Stuck seat tube - any ideas?

[onyv...@gmail.com]

Wanted to fold my NWT for storage in its carry bag, but found the seat post (mast? I'm not a gearhead!) is solidly stuck in the frame.  It's been a few years since I last removed it, so not surprising I guess.  I completely loosened the silver tightening ring and put penetrating oil and spray (Liquid Wrench) around the tube where it goes into the frame, hoping it would help.  Still stuck.  I've tried pounding on the bottom of the saddle with a mallet to try to dislodge the post and lift it up, but still no luck.  Short of taking the bike into a LBS, do folks here have any tips?

Thanks.
Lisa in PDX

[Mike Fleming]

FWIW, I'm running into the same thing with my Tikit: I used to fly with it frequently, and then stopped some years ago. I'm sure I was not careful about re-greasing the seat post every time I flew, and now it's stuck. For me, I've had a bit more luck with the penetrating oil and I can actually twist it, so I'm certain I will get it out in the end.

But I wish I could go back in time and say "When you travel and take out/replace your seat post, alware remember to re-grease it!"

Mike

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[Ray Chong]

Hi Lisa, 

I'm assuming that you are referring to the seatpost, to which the saddle is attached? Does it look like the penetrating oil is seeping into the gap between the post and the frame? If so, apply liberally and let it soak for a day or two. (Use rags on the frame and under the bike to soak up spillage.) Before you try forcing out the post, you can try using a heat gun or hairdryer to heat the area on the outside of the frame to cause it to expand a little. Also, if you are able, insert a length of wood or metal rod  in the saddle at the rails area to use as a lever and try to twist it side to side (but not in a position or with so much force that you damage the saddle).

Good luck! 

-Ray 

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[Walter Lapchynski]

To be fair, regardless of whether or not you're travelling with a bike or not, you should always make sure that there is lubrication, especially where dissimilar metals are involved (an aluminum seatpost in a steel seat tube). Stuck seat posts happen even on "normal bikes."

Here's the ultimate authority on dealing with this all too common issue:

https://sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikefriday.com/d/msgid/yak/CABs39Y81WYb7UUR%2BXV%2B5wA68UHgOwk%2Bx3Og%3DGR6jHFp5oOKdZg%40mail.gmail.com.

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Walter Lapchynski
Sales Consultant | Information Services Assistant

Green Gear Cycling dba Bike Friday

direct line +1 541-234-5126

[John S. Allen]

Oh! This reminds me that I should check the bikes I haven't ridden for a while!

And I maintain and update that page!

On 4/30/2024 3:10 PM, Walter Lapchynski wrote:

To be fair, regardless of whether or not you're travelling with a bike or not, you should always make sure that there is lubrication, especially where dissimilar metals are involved (an aluminum seatpost in a steel seat tube). Stuck seat posts happen even on "normal bikes."

Here's the ultimate authority on dealing with this all too common issue:

https://sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

-- 
John S. Allen

CyclingSavvy Instructor
League Cycling instructor
Author, Bicycling Street Smarts
Technical Writer and Editor, sheldonbrown.com

[Ken Preston]

I’ve had a few stuck over the years and penetrating oil almost always works. But it does take time to penetrate several inches. Keep lubricating liberally for several days up to a week. A good quality plumbers strap wrench will help. But only after the penetrating oil has been allowed to work. 

Ken

On Apr 30, 2024, at 3:16 PM, John S. Allen <jsa...@bikexprt.com> wrote:



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[Michael Jacoubowsky]

Also, regarding where to tap the post... best to do so from the side, near where it enters the frame, all around the circumference of the post. This may help to break up the corrosive bond (and will also help lubricant to seep in). If the seat post is to be replace anyway, remove the seat, and clamp the post in a vice and twist the frame. This will frequently remove the most-stubborn of seatposts, but generally at the expense of wrecking the seatpost. 

Note that this is also something that generally doesn't happen when using a shim, because there's not as much surface to corrode together. People generally dislike having shims on Bike Fridays but my son and I have 10+ trips to France with ours and the shim has never been an issue. 

Mike Jacoubowsky, Partner
Chain Reaction Bicycles

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[Robert Wavrin]

Lisa,

What has worked for me in the past is to disassemble the bottom bracket and put the penetrating oil into the seat tube (bike upside down of course). Let it sit for a day or two (or a week in my case). Make sure to wrap a rag around what is now the bottom of the seat tube to avoid oil all over the seat and floor when it makes its way out. 

By doing this the oil has a much better chance of seeping through the tiny space between the seat post and seat tube and lubricating it. It's a pain to have to remove the bottom bracket but may help save a seat post. 

Bob

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[onyv...@gmail.com]

Ah, good idea about putting a stick in the saddle rails to twist.  Will try that.  Put oil in a couple days ago.

[onyv...@gmail.com]

Another good idea, thanks.  I will try as a last resort.  I'm heading out on vacation in a few days and am storing the bike to clear space for the house sitter. 

FWIW I had lubed the seat post last time I'd taken it out, but that was a while ago and then Covid happened and I haven't ridden much at all the last three years. Live and learn  (sometimes the hard way!)

[onyv...@gmail.com]

Thanks Walter!  Hope I don't have to resort to the hacksaw...

[Geof Gee]

Usually I put the bike in a stand and tightly clamp around the seatpost then use the bike as a lever to twist and loosen.

-G

Arlington, VA

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikefriday.com/d/msgid/yak/efb1d571-d501-4bb8-906a-4d3f58fb30cen%40bikefriday.com.

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"Sometimes I forget things.  Who I am.  Where I am.  Unimportant things. But I'm not insane. "

[John S. Allen]

Lisa -- it isn't clear to me from your message whether you bike has a folding or telescoping seat mast -- see https://bikefriday.com/service/easy-pack-seat-mast-vs-folding-seat-mast-2/ . If a telescoping seat mast, I couldn't tell whether seat mast or seat post (which inserts into the seat mast) is stuck. If the seatpost, all of the suggestions in other messages in this thread apply. Walter Lapchynski has already mentioned the page https://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html for the seatpost.

If the stuck part is a telescoping seat mast, then both it and the seat tube are steel, with the same coefficient of thermal expansion. If penetrating oil and twisting don't work, then you might try temperature differential. Remove the seat post and saddle, pour ice, or better, dry ice, down the seat mast, replace the seat mast and saddle, and lightly heat the outside of the seat tube with hot water or a hair dryer, then twist. The temperature differential may break the bond, technique #10 on the sheldonbrown.com page. Observe cautions about heat and dry ice.

Follow up on my check on my own bikes: all seatposts and stems had been greased. One aluminum stem had corroded to the fork steerer to the extent that it required a bit of torque on the handlebars to remove. Jobst Brandt explained how this happens despite greasing: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/stuck-stem.html. The corrosion was brown -- steel rust mostly. I added grease and replaced the stem, glad to have caught the problem in time.

And I recently removed a stuck pedal from a crank after lightly heating the crank around the pedal eye with a propane torch. The crank was aluminum, which expends more than the steel pedal axle when heated. I heated from the back of the crank to avoid damaging plastic and rubber parts of the pedal. The pedal came off with very light torque from my pedal wrench.

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John S. Allen

CyclingSavvy Instructor
League Cycling instructor
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