[Closed] A little vent

Chin up mate.

Mechanical issues with any bike can really make you wonder why you do this hobby sometimes.

There are a lot of ways you can try to free the post. Some scary, some not.

Might be worth searching this site. There are loads of threads about it.

What materials are stuck, alloy frame/ steel etc?

Don't despair - yet
what are frame & seatpost made of ?
BBs are fairly cheap (and a regrease might save it anyway)
SOmeone will be along shortly to post the website of the place that sells loads of hangers

and here's a bigger vent, to cheer you up:

[img] [/img]

Sorry to hear that. You're not the first, and won't be the last.

I try to remember to ask people if the seatpost - and also the bottom bracket - are stuck before buying a used frame.

In the olden days the headset could also end up seized as a cheeky little bonus.

There are many *many* threads on removing stuck seatposts, but it's one of my least favourite tasks.

Thanks all. Frame is carbon, post is alloy. From what I read, this is a common combination for getting galvanic corrosion and it's at least possible that it's not going to come free. Certainly, nothing I've tried has come close to shifting it.

Good call on the hanger website - anyone have a link?

[img] [/img]

[url= http://www.theseatpostman.com ]The Seatpost man.[/url]

Might be able to shift it.
About £65 if I remember.

Now I want to know what the seatpost man's secret technique is!

[url= https://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html ]Sheldon Brown 14 suggestions[/url] on removing a stuck seat post, number 13 looks interesting not the usual twist and pull.

It's the karma gods telling you that road biking is best avoided, instead you must choose another path (trail) 😆

Thanks all for the advice and morale boosts. At this point, the options appear to be:

1) Plusgas + time
2) Coke (or Ammonia) to dissolve the oxidation
3) Chop it and hacksaw it off
4) Send it to the chap in Chorley

I spent a couple of hours last night with a friend wrenching and shoving and I've probably reached the "enough force to break the frame" point now, so brute force isn't going to solve this.

Option 13 on Sheldon's list is interesting, but I can't quite work out exactly what he did. It sounds like he fabricated something so sit on the top of the seat tube and then apply gradual pressure between there and the top of the post. This isn't such a daft idea, tbh and I could probably fabricate something to do this. I might nip off today to see if I can find some pipe with the right internal diameter that could fit around the seatpost and onto the clamp collar.

Being honest though, I think that a hacksaw is going to be involved in the very near future...

2) Coke (or Ammonia) to dissolve the oxidation

I read the FAQ at the seatpostman website. He mentions testing the Cola method on alloy posts and the conclusion was zero effect exceot for staining it brown. May work on steel.

I presume you bought the bike some time ago?

anyone tried lots of lube and then take saddle off and whack the post in further with a wooden mallet? might free it enough to remove it.

Sheldon Number 13 sounds good - sounds doable with 2 pieces of aluminium, drill, hacksaw, tap and a couple of bolts.

When my Al seatpost got stuck in my carbon Camber I ended up hitting the seatpost in with a lump hammer. It worked but I wouldn't recommend it, especially with a road frame.

Number 13 sounds like you just cut some aluminium to fit between the seat rail bolts and the top of the seat tube. Then slowly tighten up the seat rail bolts. If it works it would be completely awesome. Put it on Youtube!

Number 13 sounds like you just cut some aluminium to fit between the seat rail bolts and the top of the seat tube. Then slowly tighten up the seat rail bolts. If it works it would be completely awesome. Put it on Youtube!

anyone tried lots of lube and then take saddle off and whack the post in further with a wooden mallet? might free it enough to remove it.

I presume you bought the bike some time ago?

anyway you can try and cool the post?

Have you explored the possibility of a refund?

Seller would have to be a dick to refuse.

(once you'd bought a new mech hanger obvs)

anyway you can try and cool the post?

Have you explored the possibility of a refund?

Large hammer has fixed seatposts (alu in alu)in the past however I have a steel fork with an old style alu stem thats as good as welded in and will need drilling out.

Any local bikes shops willing to give it a go?

Or seller could sort out the seatpost issue.

Any local bikes shops willing to give it a go?

wilburt - Member

Large hammer has fixed seatposts (alu in alu)in the past however I have a steel fork with an old style alu stem thats as good as welded in and will need drilling out.

Any local bikes shops willing to give it a go?

