Seatpost jammed in steel MTB frame

[popcorn_skollie]

Ah what the hell, here it is -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXuc9dTH9qE

 

Can't believe I sat through that entire struggle. The video was only 10 minutes but it felt like a lifetime. I almost felt the strain. Holding my breath as he tugged and twisted the damn thing. It was like a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders the moment I saw it come out. 

 

@boink : Please post a photo of the frame once you have relieved it from that heinous post so the rest of us may sleep at night. Thanks, and good luck.

[Pah Bear]

Heheheee. So glad someone else watched the bloomin thing. Like a suspense movie, I had to see the ending.

[RocknRolla]

in this situation at the moment.

 

after some post race comments on my noisy steel frame/seatpost combo, i decided time to lubricate and clean seatpost.

 

but no luck. (athough I honestly only spent about 5 mins on it.)

 

Did this screwdriver trick to get some Q20 down there, and left it overnight. Will give it a try again tonight. Been an interesting read..

 

If it aint coming out tonight, the Cradle trophy participants will have to engage the use of earplugs....or think of it like a bell...but it's always ringing.....

[boink]

Good luck! If there is still noise there may well be movement so it may not be too late.

 

My mission ended badly with a section of seat post now jammed into the frame well below the seat post collar.

 

If anyone has an engineering contact who could drill out the last section (approx 6 - 8 CM) jammed roughly 5 CM from the top of the tube it would be appreciated.

[Jewbacca]

Good luck! If there is still noise there may well be movement so it may not be too late.

 

My mission ended badly with a section of seat post now jammed into the frame well below the seat post collar.

 

If anyone has an engineering contact who could drill out the last section (approx 6 - 8 CM) jammed roughly 5 CM from the top of the tube it would be appreciated.

Why not use a light steel file and file away a line of metal so you can use a screw driver to 'pop' it and it will come?

 

Either way, I am very glad this isn't me! Good luck to all of you with jammed seat posts!

[boink]

Why not use a light steel file and file away a line of metal so you can use a screw driver to 'pop' it and it will come?

 

Either way, I am very glad this isn't me! Good luck to all of you with jammed seat posts!

The struggle to date shows that the post is bonded on almost every MM of the inside of the tube, or at least that is how it feels!

 

So the depth from the top of collar now makes, filing or hack saw blade efforts very very difficult...

[TNOSE_E]

What I did..

Strip the bike.

Take the frame and stuck post to the vice...

turn upside down and wedge the seatpost in the vice as best possible using a cloth to protect (might be able to clamp closed on the seatpost depending on the type).

Spit on hands....

Now with 1000 times more leverage force the frame left and right. 

Keep at it, the give gets more and more .

[GrahamS2]

in this situation at the moment.

 

after some post race comments on my noisy steel frame/seatpost combo, i decided time to lubricate and clean seatpost.

 

but no luck. (athough I honestly only spent about 5 mins on it.)

 

Did this screwdriver trick to get some Q20 down there, and left it overnight. Will give it a try again tonight. Been an interesting read..

 

If it aint coming out tonight, the Cradle trophy participants will have to engage the use of earplugs....or think of it like a bell...but it's always ringing.....

Easiest way is a release agent (Q20) to soak in for as long as possible, then apply some pressure from the top - put the BB on a block of wood, use a mallet to hit the top of the seatpost and break the frame/post bond. You need a sudden force to break the bond. Once the bond is broken, some wrestling usually gets the post out. Steel/alu bond can be pretty darn strong though!

[GrahamS2]

Good luck! If there is still noise there may well be movement so it may not be too late.

 

My mission ended badly with a section of seat post now jammed into the frame well below the seat post collar.

 

If anyone has an engineering contact who could drill out the last section (approx 6 - 8 CM) jammed roughly 5 CM from the top of the tube it would be appreciated.

Can you not use a center punch or a metal chisel to dislodge it down, before pulling it out?

[johannrissik]

Make an impact puller. I'm not at home to upload an image of the one I made. If it doesn't work, make tool using two hacksaw blades next to each other but facing opposite directions. Saw/ file gently.

You may be lucky.

In this situation, brute force is not your friend.

Good luck.

[eddy]

I had a 6 month old Thomson Elite post, fitted with lots of grease stuck in my 6month old Steel Ritchey frame.

 

I tried every one of these tricks.

 

Penetrating oil, leverage, heat, I took the headset out and pooled penetrating oil against the seat tube in the top tube, rode it without the clamp for a month - up and down Breedts. Nada.

 

Stripped the bike and tried to twist it out using the saddle and later a pipe wrench. Nada.

 

Mike's bikes gave up after I had tried for 6 weeks. I am a kort-gat and there was a lot of seat post in the seat tube; too much to file or try and saw out.

 

Eventually it was carefully machined out by an engineering shop but not before I saw my frame's life flash before my eyes.

 

I'm not sure what the lesson is meant to be, but it was an expensive one.

[Zatopek]

The struggle to date shows that the post is bonded on almost every MM of the inside of the tube, or at least that is how it feels!

 

So the depth from the top of collar now makes, filing or hack saw blade efforts very very difficult...

That 13cm would be relative quick. The first 90% of wall thickness is less than 10 minutes. Then 50 minutes of very carefull attemps with taking photos down the tube with the phone. 

 

I had to make two cuts on oposite sides of the tube. 1.5 h max. A week of pull/push attemps before I decided to proceed though - should have cut on the first day.

 

 

 

[boink]

That 13cm would be relative quick. The first 90% of wall thickness is less than 10 minutes. Then 50 minutes of very carefull attemps with taking photos down the tube with the phone. 

 

I had to make two cuts on oposite sides of the tube. 1.5 h max. A week of pull/push attemps before I decided to proceed though - should have cut on the first day.

 

2016-01-30 13.26.23.jpg

 

2016-01-30 12.48.06.jpg

 

2016-01-30 14.23.05.jpg

 

What is your rate for post removals?

 

I may find the energy to tackle this with a hacksaw blade, broke my collarbone at the end of Feb so have not been doing any "2 handed" work or thinking about sorting this frame out for a while...

[boink]

I had a 6 month old Thomson Elite post, fitted with lots of grease stuck in my 6month old Steel Ritchey frame.

 

I tried every one of these tricks.

 

Penetrating oil, leverage, heat, I took the headset out and pooled penetrating oil against the seat tube in the top tube, rode it without the clamp for a month - up and down Breedts. Nada.

 

Stripped the bike and tried to twist it out using the saddle and later a pipe wrench. Nada.

 

Mike's bikes gave up after I had tried for 6 weeks. I am a kort-gat and there was a lot of seat post in the seat tube; too much to file or try and saw out.

 

Eventually it was carefully machined out by an engineering shop but not before I saw my frame's life flash before my eyes.

 

I'm not sure what the lesson is meant to be, but it was an expensive one.

 

Out of interest did the engineering shop charge hundreds or thousands for the effort? I take it was a JHB based mission as I am considering this but based in Durbanville

[Carmichael]

My brother is now sitting with this, carbon frame alu seatpost. Trying to help him before cutting, trying the coke thing tonight, and maybe dry ice down the seatpost to make the alu shrink... Any other ideas? i have read alot now here...

[MORNE]

ouch.

I swear this is reason enough to get one step smaller seatpost (frame allowing) and use a proper seatpost shim lol