# Removing a very stuck seatpost



## nrwgnBlue (Apr 16, 2017)

I had this carbon frame with a stuck seatpost. (Sorry for the messy picture.) At this point, I had tried all the usual stuff, and committed to cutting / sawing it out.









The blue tape on the frame shows how deep the post sits.









Using an angle grinder, I cut the post short, but with enough left to grab. I cut lengthwise as far as possible into the notches of the frame on each side. (I didn't cut the frame).









In Norway, the pictured saw is called a "stiletto". The circular pieces stuck to it were added by me:















I glued some washers to the saw blade to stop it from cutting too deep. I measured the approximate cutting depth using a cut-off from the seatpost. The wall thickness varied, so I kept it safe, using a small distance. The main point of this was that I could saw without worry for a while.









Then I sawed for a long time. Keeping the saw aligned, and keeping track of the distance from the bottom of the seatpost. I recommend working in short sessions, to keep from getting impatient and sloppy, and going mad.

I made two cuts. One may be enough. Hard to say.

Once I got to the point where the washers on the saw stopped me from going deeper, I removed them, and continued more carefully.









To keep track of my progress, I got an inspection camera. I taped it to a stick. The camera was about the thickness of a pen, it had lights around the lens, and I could connect it to my phone and get a live video feed. It was around 50 dollars.















Some pictures from the inspection camera.









Several times along the way, I tried twisting with a pipe wrench. Due to the incisions, the post would deform, and it was hard to get a good twist. (In the photo, the post has actually loosened).















So I got a piece of tube that fit inside.









So I could twist without the post deforming.









Eventually, the evil bastard came loose. It was all moist. I had kept spraying wd40 in there throughout the process, and that had probably done some good.

You need alot of patience for this.

Jesus..


----------



## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

^ Good job and thanks for documenting!


----------



## Cleared2land (Aug 31, 2012)

How long had this seat post been installed since last removal or adjustment?

Every now and then, I will remove mine to see how it looks and to hopefully avoid your situation.

Glad to see that your efforts prevailed.


----------



## nrwgnBlue (Apr 16, 2017)

I bought the bike used, so I don't know how long it had been stuck. They should have som grease on them to prevent this. I've loosened a few before, and this was by far the worst. The carbon frame held me back from using too much force, and opting for the saw.


----------



## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

nrwgnBlue said:


> I bought the bike used, so I don't know how long it had been stuck. They should have som grease on them to prevent this. I've loosened a few before, and this was by far the worst. The carbon frame held me back from using too much force, and opting for the saw.


Did you know it was stuck when you bought it? I bought a Gunnar frame for $45 with a stuck seatpost and it took me about a month to get it out, tried everything and finally got it to loosen with a torch and then three days to screw it out. It needed repainting anyway. Obviously you didn't have this option.


----------



## nrwgnBlue (Apr 16, 2017)

I knew it was stuck. I was confident due to previous un-sticking  But I might think twice next time. Alot of things were stuck on this bike: Frame bearings etc. Definitely not well taken care of. It nearly ended up in the trash.


----------



## upstateSC-rider (Dec 25, 2003)

Nice job.
Incidentally, that's the way we used to have to remove some spark plugs from cylinder heads when idiots would go for 100k miles without a tune-up and the plug would break off. And this was in the 80's and 90's when they recommended changing @ 30k.


----------



## customfab (Jun 8, 2008)

I've gone to just reaming them out of the frame. Works like a charm.


----------



## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

Well done but a risky procedure? It would be easy to go through the post a saw into the frame I think?

I got a stuck carbon post out of an alloy frame by flipping it upside down and putting the head of the post in a vice. The frame then provided enough leverage to pop the post free.


----------



## nrwgnBlue (Apr 16, 2017)

customfab said:


> I've gone to just reaming them out of the frame. Works like a charm.


Been curious about that. Did you go to a metal shop to get it done? I found this guy:


----------



## nrwgnBlue (Apr 16, 2017)

Mr Pig said:


> Well done but a risky procedure? It would be easy to go through the post a saw into the frame I think?
> 
> I got a stuck carbon post out of an alloy frame by flipping it upside down and putting the head of the post in a vice. The frame then provided enough leverage to pop the post free.