You should just soak it in caustic soda (using safety precautions). Melt it out. Easiest way.

sammysquid - Member

anyway you can try and cool the post?

I've freezed a steel frame/alu post before and it shifted a seatpost that was incredibly stuck out. Not sure how that works on carbon.

I'd start by spending a fiver on a can of penetrating oil and spraying that into the seatube 3/4 times a day, generously. Have teh bike upside down and spray through either the bottom bracket or better still through the bottle cage mounts if available. A week or so of that should make a fair bit of difference.

You should just soak it in caustic soda (using safety precautions). Melt it out. Easiest way.

I tried this. Nothing happened.

You should just soak it in caustic soda (using safety precautions). Melt it out. Easiest way.

Sorry, my post about caustic soda was for the other chap with alu stem in steel forks. Might not work straight away, but it definately will (guaranteed!) after a few attempts. I've got 20cm of a seatpost which was hammed down to the bottom bracket shell out of a frame like this, so your stem will definately come out!

They can come unstuck despite being seemingly welded in place. Mrs Mugsy rode the entire Torino Nice Rally with her seat clamp undone on her Surly Ogre. It still did not move. We got it out though. Proper penetrating oil repeatedly applied over several weeks followed by a large rubber mallet....

I'd definitely try a freezing spray.

Spray carefully down the inside of the seatpost and try to get the seatpost as cold as possible while keeping the frame as warm as possible.

You could even play a hairdryer (on a low heat setting) over the frame in the area where the seatpost is stuck.

The differential expansion & contraction SHOULD crack the bond and allow you to remove the seatpost.

I don't think the corrosion is causing a bond that's sticking it in. The white powdery alu oxide is just bigger than the alu it's replaced, jamming it in. Two or three times I've done this it's just eventually worked its way out as I've hacked the piece out - it's never been a sudden crack and release.

I'd start by spending a fiver on a can of penetrating oil and spraying that into the seatube 3/4 times a day, generously. Have teh bike upside down and spray through either the bottom bracket or better still through the bottle cage mounts if available. A week or so of that should make a fair bit of difference.

+1

Hot water bottle on frame to heat it.

Well, two cans of freezer spray into the seatpost to attempt to shrink it in the frame and nothing it moving a millimetre. It's off into the shop tomorrow as, tbh, I don't think all of the penetrating oil in the world will fix it.

Will update again in a few days when I get it back...hopefully in two bits!

Seatpost in very large vice and lots of brute force twisting the frame will probably do it. You may not want to watch the shop do this! This is the reason why carbon seatposts in carbon frames are always the way to go.

chakaping
Have you explored the possibility of a refund?

Seller would have to be a dick to refuse.

Why is it the seller's problem? I might put it down to bad luck if I went to buy a bike and didn't at least try it for size before handing over the cash...

Hack saw post, then use adjustable reamer to get it paper thin, lever it out with scewdriver.

Now you've taken it to the shop, make sure they won't charge labour per hour!

I took mine in and they got it out eventually and waived the hourly charge for the post as it would have been daft to charge me so much, so i took them some beers as a thank you.

Have reached out to the one place I think most likely to have a crack

Could you hold the frame while the rest of the Four Tops turn the seat?

Well, quick update - had a call from the chap who volunteered to have a go at at...and it's out!

After all of the discussions of clever solutions in the thread above (most of which I have tried), the solution boiled down to 2 1/2 hours of very, very careful sawing with a hacksaw. I've not seen it yet, but apparently it was as corroded a seatpost as he had seen and there was "absolutely no chance it was ever going to come out intact".

I'll post some pics when I have it back in my greasy mitts, but right now, I'm feeling much relieved and looking forward to having back in my hands!

So, it's out and the frame is completely unharmed. Huge thanks to Marek at [url= https://www.aureliuscycles.com/service/ ]Aurelius Cycles[/url] for his perseverance in getting this post out - this was one task I'm glad I didn't attempt myself!

There was no way this was coming out without help:
[img] [/img]

Frame looking nice and intact:
[img] [/img]

Very happy now and can't wait to get it built back up tonight.

A few people asked about why I didn't go back to the seller. We'd actually been in constant contact throughout and they had no idea the post was seized when they sold the bike. I won't go into any detail, but suffice to say that I have absolutely no complaints with how this has been dealt with by them and they handled it much as I would have, had the tables been reversed.

Thanks everyone for your help, suggestions and general support.