Bicycle Mechanics - Help with removal of seatpost...please!

Hi all.

I am in desperate need of help.

I got a used Kona from a friend. I am trying to get the seatpost out but it wont budge. There are no bolts, no quick release. There is nothing on the outside to take it out. It appears to be very solid, I've tried to pull, bang, hammer, and almost everything else just to get this thing out but it will still not even budge a milimeter.

Is it possible that it has been fastened with concrete, glue or something or what. I am stumped. Please help, I got the frame totally stripped and can't get this damn seatpost out. The seatpost is apparently made by TRANS X components. It is a two piece seatpost. The part that attaches to the saddle fits into the piece that goes into the seatpost tube. It is only the part that is in the seatpost tube that is the issue.

PLEASE HELP!!!!

There are some post that use a second bolt and a wedge expander like found on quill stems.If that is not it, try www.harriscyclery.com and sheldon Browns article on post removal.

Go buy some PB Blaster or WD-40 or another similar "SOLVENT" and spray the crap out of the post. If you've stripped the frame and removed the bottom bracket, you can spray some solvent throught the bb, into the seat tube and let it soak.

Let it sit overnight or at least a couple of hours.

I'd go ahead and put a seat back on the post as this gives you a bit more leverage.

Put the frame in a rack or get a friend to help. Twist, pull, twist,...etc. The better you stabilize the frame the easier it is.

What has happened is that the post is siezed in the frame. Nothing but saturating with solvent and letting it sit will help. A twisting motion helps break the bond. You could even try pounding the post further in a little bit to break the bond. Once it starts moving, you can then start twisting it out!

I've heard of people trying to heat up the post with a torch, but if the the frame is aluminum, you can easily destroy it. I'd just soak it with solvent and keep trying to force it out.

You have lots of solutions above, but the problem is that the Al seatpost has seized in place. Without a good layer of grease or anti-seize, the Al of the post has corroded and bonded to the frame. No glue, concrete or anything else, just poor maintainance.

I have a dumpster steel frame with an aluminum post corroded into it. Every method other than Sheldons last resort and even some non approved creative ones of of my own have failed. The post may be too long for even Sheldons last resort method to be viable,and I have decided the exersize was entertaining, but not worth further effort.

MichaelW may be correct.

If the seat post was of, say aluminum and the frame was steel, for example, the two pieces are now joined in metal matrimony.

You can apply liquid wrench and let it sit overnight. Then, you can clamp the seatpost in a bench vise and twist the whole bike.

Don't trash the seatpost, though. You will need it.

If all else fails, cut the top off of the seatpost so it is flush with the frame. cut a slit in the back of the seat post and post-tube. If the post-tube has a collar for seat post tightening, then the frame has a slit already. Follow that slit in-between the post collar.

(Oops, I forgot to mention this, so it is added): Then, slip another smaller diameter seat post into the inside of the stuck seat post. Of course, this means you have to find a seat post with a small enough diameter to fit inside the existing post. You will probably have to use some shims to get a good fit. If you are in a bind, let me know. I have some old, simple posts of smaller diameters I can give you - not fancy, but better than nothing.

You can use a hack saw for the job, but I strongly suggest you spend $5.00 for a cutting disk that mounts to your hand-drill.

I've been there, Bud. God bless you, TotalKos, we know the frustration.

Liquid wrench will not do a thing for steel/ aluminum corrosion.That is a job for ammonia. Coke works for steel/steel.Maybe you ALL should go read Sheldons article?Mike, what a LOAD.You gotta be kidding. What good is following the slit in the seattube for an inch or so going to do. Besides,you have cut the post off at the top of the seattube and left nothing to grab onto!Maybe you read Sheldons article,forgot half and garbled the other half?

Originally posted by pokey
Liquid wrench will not do a thing for steel/ aluminum corrosion.That is a job for ammonia. Coke works for steel/steel.Maybe you ALL should go read Sheldons article?Mike, what a LOAD.You gotta be kidding. What good is following the slit in the seattube for an inch or so going to do. Besides,you have cut the post off at the top of the seattube and left nothing to grab onto!Maybe you read Sheldons article,forgot half and garbled the other half?

Will ammonia really disolve the bind between an aluminum post and a steel frame?

If it will, Pokey has contributed the advise of the year! I hope he is right. That would solve a lot of headache.

Anyway, I realized when I read Pokey's response that I forgot to mention slipping a smaller seatpost into the inside of the stuck post. I added it, so it should make more sense now. I had to do that once, but it worked and the bike is functional. Otherwise, I would have had to throw out the frame. That seat post was just stuck like a piece of the frame itself.

I've used lye to eat an aluminum stem out of a steel fork before. First I cut the stem off at the steer tube, then removed the fork and inverted its steer tube in the lye. Takes days to finish. Lye and ammonia are both bases, so I'd expect ammonia to do likewise.

I've also used Sheldon's last-ditch method, and it's not something you'd want to pay by the hour for! ;) Costco got hold of some Cannondale mountain bikes and one unfortunate buyer had the seatpost firmly gall in place (no grease was used, surprise). If the bike's worth the work, get a jab hacksaw and high-quality bimetal blades and get started. :)

Liquid wrench and a pipe wrench is what I found usefull for this problem. I had an old Bianchi that did the same thing. The alloy seat tube and the steel frame seemed welded together but with a little help from a friend we were able to get them apart.

Slainte:beer:

Is lye caustic soda aka sodium hydroxide? If it is, it definitely dissolves aluminium oxide, don't clean the over with an emerald ring on ;) .