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Need help with a stuck seat post inside the frame

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Need help with a stuck seat post inside the frame

Old 12-17-18, 04:47 AM
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Need help with a stuck seat post inside the frame

So I bought this brand new road bike and put everything together, and when I was putting the seat on, the seat post slipped out from under the seat and got stuck inside the bike frame, like actually inside the tube itself. I have tried everything to get it out, both with WD 40 and turning it upside down etc etc.... It's really frustrating when everything was going smoothly yet this had to happen. Before I take it to a bike shop are there any alternative methods anybody could suggest, please? thank you.
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Old 12-17-18, 05:37 AM
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Got a wooden broomstick or suitable long dowel?

id be trying to spear it, get the stick jammed into the hollow at top of tube
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Old 12-17-18, 07:53 AM
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I would first try to hook it with a bent coat hanger wire. Be careful not to bend the hook open so it jams in there.

Worst case is removing the bottom bracket, drilling a small hole in the shell, and pushing up with a small steel rod.
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Old 12-17-18, 08:31 AM
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Get a star nut into the seat post and pull it out with a bolt?

If it's stuck, make sure to use some penetrating fluid (not WD-40, ATF + acetone makes a good DIY penetrating fluid.) Also could try applying heat.
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Old 12-17-18, 08:40 AM
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Old 12-17-18, 08:54 AM
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I'd turn it upside down and drop it a foot on a wooden board, but failing that fashion a hook of some sort, from a steel rod for instance.
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Old 12-17-18, 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
Hang it upside down and duct tape an ultrasonic resonator to it!
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Old 12-17-18, 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Lagarst
So I bought this brand new road bike and put everything together, and when I was putting the seat on, the seat post slipped out from under the seat and got stuck inside the bike frame, like actually inside the tube itself. I have tried everything to get it out, both with WD 40 and turning it upside down etc etc.... It's really frustrating when everything was going smoothly yet this had to happen. Before I take it to a bike shop are there any alternative methods anybody could suggest, please? thank you.
I’m kind of not understanding what happened. What you are describing is the ENTIRE seat post fell down inside the seat tube. How can that happen ?. The post has the seat clamp on the top, that cannot get caught inside, won’t fit.

Did perhaps the post get pushed down too far into the seat tube ?, and is now stuck ?, as in jammed tight ? Or is it a part from the seat post that got stuck ?
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Old 12-17-18, 12:29 PM
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It may be jammed up on the water bottle boss, I would use a nail or small screwdriver through the boss to try to pry it up a few mm then turn it upside down and see if gravity will do the rest.
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Old 12-17-18, 12:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Steve B.


I’m kind of not understanding what happened. What you are describing is the ENTIRE seat post fell down inside the seat tube. How can that happen ?. The post has the seat clamp on the top, that cannot get caught inside, won’t fit.

Did perhaps the post get pushed down too far into the seat tube ?, and is now stuck ?, as in jammed tight ? Or is it a part from the seat post that got stuck ?
This was my first thought, too. The original post is a bit confusing.

If it is just a matter of the seatpost being stuck inside the seat tube, then you need elbow grease to get it out. You could clamp the top of the seatpost in a vise (bike upside-down) and then try twisting the frame and pulling.
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Old 12-17-18, 01:14 PM
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Originally Posted by brandonk
It may be jammed up on the water bottle boss, I would use a nail or small screwdriver through the boss to try to pry it up a few mm then turn it upside down and see if gravity will do the rest.
Oh good idea I forgot about the water bottle bosses. In fact, maybe the bottle cage is installed and it's stuck on the bolt?
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Old 12-17-18, 01:23 PM
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I'm pretty sure he's talking about a straight steel seatpost with no clamp at the top. The type that typically come on big box store bikes with a sheet metal clamp that holds the seat to the top of the post.

The only way to get that out is to hook the bottom of it with something to pull it out or some type of expander that will grip the inside of the post.
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Old 12-17-18, 01:29 PM
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Originally Posted by dsaul
I'm pretty sure he's talking about a straight steel seatpost with no clamp at the top. The type that typically come on big box store bikes with a sheet metal clamp that holds the seat to the top of the post.

The only way to get that out is to hook the bottom of it with something to pull it out or some type of expander that will grip the inside of the post.
Yeah, maybe. I’ve never seen one, so I’ve no idea what it looks like.
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Old 12-17-18, 02:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Steve B.


Yeah, maybe. I’ve never seen one, so I’ve no idea what it looks like.
Probably 50-75% of all bikes ever made have these.
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Old 12-17-18, 02:18 PM
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BB out? you might blow it out from the bottom



with the air compressor..




...

Last edited by fietsbob; 12-18-18 at 04:08 PM.
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Old 12-17-18, 02:27 PM
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It's a game of twenty questions, zero answers, and a few assumptions and guesses. Such fun!
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Old 12-17-18, 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by brandonk
Probably 50-75% of all bikes ever made have these.
OK, got it now, the kind with a tapered top that the seat clamps to. Old style, haven’t seen or used one in 30-40 years.

And as all I’ve ever purchased is high end and more expensive bikes, I could not at all recall what the OP was using.

@ OP, I would be removing the crank and bottom bracket and pushing from below.





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Old 12-17-18, 07:26 PM
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Originally Posted by wphamilton
I'd turn it upside down and drop it a foot on a wooden board, but failing that fashion a hook of some sort, from a steel rod for instance.
This is where I'd place my bets. Another possibility is to fish something through the bottom bracket, such as a plumber's snake.
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Old 12-17-18, 08:16 PM
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Those posts usually have a hole in the top. If this one does, I'd just try to hook it and pull it up. Or, send a long threaded rod down through it and thread on a washer and nut through the bb shell and pull it up that way.
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Old 12-17-18, 09:16 PM
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Where is the OP...any news to report?
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Old 12-17-18, 11:58 PM
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What is the frame material?....if not carbon, can you put the frame upside down in a stand and simply heat up the seat tube with a hair dryer and maybe give the post binder a tap with a mallet? I would think the seat tube would expand enough before transferring the heat to the seatpost for this to work.
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Old 12-18-18, 12:42 AM
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  1. Thread a heavy duty bike tube into it with a strong nylon cord tied to it.
  2. Use a pump with a straight hose connected to the Schrader valve (12v auto pumps often have straight screw on hoses).
  3. Once entire tube is pushed into seatpost, start the pump for long enough to assure the tube is good and stuck.
  4. Pull the nylon cord.
Never tried this but it seems possible.

OR jam one of those plumbing de-cloggers that attaches to a garden hose into seat post (if narrow enough is made). Stand back. Turn on water. I think the bike tube method has a higher likelihood of working out though.
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Old 12-18-18, 01:45 AM
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1. set up video camera
2. remove BB.
3. insert cherry bomb into seat tube with fuse leading out of BB.
4. point top of seat tube away from living creatures, glass windows, airplanes and pinatas.
5. put on helmet, gloves, safety glasses and lead-lined suit.
6. program robot to light fuse
7. run like hell
8. watch video to see where seat post landed
9. post video on this thread.

What could go wrong?
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Old 12-18-18, 06:05 AM
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Seat Post or pillar:

P1000590, on Flickr

Application:

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Old 12-18-18, 06:50 AM
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A lot of over-thinking - Just get a piece of stiff wire with some spring to it (coat hanger, etc.), and bend a little hook on the end, at an acute angle.
Push the wire down through the seat post, and when the little hook goes past the swaged-down neck of the post, it will spring back and grab the inside of the post - Pull up, and Bob's-yer-uncle.
Takes longer to describe, than to do ........
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