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In a departure from its long tradition of serviceability and tool-making, when Campagnolo introduced the Power Torque (PT) integrated-spindle crank to provide a lower-cost alternative to its Ultra-Torque (UT) cranks, it provided neither a tool nor a methodology to remove the crankset from the bike or to remove the driveside bearing.
Installation is as simple as can be, with only a 14mm hex key, if you have one that big. But while most integrated-spindle cranks, including the Campagnolo Ultra-Torque and Fulcrum Racing-Torq models, can be removed with only a hex key, the Power Torque crank requires a puller. Bike shops needing to service them were doing things like modifying automotive gear pullers to get the left arm off. Bike tool companies like Park and Cyclus soon stepped into the breach and came up with solutions. Here is how to use them.
Instructions for removing the left Power Torque crankarm with the Park CBP-3 UT/PT puller and CBP-5 Power Torque adapter tools (you’ll need both tool sets):
1. Unscrew the crank bolt with a 14mm hex key. The arm will not come off.
2. Remove the washer. If the washer did not come off with the crank bolt, get it out of the crankarm hole. If you don’t, you won’t be able to pull the crank off and may wreck your tool and your crank trying.
3. Pad the crank. If it’s a carbon Power Torque crank, install one of the cardboard curved pads from the CBP-5 tool set under the head of the crank. If it’s an aluminum crank, slip the molded plastic cupped pad from the CBP-5 tool set under the head of the crank. (The head of the aluminum Power Torque crank has a curved edge that terminates in a ridge around the end, and the feet of the CBP-3 bearing puller that you will be employing to pull the crank off cannot grab it well without marring it, hence the plastic molded pad to protect the crank finish. The carbon Power Torque crank, by contrast, has a flat back face that mates well with the bearing puller’s fingertips, so a cardboard pad is sufficient to protect it.)
4. Insert the extension plug. The plug will push on the end of the spindle (as long as you removed the washer that was under the crank bolt) when the bearing puller’s push rod pushes on it.
5. Install the CBP-3 bearing puller. Hook the puller’s fingers under the pad surrounding the head of the crank (there are little recesses for the fingertips under the edges of the molded plastic pad), and tighten the two side knobs to remove play from the puller’s fingers so they can’t slip off.
6. Pull the crank off. Tighten the push rod until the crankarm comes off.
You can also use the Cyclus 720310 puller to remove carbon Power Torque cranks or the Cyclus 720249 puller to remove aluminum Power Torque cranks.
7. Yank out the drive arm. Pull the spindle out by pulling on the drive crank. If it’s stubborn, tap the end of the spindle with a soft hammer. Catch the wavy washer.
Bearing removal
The Park CPB-3 puller will get the bearing off the spindle of Campagnolo Ultra-Torque and Power Torque and Fulcrum Racing-Torq cranks, but for Power Torque cranks you’ll also need the CPB-5 tool set. A puller like this Park combination or the long Cyclus 720248 puller for drive-side Power Torque bearing removal is required; you do not want to pry with a screwdriver against a carbon crank to get a bearing off!
1. Remove the crankarms as above.
2. Remove the circlip holding the bearing onto the spindle. With a screwdriver, push one end of the circlip out of its groove, and then work around with the screwdriver to pop the entire clip out. This applies to both arms of Campagnolo Ultra-Torque and Fulcrum Racing-Torq cranks and only to the drive arm of Campagnolo Power Torque cranks.
3. Install the bearing puller. On Ultra-Torque and Racing-Torq, hook the fingers of the CBP-3 puller under the edge of the bearing and tighten the two side knobs to remove play from the puller’s fingers so they can’t slip off. On Power Torque, first slip the CBP-5 steel extension basket under the bearing to extend the reach of the CBP-3 puller sufficiently to reach the Power Torque’s full-length spindle. The puller-extension basket will just slip under with standard-spider (135mm BCD) PT cranks; with compact (110mm BCD) PT cranks (for down to 34-tooth chainrings), you’ll have to remove the inner chainring to slip the tool under the bearing. Hook the CBP-3’s fingers into the slots at the top edges of the basket and tighten the two side knobs to remove play from the puller’s fingers so they can’t slip off.
4. Tighten the push bolt of the CBP-3 puller clockwise until the bearing pops off. On Campagnolo Power Torque cranks, the left bearing is pressed into the cup, as on bottom brackets, for 24mm-integrated-spindle cranks made by most other brands. It can be pulled out with the same special tool required for Shimano, FSA, SRAM, etc. bearing removal, or you can replace the cup and bearing.
Bearing Installation
1. Replace the bearing seal on the spindle.
2. Slide the new bearing onto the spindle as far as you can by hand.
3. Press the bearing into place. Use the CBP-3 (UT and Fulcrum only) or CBP-5 bearing setter and a hammer; on Power Torque, you’ll need the longer CBP-5 setter. The Cyclus 720263 bearing press for driveside Power Torque bearing as well as Ultra-Torque bearings tightens the bearing onto either UT or PT cranks with a screw, rather than with a hammer.
4. Slide on the snapring, and push it into its groove.
5. Reinstall the crankarms.
I have received a lot of questions for my FAQ column on how to remove PT cranks. This should answer that, although the tools required, whether from Park or Cyclus, are large and pricey. It’s a big ask for consumers to have these and be able to remove their own cranks.