tjspahr

I'm building up an Orbea Opal, and started doing initial fit measurements with an old seatpost/saddle. I got the new seatpost/saddle for the build, went to take the old one out, and it was extremely tight, to the point that moving it back and forth to remove it marred the old post the entire length that was inserted. I put the old seatpost in the TCR frame it was on, and it went in without much force.

Orbea has a metal sheath in the seat tube; the top is visable when the collar is removed. I really don't like the idea of greasing a carbon seatpost. Before I email Orbea, any suggestions about whether it's time to grease this thing up? I really don't see much of an alternative.

joejack951

If the old post was tight, assuming that the new post is the same diameter (actual, not nominal), it will be just as tight regardless of grease. If the old post was marred by removing it, I would take a file or some sandpaper and smooth over any exposed edges inside of the seat tube before even attempting to insert the new post. You might even want to rub down the insides of the tube with some fine sandpaper to open it up ever so slightly to help the new post go in.

If it makes you feel any better, half of my bikes have seat tubes which require significant force to insert the seatpost whereas the other half the post drops right in.

Nessism

Sounds like the seat tube insert in the frame is a smig small. Very common issue. Any decent shop should be able to run a bottle brush hone down into the frame to clean it up and make the seat post fit properly. I have my own hone, and a seat tube reamer, for just such a usage.

joejack951

My Gunnar frame was prepped by the shop I bought it from which included reaming the seat tube. I could see the telltale signs of the reaming tool inside of the tube just like I did inside of the head tube. Nonetheless, the seatpost was quite a tight fit.

tjspahr

All,

Thanks for the info. I will call the LBS and see if they have the proper tool.