Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Bareknuckle seatpost issue

Finally building up my EAI Bareknuckle frame. First thing I tried to put on, after the fork was attached, was the seatpost. But it wouldn't slide in. It slips in about a centimeter and a half, after which point it would require a good deal of force to make it go any further. The post is 27.2, which from what i've read seems to be the correct size. Thinking the post might be defective I tried a different seatpost today but it still would not slide in. I've never come across this problem and certainly didn't expect it from a $700 frame. What should I do?

ream the tube that the seatpost goes into

Congrats on your BK, you won't regret it.

did you put grease on it? (phil lube)

Yes, lube it.

If it's older it may take a smaller size i.e. 27.0, 26.8. Not sure about bareknuckle history though...

ream the tube that the seatpost goes into

bad idea.

Why's that a bad idea? Probably there's a glob of paint inside the tube...

I had the same problem with mine. Its just really tight, but I have tried multiple 27.2 seatposts and they all work.

You probably need to ream it out a bit. Im not sure if there is a tool for that, maybe ask a shop?

I had the same problem with mine. Its just really tight, but I have tried multiple 27.2 seatposts and they all work.

You probably need to ream it out a bit. Im not sure if there is a tool for that, maybe ask a shop?

Glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem. However, I got myself a 27.2 post from the local co-op (I figured any harm would be done to the aluminum post before the steel downtube) and with a little help from some Phil Wood grease and some muscle I got the thing in there. I inspected the downtube last night and there is about a hairs width of extra metal kind of sticking out on one side of the inside of the tube, so thats probably where the issue is. But I'm no metallurgist so reaming's out of the question for now.

Bring it to an LBS and have them take a wire brush to it. We do it frequently at my shop. Key is though to going slowly and keep checking with the post to make sure your not going to far. steel burs in the seatube is not uncommmon.

Bring it to an LBS and have them take a wire brush to it. We do it frequently at my shop. Key is though to going slowly and keep checking with the post to make sure your not going to far. steel burs in the seatube is not uncommmon.

exactly

Why's that a bad idea? Probably there's a glob of paint inside the tube...

Light reaming to remove burrs is one thing, but if the frame was built for a smaller size post I would not recommend reaming the seat tube diameter to fit a larger size post.

That sounds like terrible quality control. Asking for consistent seatpost tubing inner diameter isn't a tall order.

i had that happen on one of my frames... Piece of steel wool wrapped around a metal coat hanger fixed that problem... take that stick it in a cordless drill.....in and out slowly and i was all set...

Take the bike to a shop and first ask for them to flex-hone your seat-tube. Its basically a cylidrical wire brush with ceramic impregnated balls on the ends. This should remove any burrs that may exist.

Try that, if it does work great, clean out the seat tube well, grease and install.

If not, have them ream it. They should have an adjustable reamer (most shops have one set up for 27.2 since that is the most common size for road bikes) and see if it will drop it (while not turning it).... if its WAY too tight to drop in, you may not have a 27.2 seat-tube. Reaming is not really designed to increase the hole diameter as much as its used to knock off blow-through slag and MINOR inconsistancies in the frame.

When I used to build bikes from frames up, I would ALWASY face and chase BB's, face headtubes, and ream seat-tubes. Lots of bikes need it and you would be supprised at how many higher end bikes come with all three items lacking.