms crazy hard on each side alternating top then bottom, top then bottom, etc.

Mine usually come off within 5-10 really good smacks with a standard sized steel hammer and 4-5 smacks with a deadblow or mini-sledge hammer.

Bulletpup wrote:

Damn! Ive never been able to remove mine by hand after a session...I even use anti seize grease!

I usually have to smack the crank arms crazy hard on each side alternating top then bottom, top then bottom, etc.

Mine usually come off within 5-10 really good smacks with a standard sized steel hammer and 4-5 smacks with a deadblow or mini-sledge hammer.

If I can't open them by hand, I'll just do a few hops and they'll come off easily.

Bulletpup wrote:

Damn! Ive never been able to remove mine by hand after a session...I even use anti seize grease!

I usually have to smack the crank arms crazy hard on each side alternating top then bottom, top then bottom, etc.

Mine usually come off within 5-10 really good smacks with a standard sized steel hammer and 4-5 smacks with a deadblow or mini-sledge hammer.

I hear ya. Mine need to be absolutely belted with the hammer to get them off, always plenty of grease.

George French recommends removing the cranks by loosening the bolt 1/4-1/2 turn and doing a bunny hop with the cranks in the opposite position that you normally ride (eg: left foot forward if you ride right foot forward). You'll hear a little "pop" and the cranks should come off afterwards without having to use a hammer.

Always worked for me.

Da Biker Boy wrote:

George French recommends removing the cranks by loosening the bolt 1/4-1/2 turn and doing a bunny hop with the cranks in the opposite position that you normally ride (eg: left foot forward if you ride right foot forward). You'll hear a little "pop" and the cranks should come off afterwards without having to use a hammer.

Always worked for me.

I was about to say this. Thunderbolts literally fall apart with this method 👍

Da Biker Boy wrote:

George French recommends removing the cranks by loosening the bolt 1/4-1/2 turn and doing a bunny hop with the cranks in the opposite position that you normally ride (eg: left foot forward if you ride right foot forward). You'll hear a little "pop" and the cranks should come off afterwards without having to use a hammer.

Always worked for me.

Good tip. I’ll try that next time. Thanks.

I knew immediately from reading the title that it'd be about the Mutant Bikes cranks.