Greetings everyone, 1st post from Sunny St Pete Beach, FL!

Not to sound like an ad or anything, but I recently received a free 1985 Fuji Del Rey from my neighbor. It had been sitting outside for a few years, so of course the aluminum seatpost was frozen in the steel frame. I tried repeated doses of PB blaster and plenty of cursing, but the post wouldn’t budge. I also went through the items on Sheldon Brown’s list, but nothing seemed applicable to my situation (couldn’t shoot CO2 into the seatpost as it is sealed on top)

I went to the St Pete Bike Coop and they were unable to get it to budge either, but one of the mechanics mentioned Kroil. Since I was at an impasse, I ordered 2 cans of AeroKroil (they are doing a promo, buy 1 get 1 free and reduced shipping).

I flipped the bike upside down and sprayed the seat tube thru the holes for the water bottle cage, waited a few days, then used an 8’ long 1.5” diameter copper pipe, and the seat post released with no damage!

Anyway, if you are in a similar situation, keep Kroil in mind!

Here is the link to Kano laboratories, the makers of Kroil / AeroKroil
Penetrating-Lubricating Oils

Standard disclaimer, I have no affiliation with Kano Labs other than as a thankful customer! But, I do own all of the copper pipe in the world!

Welcome to the forums, you've made a discovery that many of us were happy to find out ourselves in the past.

Here's a search tip if you want to learn what else we've discovered over the years: go to your favorite search engine (NOT the search function here - it's nobody's favorite, for very good reasons) and type in something along the lines of "Bike forums kroil frozen seat post" You'll find most, if not all the treads on the topic you're looking for on the first page of results.

Also be sure to post some nice pics of your Fuji when you have it all squared away. Most of us use a free photo hosting service like Photobucket or flickr to post pics here; it's the easiest way to to do so if you want to post larger pics, rather than just thumbnails.

So you're the one driving up the price of copper!

Glad you got the post out, but can you say exactly how the pipe was used? I'm picturing the seatpost in a vise and the pipe through the BB shell(?)

The bike was right side up, and the pipe was perpendicular to the seat post. The seat post has a "wing" on the top of it and I was able to use that to put the pipe on it.

I can't seem to post a pic directly, the upload keeps erroring out.

I guess I'll have to try one of the photo hosting services as suggested earlier, that make take awhile though.

Hey, sorry about that, I just searched for "Frozen Seat Post", didn't think to add site:bikeformus.net.

I wouldn't have used Kroil in my original search as I didn't know about it...

Anyway, thanks for the heads up!

Kroil... it's as if it is science based

The reason Kroil works where other penetrants won't is because of molecule size. Kroil has really really tiny molecules.

I thought it was because Kroil has electrolytes. Bikes like electrolytes

It's got what bikes crave!

[MENTION=302843]flo[/MENTION]uridian, welcome! Please put your location in your profile so it shows up in every post.

What other mechanical tricks do you have?

I've been a proponent of Kroil a long time.

Way back in the early 90s, my GF brought home a problem bike. It had been ridden in the snow and ice and salt of Minneapolis for a season a put away wet. The seatpost was frozen in place and had defied 3 owners and 6 bike shops. As a result, she got the thing for free. I had Kroil on hand because I was into vintage motorbikes and keeping rusty old cars alive.

I gave the seatpost a good shot right where the post entered the frame after removing seatpost bolt I left the frame on the porch (Kroil is kinda smelly) and waited about 5 minutes. Then I came outside and with no tools at all, gave the seatpost a little bit of a wiggle and it came out smoothly and still usable despite its prior abuse.

This issue of seatpost removal should never come up IMO. Everyone that works on vintage bikes should have a can of Kroil as nothing works as well. Its the inside tip that master mechanics have.

I thought that was Gatorade that had electrolytes? Adrian, welcome to C&V.

Glad to see you post. But--- we always need pictures. I'll help you out since you emailed me one.



FWIIW, I've helped Adrian in the past with a freewheel, and [MENTION=6981]miamijim[/MENTION] is currently helping him with his RD for this same bike.

Hmmmmm, and I thought all molecules were tiny since I can't see them.

Bob, if'n ya caint see it; it ain't there. Thas jest common sense...

For some reason this thread made me think of a line from 'The Wire'...Marlo Stanfield.."do it or don't"

Seat posts are either coming out or they're not. Pick your favorite penetrant..apply, work it, repeat. It's either coming out or it's not. There's no magic formula, chemical or technique.

Which is why I said really really tiny. That makes them even tinier. It's sort of a faith based thing, not actually scientific

Agree with miamijim and wrk. Just now heard about Kroil. Before, I thought PB Blaster was supposed to be the best for stuck seat posts. Are these comparable products? Can you imagine a scenario where PB-B (or similar product) might work better where Kroil might not or is Kroil now the bomb?

I tried PB-B, and it didn't work. But, I didn't try in conjunction with the Archimedes method. The PB-B may have worked with the pry bar, I don't know. I do know that letting Kroil do its thing for a few days, then using the pry bar worked! YMMV and all that...I personally think Kroil is worth trying before you resort to cutting out the seat post. A similar post on eBay was approx $25, so I'm glad I used Kroil. I'm dropping off a can to the bike coop and I hope it it will benefit someone else. In my mind, PB-B is available everywhere and is worth trying first. If I had to do it again, I would use PB-B, then pry-bar, if still stuck then I would try Kroil. Only negative with Kroil is that you will probably have to mail order it. Hope that helps someone else!

None! I wish I had anything to share, but I don't

Seriously, I was about to post about how I screwed up a vintage derailleur, but I'll keep quiet about that ..Nothing to see here, keep moving

Ooops, I was a bit hasty in my earlier reply...I forgot to mention the ultimate mechanical c&v trick: FreeWheelSpa; The Home of Happy Bicycle Freewheels (and so much more)! - Freewheel repair, service and restoration

I want to see his stash of gold....... I mean copper pipe.

Awww shucks!!!! Thanks for the endorsement!

I may give the Kroil a try on an old lower end Puch I am unable to remove the seat post from.

I did try PB Blaster and a few other sprays with no success. The bike was not rusty when I picked it up.

My neighbor and I clamped the neck of the post in his vice after it had soaked a few days and tried turning the frame and it still would not budge after applying some serious torque with no results other than
twisting the dang post.

I have been thinking I would cut it out at some point but have other projects more pressing.

I suspect someone hammered in a too large post into this Puch.

Thanks for sharing about the Kroil and starting this thread.

I tried removing a stuck post from a neglected 1990's Schwinn LeTour. I stuck the post in the bench vise and turned the frame. One of the seat stays detached from the lug with a loud snap. End of frame.

If you have trouble finding Kroil make a 50/50 mixture of acetone and automatic transmission fluid, remember to shake well before using. In laboratory tests this was shown to reduce the friction in scientifically corroded fasteners by the highest amount.

Try to find acetone for sale. It's prohibited where I live, so only black market.

Noglider,
Please put the location of where your brain was that day in your profile so it shows up in every post.

Wink, nudge....
:>