Stuck seatpost

[curtisl]

I went to adjust my seatpost yesterday and it is stuck tight. Has anyone got any tips on getting out of this predicament? I have sprayed on some WD40 but not joy at all, it is welded put it seems! Is this my third bit of bad luck? Dropped a £600 lens in a stream yesterday, cracked my phone and now this. Lottery tonight me thinks.

[ALawson]

Frame and post materials would be useful.

[curtisl]

ALawson said:

Frame and post materials would be useful.

Sorry. Carbon frame, Ali post.

[richardxjr]

If it is truly stuck, theseatpostman.com

[ALawson]

I have removed posts from Metal frames, not sure how I would approach carbon.

[duff]

I had this and after researching options ended up cutting it out. Cut the post off about 1 inch above the frame and then use a hacksaw blade to carefully cut into the post with an up-down motion. If you cut downwards into the exposed bit to get started it isn't that bad and once you've cut most of the way through the the post wall you should be able the clamp it together and free a bit off the frame. Once you have done this it comes away fairly easily, allow an hour or so in total.

[curtisl]

Cheers people. It is well and truly stuck and I didn't want to go down the 'cutting' route. Looks like it will be the only way though. I only wanted to move it a quarter of an inch. It may be staying put for a bit.

[Steve vRS]

I got a carbon seat post free on an aluminium frame by holding the seat boss in a vice and twisting and pulling. Took 45mins or so of effort and generated a lot of heat!

Steve

[curtisl]

Steve vRS said:

I got a carbon seat post free on an aluminium frame by holding the seat boss in a vice and twisting and pulling. Took 45mins or so of effort and generated a lot of heat!

Steve

Mine is the other way round, ali in carbon. if I had an ali frame, I would be happy to resort to my normal 'brute force and ignorance' approach but as it's Carbon I will be a tad more careful I think

[richardxjr]

In that case, ice pack round the post or leaving it outside [if cold] overnight might help. I'd also liberally coat the post with neat fairy, let it seep down overnight too.

[Magic919]

If you aren't planning to cut the post then using the seatpost man seems the best option.

[VeeFource]

A strategically placed bottle jack could be worth trying before cutting anything. Can be tricky to find a suitable pole or equivalent to lodge into the bottom of the down/seat tube that won't scratch the frame. But I managed to remove a seat post that had been rusted in for about 10 years with this method.

[IroningMan]

I have heard of coke being used to dissolve the corroded aluminium - never tried it, though.

[matt-ITR]

Coke would be the first thing I would try. Freezing would be next.

Alu and carbon is probably the easiest to release. Carbon-carbon is a nightmare!

[Magic919]

TheSeatpostMan said:

Q. I have read filling the seat tube with Coca Cola will break the bond between the seatpost and the frame?
A. From my experience with alloy components no. I receive many frames where this has been attempted with no noticeable result. Out of interest I took a heavily oxidised alloy seatpost and left it soaking for weeks in a bottle of coke. When removed, it had merely been stained brown and the oxidisation was still hard and intact on the seatpost. However with a steel frame or seatpost the phosphoric acid and lubricating effect of the liquid may be enough to allow the seatpost to begin to twist and so come out.

Plenty more in his FAQs.