Seat post stuck

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
wobbly
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Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 10:48am

Seat post stuck

Post by wobbly »

Hubby wants me to post this on his behalf. He's got a seat post well and truly stuck. Anyone know how he might get it unstuck?

Cheers.
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lauriematt
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Location: shropshire

Re: Seat post stuck

Post by lauriematt »

wobbly wrote:Hubby wants me to post this on his behalf. He's got a seat post well and truly stuck. Anyone know how he might get it unstuck?

Cheers.

a big can of elbow grease :lol:

you could try squirting some WD40 down into the tube...

but really the only way is to really give it some welly!!!

...or failing that take it to your local bike shop...theyve probably encountered it many a time and know what to do
WHAT DOESNT KILL YOU .... CAN ONLY MAKE YOU STRONGER
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7_lives_left
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Post by 7_lives_left »

I remember reading this on the Sheldon Brown site
http://sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

I think you need different approaches depending on whether the seat post is steel or alloy (and the frame for that matter).

If you are using WD40 or Plusgas you have to be patient and keep applying over a long period of time. It will probably help if you are still riding the bike rather than leaving it in the garage. Leave the clamping bolt loose.

Also, the proprietor of my local bike shop told me that if you are really desperate, after WD40 or plusgas has failed, try Coca cola. It contains phosphoric acid which corrodes metal and rust, freeing the parts. I'm not recommending this, just reporting what he told me!
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johnonthetyne
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Post by johnonthetyne »

if its well stuck heat is the only thing, will mess paint up but thats the way .
Asdace

Post by Asdace »

I was to mention that, but gentle heat of the torch, waving it side to side should budge it. But is it jammed or corrodised.
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anniesboy
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Post by anniesboy »

I had always thought that heat would not help, because if alloy post and steel frame ,the alloy would expand faster/more and hence make things worse.
I would go for the Plus Gas or WD40 and plenty of it and patience.
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anniesboy
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Post by anniesboy »

ianr1950
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Post by ianr1950 »

Plus Gas is the stuff to use to start with. If that doesn't work the route I have gone down is by using an adjustable reamer.
I have done it this way quite a few times to remove the seat post.
It takes a fair bit of time but the advantage over heat is that it doesn't damage the frame.
PW
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Post by PW »

The Coca Cola trick is popular with the Americans, they also use something called Root Beer. Another one is ammonia if you can find a source for it.
Once it's had the treatment put the post in a bench vice and use the frame as a lever to get it moving.
If all else fails saw it off flush with the top of the seat tube, then use a hacksaw blade with a rag wrapped around it to cut the post into segments, like an orange -but be careful not to wreck the frame! Then peel the segments out with an old chisel or unwanted screwdriver.
If at first you don't succeed - cheat!!
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john4703
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Post by john4703 »

If it is well stuck and damaging it does not matter try removing the saddle then tapping the end of the post with a hammer after applying lots of freeing oil. This should break any corrosion and make it possible to remove it. Be careful not to send it right down inside the frame.
Don't let them win but keep up the struggle and wear them all down by our persistence.
pioneer
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Joined: 13 Feb 2007, 10:39am

Post by pioneer »

Here's another one. (But only if you don't want to use the same seat-post again).
A liberal dribbling of Plus Gas and leave over night.
Next day.
A bit of gentle warming helps,i.e. leave in the sun for a couple of hours if possible.
Then drill through the seat-post just above the seat clamp.
Shove through a bar (a suitably meaty' screwdriver will suffice) and use it as lever to twist the post to and fro. When (if) loosened, gently twist the seat-post up and out.

It takes patience and time but it will work.
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Mick F
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Post by Mick F »

It all sounds good to me.

Try a vice too, using the frame as leverage. It'll wreck the seatpost, though!
The thing is, if it's stuck and you want it out, it's obvious that the post is for the scrap heap anyway.

Conversely, if it's stuck, and you actually want it in the position it's in, just wanting to remove it to clean/maintain - leave it where it is!

Horse - barn door - closing - after - bolting. Rearrange those words a bit. Grease would've helped in the first place. (sorry for saying that!)
Mick F. Cornwall
tooley92
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Post by tooley92 »

If your frame is steel and your seat pillar is aluminium, the method that Tony Oliver recommends in his book 'Touring Bikes' is as follows;

Place the frame in the freezer, or the seat pillar in a bucket of ice, once really cold put the seat pillar in a strong vice and wrap a cloth soaked in hot water around the seat tube and twist the frame in the vice.

I know this method sounds brutal but it does work- I tried it a few years ago on a friends bike with a stuck seat pillar, you just need to be quick once you have wrapped the seat tube with the hot cloth as once the seat pillar has absorbed the heat you will have to start again.

Hope this helps.
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jezer
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Post by jezer »

Years ago I bought a second hand bike from a clubmate. He was shorter than me so I needed to raise the saddle, but he was obviously not into regular maintenance because the seat pin was well and truly stuck. I tried WD40 and similar but nothing worked. LBS tried and managed to snap the pin off close to top of seat tube leaving the stump still stuck inside.

I 'phoned a well known frame builder who said it was no problem, they would "melt it out". They had to respray the frame afterwards, and it looked like new. I rebuilt the bike and it lasted me another 10 years.

Ever since then I remove the seatpin and smear a small amount of grease on it about twice a year.
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7_lives_left
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Post by 7_lives_left »

PW wrote:The Coca Cola trick is popular with the Americans ... Another one is ammonia if you can find a source for it.

I ought to point out that the phosphoric acid in Coke attacks iron and steel (don't know about stainless variety), but leaves aluminium alone I think. They deliver Coke in aluminium cans after all.

Ammonia on the other hand attacks aluminium and largely leaves iron and steel untouched. It also evaporates leaving very little trace, which is important because 'salts', like road salt or the residue from Coke can form batteries that promote galvanic corrosion.

I wouldn't want to use ammonia on an aluminium frame bike and I wouldn't want to use Coke on a steel frame bike.

You used to be able to buy household ammonia as a cleaning product. Maybe you can't nowadays. All the interesting chemicals seem to disappear from the shelves because of health and safety.
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