Schwinn women's mountain bike—
To preface, this is the first bike I’ve owned so bear with me… I was trying to change the bike seat and height cause the one that came with it was incredibly worn and covered in tape. Except when I undid the seat and took it off the post fell into the frame of the bike and I can’t get it out. I’ve tried shaking it hard, hitting it with a rubber mallet to knock it out, pretty much every thing except using a long neck needle pliers since I don’t have any on hand. Is there anything else I could try to get it out? Do I bother with even getting the pliers and just take it to a shop? Side notes— theirs no way to take it apart since the body is entirely welded. And whenever I’ve stuck something and long and metal down the tube to try and get it I can only get it up by maybe an inch until it seemingly gets sucked back in like there’s a spring attached to it at the bottom or something? Any help would be appreciated!
by Independent-Dark-471
6 Comments
You could try bending a wire coat hanger if you have one around. Make it into a J and try to hook the bottom edge of the seatpost. Remove the seat clamp too just to make sure it’s not squeezing that seat tube at all
First take off the seatpost clamp.
You’ve tried flipping the bike over? Does it move at all due to gravity?
Take a metal coat hanger, cut or bend it into a straight piece, and use some pliers to make a little hook at the end. Put it down through the center of the seatpost and pull it up with the hook end
try running lubricant down the seat tube and shaking the post out. a water-based lube might work since it dries without leaving the tube slick, but penetrating oil like wd-40 will be more effective if the post is corroded or seized. just make sure to clean it out thoroughly afterward with isopropyl alcohol and dish soap so the post won’t slip later
if shaking doesn’t work, insert a pipe that fits inside the seat post, wrap the end in electrical tape or something grippy, press it against the inner wall of the post, and use it to pull upward
So the good news is that if it fell into the frame its the wrong size seatpost.
Take it to your local shop, get it measured and buy the right size seatpost
Question: all this stuff you did, the bike was flipped upside-down with the seatpost pointing directly downward so gravity could do its thing, right?
Do you have some metal wire? Try making a hook at one end and then pulling it out.