Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.stevage
08-22-09, 11:58 PM
Moral of the story: 28 grams of prevention are worth 454 grams of cure.
What happened:
1) Bought bike from Wiggle.
2) Followed instructions to assemble it. Instructions didn't mention grease, so I just stuck the seatpost in without grease.
3) Rode for a couple of house seatpost totally stuck.
4) Consulted God (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html).
5) Tried most of the techniques. By twisting really really hard I was able to just twist the seatpost. So I applied technique XI. In the end, I would squeeze a little bit of lube between the "ears", twist about 10°, then repeat. I ended up doing nearly 2 complete laps, something like 50 applications of lube.
6) Finally it loosened up enough to be able to pulled out. Wow, what a lot of hard work. An hour or so of really intense exercise. Wow.
A couple of notes for anyone trying this:
- at first you really don't think the lube is helping. But if you watch closely, it's not pooling up on the outside of the seat tube, so it must be going in.
- it takes a lot of lube!
- I found a good position for twisting was leaning backwards against a wall, one foot on a pedal, bike leaning slightly towards me, front wheel pushing into the wall. Then you can put all your force into the twisting motion without needing to keep your balance or support the bike or anything.
- Sheldon is right, if you can turn the seatpost, "victory is in sight" - but you're not in the final straight yet.
Now to buy some grease...
What happened:
1) Bought bike from Wiggle.
2) Followed instructions to assemble it. Instructions didn't mention grease, so I just stuck the seatpost in without grease.
3) Rode for a couple of house seatpost totally stuck.
4) Consulted God (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html).
5) Tried most of the techniques. By twisting really really hard I was able to just twist the seatpost. So I applied technique XI. In the end, I would squeeze a little bit of lube between the "ears", twist about 10°, then repeat. I ended up doing nearly 2 complete laps, something like 50 applications of lube.
6) Finally it loosened up enough to be able to pulled out. Wow, what a lot of hard work. An hour or so of really intense exercise. Wow.
A couple of notes for anyone trying this:
- at first you really don't think the lube is helping. But if you watch closely, it's not pooling up on the outside of the seat tube, so it must be going in.
- it takes a lot of lube!
- I found a good position for twisting was leaning backwards against a wall, one foot on a pedal, bike leaning slightly towards me, front wheel pushing into the wall. Then you can put all your force into the twisting motion without needing to keep your balance or support the bike or anything.
- Sheldon is right, if you can turn the seatpost, "victory is in sight" - but you're not in the final straight yet.
Now to buy some grease...