noglider 

RJ the Bike Guy has one way.

Cyclist0108

This guy sounds like Gale Boetticher in Breaking Bad.

SurferRosa

"Hey, viewers!"

nlerner

I think he should have loosened the seat cluster binder bolt first.

merziac

I like RJ, he's lucky the post let go, if his apparatus had let go with his hand in there, it would have been a very different outcome.

natterberry 

jpaschall

dddd

I was going to suggest to RJ that maybe he switch from coffee to whiskey.

He wasn't lying, the level of force can be unexpectedly huge. I estimated my apparatus as pulling at least 4k pounds force, and the oversized steel post wasn't moving.
It took additional repeated heavy pounding on the seat tube with a big hammer and a hard block of TREX material, while applying the tons of pulling force, to pull out my stuck post.
I poured boiling water over the seat tube while the ropes were tensioned, it had no effect even with the post being made of steel. RJ's aluminum post would of course only expand more tightly inside of the seattube when heated.

Yes, I wondered if he had seen my apparatus before making his own. His looks more like a shop tool, especially if he were to paint it blue.
I was expecting his alloy seatpost to perhaps pull apart at the hole, or his frame break, same worries I had while giving this poor frame and post all that I could muster.

seypat

You know the routine, Gene
It's the same as a stem, Jim
Apply the Blaster and wait, Nate
That is the key.

Then you put it in a vice, Bryce
Twist it left and right, Dwight
Might have to use heat, Pete
Remember, patience is the key.

If you do all that, Matt
But you have no luck, Chuck
Do it all again, Ben
Just listen to me.

It will finally break free, Lee
You'll be happy as a clam, Sam
Giddy as a schoolgirl, Merle
Because the seatpost is free!

Lascauxcaveman 

Why don't we both just sleep on it tonight?

bwilli88 

Mine was a large drill and NaSO and a week of soaking

SJX426 

Mine was a big lye.

WP_20160107_001, on Flickr

Deal4Fuji

Nice

I've never used anit-sieze compound before but saw this tube of Liquid Wrench anti-sieze dielectric grease at Ollie's for just $2.99. What say you guys, Is this OK to use on a seat post?

no67el

I pulled/twisted so hard on my seized Fat Chance Yo Eddy that the seatpost itself came apart. Tried endless careful hacksaw cuts lengthwise down the inside of the post, trying to pull each section out with pliers. Hours and hours of frustration.

Ended up using lye on it ---- bought a face shield, gloves etc. Scary stuff, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it because of the dangers involved, but the post was gone in 30 minutes, as if it had never existed. (Important Note for anyone unfamiliar with this process: this is only for a steel frame with an aluminum seatpost --- the lye dissolves the aluminum but does not react with the steel. Also, cover any painted areas you want to preserve, 'cause the lye will do a number on the paint too....)

Now I have a calendar set up on my computer/phone to remind me to remove/regrease the seatpost/stem on all my bikes once a year---- NEVER want to deal with this again, at least on the frames in my care....

Hudson308 

Yep... me too!
It appeared that the PO had tried some variation of RJ's method, without success.
A week of penetrant and spirited twisting had absolutely no affect.

dddd

That looks like it would be ideal actually. Hopefully the spread consistency keeps enough of it between the critical surfaces during post insertion.

The claimed 1800F teperature limit is astounding. From the interwebs, I quote:
" ...The only lubricants with long life at these temperatures are liquid metals, liquid oxides, glasses and a few solid lubricants like molybdenum disulfide. "

SurferRosa

I'm reminded of watching my elderly step father attempt to pull a dead tree stump using this sort of setup and his truck hitch. My mother and brother were standing close by, silently observing like deer. I knew it wouldn't work, and, more importantly, he was risking something might fly off at high speed and lodge in someone's skull. But there's no telling the old man that. He's the engineer and all. i quickly walked around to the other side of the house...

non-fixie 

Yes, and ...?

SurferRosa

no one died ... this time.

I told him, "youtube is your friend. There are risk free ways to remove a tree stump."

I'm not afraid of dying, by the way. I just want it to be on my own terms, not by flying debris caused by an idiot.

jonwvara 

That reminds me of the bumper sticker that says something like "I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming in terror like the passengers in his car."

randyjawa 

Yup, if it don't move, just get a bigger hammer! Good grief, it scares the poop out of me when I see people using brute force on a delicate road bike frame. What is so wrong with cutting a stuck seat post or steering stem out..?

I destroyed this early seventies Torpado using the "brute force" approach..

capnjonny 

When I was a kid my best friend has a huge tree in their back yard. Tree was cut down and the stump remained. His parents said we could dig out the stump and build a fort. We dug and hacked and eventually had a hole 6 ft across and 3 ft deep. We hacked off all the side roots and were left with the stump which was about 30 inches across . Being resourceful kids we went into his dads shop and grabbed a bunch of thick rope and a comealong and proceeded to loop the rope around the tree trunk AND around a post supporting a set of stairs on the side of the house. We started to merrily crank on the comealong , certain that we could shift the tree trunk. Instead we pulled the porch post off its base and almost collapsed it.

We still got to build the fort after his dad got someone to pull the stump. Best fort we ever made. We even painted it. Used what ever paint we could find in the shop all mixed together. It came out pink .

SurferRosa

I lol'd.

bikeaddiction1

I had a steel framed Miata with a seized aluminium seat post that no amount of loosening compounds or physical force would dislodge. Finally, I took out the bottom bracket and turned the bike upside down and poured a mix of crushed ice and water in, as the aluminum post should contract more than the steel frame. When I could feel the frame getting cold I laid it down on the grass and used my foot to hold the frame and put a pipe wrench on the post with a pipe over the handle of the wrench to make it longer for more leverage. I pulled hard and it started to move. After spinning it a bit I moved to a bench vice to clamp the seat post and kept working it back and forth until it loosened enough to pull it out.

It was a rather big effort but much less than than cutting it out with a hack saw blade down the inside of a post (which I have also done before)..

Now I check any steel framed bike I am considering acquiring to insure the seat post and steering stem (if it is quill type) are not seized. If so I don't take it without largely discounted price or for free.

People need to make sure to put a light film of grease on a stem before installing it to help inhibit corrosion and need to check it occasionally, especially if the bike sees a lot of harsh environments.

jjames1452 

Kroil!