# Help! Seatpost stuck in titanium frame



## bock (Jan 21, 2004)

I'm having a horrendous time trying to get the seatpost out of my wife's titanium Litespeed frame. We're leaving for Lake Tahoe tomorrow and need to pack up the bike for the trip, so this is getting desperate!

Last night we both tried numerous times and could barely get it to even turn, much less come out. We sprayed WD-40 around the collar (yes, the collar is loose) hoping it would penetrate. This morning, I was able to get the seatpost to turn with a huge effort, but it still won't come out.

My buddy says that ti frames "shrink" over time and you just have to set your seatpost where you want it and live with it from then on. That sounds like crap (either he's full of crap, or if not, then it's crap that ti frames have that behavior).

Anyone have tips on getting the seatpost unstuck?

Thanks in advance!

bock


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## Bikinfoolferlife (Feb 3, 2004)

Sounds more like your seatpost galled with the seattube...keep working it with penetrant, sounds like you're making progress albeit slowly...be sure to apply anti-seize next time...


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## Biking Viking (Jan 12, 2004)

Ti frames don't shrink, but left untreated they bond well with Al, as the previous poster indicates. Turn your bike upside down and spray the interior of seat tube through one of the botttle cage bolt holes, or alternatively through the BB shell if possible.


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## Hecubus (Jan 12, 2004)

Make sure to apply anti-zeize or keep a fresh layer of grease in there next time. Aluminium reacts rather badly when in direct contact with titanium or carbon fiber. That seatpost will likely not survive the removal process. Get as much penetrating oil into the seat tube as possible. See if there's an opening though the bottom bracket shell. You will probably need a pipe wrench or similar to break it loose and slowly twist it out. Forcing the tube with the saddle will just damage the rails.


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## SpareTireScott (Mar 31, 2004)

This helped me yesterday....

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html


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## fast14riot (Sep 16, 2005)

Sheldon has some good points, but something alse you should try is take one of those CO2 cartridges and empty a whole on on your seat post just above the clamp and to get it to shrink. If you don't want to spend the bucks go to Office Depot of something and buy that Canned Air for dusting electronics. Hold it upside down and spray it on your seat post.

This should shrink your post enough to get it to move a little better.

Also make sure you have the right size seatpost. I bought an old track bike which took a 26.8mm seat post but the previous owner had no way to measure it acuratly enough so he thought it was a 27.2mm which fits in tight but after 3 years of it being in there I had to make a magic spell consisting of lots of 4 letter adjectives, blood, sweat, and beer to get it out.

HTH

Cheers-


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## BundokBiker (May 15, 2004)

*the last item on the sheldonbrown link...*



SpareTireScott said:


> This helped me yesterday....
> 
> http://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html


"If nothing else works, the final resort is the old hacksaw blade trick. Cut the seatpost off so that about 1/2" is left sticking out, then insert a hacksaw blade into the seatpost and carefully cut a slit in the post. This is very laborious, and you run the risk of damaging the frame if you cut too far, but this approach cannot fail. Once you have cut the slit, grab one edge of the cut with a locking plier and roll the seatpost up inside itself and pull it out."

I hope you don't have to go this route! Let us know which method worked for you. Good luck.


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## bock (Jan 21, 2004)

SpareTireScott said:


> This helped me yesterday....
> 
> http://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html


Thanks, that is an awesome list of things to try! Out of curiosity, which specific tips helped you with your stuck seatpost?

bock


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## bock (Jan 21, 2004)

fast14riot said:


> Sheldon has some good points, but something alse you should try is take one of those CO2 cartridges and empty a whole on on your seat post just above the clamp and to get it to shrink.


Ha, ha, thanks! But see Sheldon's tip #15 (it's the same tip you mentioned above). I am planning to try this when I get home...



fast14riot said:


> Also make sure you have the right size seatpost.


Yep, it's the right size. I checked the specs with Litespeed before I bought the post.

bock


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## SpareTireScott (Mar 31, 2004)

bock said:


> Thanks, that is an awesome list of things to try! Out of curiosity, which specific tips helped you with your stuck seatpost?
> 
> bock


Mines an old steel bike that sat in the rain with an aluminum seatpost... combo of PBlast from Napa and the CO2 cartridge trick... I'd have no idea how to use the ammonia for aluminum to aluminum problems..


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## bock (Jan 21, 2004)

*Success!*



bock said:


> I'm having a horrendous time trying to get the seatpost out of my wife's titanium Litespeed frame. We're leaving for Lake Tahoe tomorrow and need to pack up the bike for the trip, so this is getting desperate!


Just reporting back here...

Yesterday my wife tried ammonia and the CO2 blast to no avail. In the end it was a bit of ingenuity and sheer force that did the trick.

I got home and we started wandering the construction site nearby trying to figure out a solution. There was a dumpster with metal ladder rungs. Hmm...we thought.

We wedged the saddle in one of the rungs and then twisted the whole bike around and around while pulling on it. It was a ton of effort but after a while we knew we were making progress. Eventually I could feel it coming loose. I took the bike off the dumpster, set it down, and straddled it. As I wrenched the seatpost free, I started doing a "who's your daddy" dance and ass-slapped that beeyotch.

What a freakin' pain! I will never, ever let that happen again. Let this be a lesson to you all: grease your seatpost, and take it out of your frame (or at least make sure it can move) every couple months or so.

Thanks for the help, guys!

bock


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## Fast Eddy (Dec 30, 2003)

anti-seize will work better than grease, which will dry out over time.


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## AsianPersuasion (Aug 20, 2004)

Funny. I had AN last night. Took an hour and change of sweat and ters turning and uling to get it out. I greaed it before insertion a month ago. It's a DEAN seatpost so it shoul've matched the frame perfect. Now there's a Tompson, well greased, in there. Hopefully, there will never be that issue again. Should I grease it before inserting into a carbon frame??? I don't see an aluminum sleeve/shin in there. It's a 96 Trek 5200.


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## heatstroke (Jul 1, 2003)

Had the identical problem with a AL xtr post in a Obed frame. Welded itself in there solid, I drilled a hole in the seatopst below the saddle then stuck a bar in there for leverage, straddled the bike and tured the post out with wd40 help. When the post came out it was covered in a white powder from the corrosion/reaction.
Now I spray paint my seatpost below the insertion point to avoid the corrosion.


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## 514Climber (Mar 7, 2004)

AsianPersuasion said:


> Should I grease it before inserting into a carbon frame??? QUOTE]
> 
> I saw an interesting Q&A in the Velonews tech column. Just about every major carbon manufacturer from Easton to Campy said you should never grease a carbon post.
> 
> ...


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