Removing chainring bolts?

[liquid1010]

With spring nearly here, I decided to switch to a Race Face Narrow Wide 32T chainring. I have the crank off, but for the life of me can't get the chainring bolts loose (simple 5mm allen for the small ring).

Are they supposed to be that tight?

[revelations]

No but they might have had loc tite on them.

[liquid1010]

Originally posted by revelations
No but they might have had loc tite on them.

Good point. Thought I was going to break the allen key when I was trying to remove them.

Any suggestions?

[swak]

Get a strong allen key lol.

Worst case you'd be drilling them out.

[ExtraSlow]

You can get alley key sockets if you need more torque.

[revelations]

bigger allen key or an extension of some kind

[lilmira]

I used pb blaster to remove some rusty screws before, worked like a charm. Heat may work too.

[ercchry]

It's sounds crazy, but usually my first step with stuck bolts is to try and tighten them first, this often works unless it's really bad, then it's pb blaster, if that fails heat always works

[relyt92]

Originally posted by ercchry
It's sounds crazy, but usually my first step with stuck bolts is to try and tighten them first, this often works unless it's really bad, then it's pb blaster, if that fails heat always works

Trying to tighten it like an eighth of a turn is sometimes enough to break the rust loose and allow it to come out nicely.

[Projek01]

if you suspect loctite, use heat on it first. Use an impact gun instead of a ratchet if you have one.

[liquid1010]

The bike is basically new - got it late last year, so I doubt there is any rust. With that said, I'll try all these ideas. Thanks!

[BigDL]

Yeah they can be a pain in the butt, worst is when the allen key slips or brakes and you bash your knuckles on the chain rings.