I’ve tried so many different things to remove this seatpost. PB blaster and leverage/twist out with the saddle.
I’ve tried Kroil. I’ve leveraged the F out of it with a long pipe wrench in all sorts of directions. It’s moved some, as you can see from photos, but I just can’t get it the rest of the way out. Any advice? Just take it to LBS?
by Reynolds531IPA
16 Comments
Maybe try taking the wheels off, clamping the seatpost in a bench vise with the frame on top, and then using the frame as a lever?
If you can turn it, it will eventually come out. Turn while pulling upwards, and it will move up a little.
I’ve not seen them often but now I’m curious if it’s a quill seatpost. Mostly because of the hole at the top.
When I had a stuck seatpost, I struggled to get it out but I did get it to turn first. I was hammering the saddle side to side until it could twist all the way. Then pulled it up with the saddle while twisting. It was slow, annoying work, but it came out. If you do it that way, maybe mark with a sharpie and you can see if it’s going up or not
I’ve seen people building a rig out of wood and metal and use a car jig to pull upwards out. Google something like “seat post removal jig” I’ll try to find that post on IG
https://preview.redd.it/ccfs3b50yghf1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18fd43f1ad6500ff03405bd1c9c8900d4d66f8d4
Their are many examples. This method works. Pulling upwards is way more effective than all the others.
Did you already add Carama/WD40 from the bottom bracket and let it sit for like a day with the seat post down?
You can also close one side of the seat clamp and screw a screw in to it to force it a bit open.
Just keep at it. Drip some penetrating oil in there, let it sit for a few days, pull it out a few more centimeters, rinse and repeat until it comes out! The suggestion to turn it upside down in a vice and use the frame to twist is a very good one as well. One shop I used to work at had some seat rails welded to a huge steel beam and that worked pretty well too.
Drill a hole through it, put a metal bar in the hole! That’d be my approach. You’d get more leverage than just trying to grip the outside.
The cool thing I saw was someone on youtube using a powerwrench for wheelnuts. Looked rather easy.
This is a long shot, but I’ve heard of people making their seat theft-proof by attaching some wire from the inside of the post down the seat tube, and secured by a bottle cage bolt. If the post is turning freely but won’t come out, maybe remove the bottle bolts to make sure this isn’t the case…
(eg. https://www.reddit.com/r/bikewrench/comments/14kdqv6/couldnt_get_seatpost_out_of_vintage_bike_until/)
I once put a trash saddle on a stuck seatpost, put it in the crook of a tree and twisted the frame. Loud pop! and then I worked the post out. Frame was fine.
If it turns I’ve successfully put a sacrificial saddle on and hit the underside with a hammer.
Have you applied heat? Are those different metals?
Edit: if it’s a steel frame with aluminum seat post, heat the frame with a hair dryer or a gun. And fuck wd, that shits useless. PB was the correct call. You may get it in deeper by tapping the seat post with a hammer.
Good luck!
The top of that clamp is still tighter than the base. Maybe start on widening that.
There’s no need to apply ton of force if it already spins. Just apply lubricant(e.g. WD40), let it soak for few hours, twist and repeat. It can take few cycles, but eventually it will slide easily once dry corroded materials get oiled.
Silly suggestion but is the seat post inserted deep enough that one of the bottle cage(?) screws is acting as a grub screw?