I've done the vice-thing successfully with other frames, but didn't dare to twist this carbon frame as hard as aluminium or steel. I took several precautions to prevent sawing into the frame, and luckily the results were good. I didn't need to cut entirely through the post all the way. In several places there was still a thin wall left. I guess when I was almost through, it was enough to weaken it.


----------



## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

nrwgnBlue said:


> I've done the vice-thing successfully with other frames, but didn't dare to twist this carbon frame as hard as aluminium or steel.


Even on the alloy frame, I had a couple of us pulling on different parts of the frame so as not to stress one area too much. Mounting a rear wheel or hub would also help to brace the stays, I can't remember if I did that or not.


----------



## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

I used the vice method to remove one stuck post. I tried it on the Gunnar with no luck on it's own. Lots of PB Blaster, ammonia, and finally several evenings of icing the post and torching the seat tube, with it clamped in the vice I was able to get it to turn a little and then unscrewed it over three evenings. I was afraid I would break the frame as well, it is OX Platinum steel so it is pretty thin. Hadn't ridden it in a while until I rode it this past Friday!


----------



## Cleared2land (Aug 31, 2012)

customfab said:


> I've gone to just reaming them out of the frame. Works like a charm.





nrwgnBlue said:


> Been curious about that. Did you go to a metal shop to get it done?


I doubt it.


----------



## watermonkey (Jun 21, 2011)

Canned air for cleaning electronics - invert and spay out the very, very cold liquid - keep it off your flesh - allows for pinpoint application of cold. If applied to a spot immediately after its been heated with a heat gun, usually on low to prevent damage to carbon/paint finishes, parts will often 'ping' loose. If you add a penetrating liquid and cycle a few times from cold to hot, it pumps the penetrating fluid in with each expand/contract cycle. Hasn't failed me yet and saved my a$$ on more than one occasion - used on everything from engine blocks, to guns, carbon - titanium. It even works on plastic, if you've ever done any plastic fabrication.


----------



## nrwgnBlue (Apr 16, 2017)

Sounds like witchcraft. I'd love for things to loosen with a "ping". Any videos or images of this method? I kind of disregarded the whole thermal expansion thing, this being aluminium stuck in aluminium (a layer inside the carbon).


----------



## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

watermonkey said:


> Canned air for cleaning electronics....


Interesting tip, I'm going to try that. Thanks :0)


----------



## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Mr Pig said:


> Interesting tip, I'm going to try that. Thanks :0)


I'm going to try not getting my seat posts stuck!


----------



## customfab (Jun 8, 2008)

nrwgnBlue said:


> Been curious about that. Did you go to a metal shop to get it done? I found this guy:


I am the metal shop!

There's a lot of methods that can work when removing a seized seatpost. There's also a lot of them that won't. Which one will get the job done depends on the variables. So after many years of the trial and error I decided to ream a post out with a set of adjustable reamers as a last resort. It took about an hour doing it by hand but it worked like a charm. I've done half a dozen since then and they've all worked just fine. It's not the fastest but I figure it's better than trying all the other things that could work only to wind up there anyway.

The video you linked is a guy changing the ID of his seat tube. That's a similar process to what I've done but I'm just reaming the stuck post out and leaving the seat post as is.


----------



## Cleared2land (Aug 31, 2012)

^^^^ Do you ream the full I.D. of the seat tube (O.D of seat post)?


----------



## nrwgnBlue (Apr 16, 2017)

customfab said:


> It took about an hour doing it by hand but it worked like a charm.


That sounds great, but almost too good to be true.

I don't mean to doubt your method, but just humour me:

My post was 1.5 - 2mm in (uneven) wall thickness, and sat about 20cm into the frame. If I understand correctly, a reamer has blades that cut through metal as you turn it by hand. The typical use seems to be to enlarge a hole by a small amount, and they have specific diameter ranges which seem to cover around .75mm per range. So potentially, I would need up to 3 separate ranges to cut through my tube. In addition to this, there is the length issue: How much do they cut lengthwise at a time?

If reaming was reasonably quick to do, why would people go to lengths such as using hazardous chemistry: 




Sorry. Again: I'm really just asking here


----------

