Originally Posted by
1986raleigh
I'd bet dollars to donuts that is not an original seat post bolt, oh it may have been on the bike originally when you got it, but that does not mean it is original.
Here is what you can do to solve the problem, if you tighten the bolt all the way down and there is still space in between the split, add a washer to the bolt under the bolt head. Or discard the acorn nut and apply a regular nut that will screw down tighter.
If there is no space between the split when the bolt is tightened take a small file or dremmel and widen the split so that the bolt can squeeze the tube tighter around the seat post.
Or you could just ignore all the advise like you did on your build up and figure it out yourself.
a) I took the washer out and that allowed me to tighten it a little further. Feels a little more solid. But I'm still not convinced. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. I tried to put a shim in there - a really thin one that came with my brake levers, but I couldn't get the seat post in at all - apparently ~1mm is too much extra lol. I don't have time to hit the hardware store this week, so it'll have to wait until the weekend to get a new bolt or washer.
b) I didn't ignore the advice. I ignored the people who said it was stupid to waste money on rebuilding it and that I wouldn't learn anything.