CaptMike

Any tips or tricks on plugging the hole on the seat tube while traveling with the bike on the bike rack. I’m getting tired of readjusting my seat height after removing from rack. Only an issue when I have my wife’s bike on there also. I tried the magic marker. It get wore off. I figure tape will get jammed up, or come right off when the seat post goes down. Thank you all.

skidder

You've already mentioned my two suggestions, magic marker or tape. I usually use tape and leave it in for a few rides to make sure the post isn't slipping down (you'll see the tape bunch up as it gets pushed up). If you have a metal seatpost you could make a small 'scratch'-type mark with a file, saw blade or maybe a knife. Definitely don't do this with a CF seatpost!

phughes

https://www.amazon.com/Juscycling-Mo...s%2C111&sr=8-1




I'm sure if you remove the seat with the seat post attached, with the ring on it, you will be able to reinstall it in the same place. As for plugging the seat post tube, you can easily find a rubber stopper that will fit, or something like that. It shouldn't be too difficult.

Iride01 

Round seat post? If you don't care too much about looks then just take a worm clamp and tighten it on the seat post where it goes into the seat tube. It'll also help keep the seat tube from slipping if you don't get the seat tube clamp tight enough.

When you take the saddle and seat post out and then put it back in, you'll have something you can set the height of without even having to look for that mark that wears off. Just drop in in till it stops.

There are some seat post collars made of metal especially made for these same reasons. I've seen them somewhere. They pretty much look like the seat tube clamp, but they are sized smaller for the seat tube.

icemilkcoffee 

They make these clamps that clamp onto your seatpost to prevent it from slipping down:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284023958353

CaptMike

Thank you guys for the replies. I'm not worried about marking the seat post when I take it out. I was pushing the seat post down into the seat tube while in the rack, thereby lowering the seat. Any mark I put on it was gone when I raised it up. If I take the seat and post out while transporting, I would just use a piece of electrical tape to wrap around the seat post, to mark the spot. I'm wondering if there is some kind of plug out there, or something, that people use when they remove the seat and seat post during transport, to plug the hole in the seat tube. Or just use plastic wrap, etc.

LarrySellerz

Scribe the paint

icemilkcoffee 

Why is it so important to plug the hole in the seat tube now?
BTW another alternative is a dropper post. You sit on it to compress it down. Press a button and it springs back up to your regular setting.

ThermionicScott 

Rain would be my first thought.

But I'm also curious why the seatpost needs to be removed for transit. Is it to fit multiple bikes on one rack easier... ?

CaptMike

It's not important to plug the hole now, I am not traveling with it on the bike rack. I only need to do that when I also have my wife's bike on it (the rack), also. Her handle bars hit my seat, so I have to lower it, or remove it. I thought drawing a mark around the seat post with a magic marker would do it, but the mark was gone when I raised the seat back up, after taking the bike off the rack. It's a pain in the *** re-fitting the seat height. So I was considering removing the seat and post while driving. But don't want any road gunk getting down into the seat tube. So was wondering if there was some kind of plug fix that people in the same situation use. I'm getting the impression that there isn't. Right now, my seat height is perfect

icemilkcoffee 

Did you read what I wrote about dropper posts? You can leave the seat on the bike, and lower the seat when you want it low. And when you press a button the seat will spring right back up to the preset height. Seems like that would solve all your problems.

soyabean

I'd go to a party shop and look at simple balloons, hopefully one with a neck giving a good grip, expands enough around the seattube, and thick enough not to get punctured.

I still haven't found anything hard that will fit into the ID of a seattube snugly, short of getting something 3D printed, or hard polymer stock and getting it lathed into the right diameter.

soyabean

When using a platform rack, you alternate the bikes' drive side and other side.

Often a seat interferes with the bars of the adjacent bike.

It's just easier to load and unload bikes off a platform rack without the saddle in the way.

Also, if there's a quick release, there's also the chance of seat and seatpost theft. My bikes have expensive saddles and my platform rack only provides locks for the frame of the bike clamped down to the platform rack.

(Photo is manufacturers' stock photo.)

ThermionicScott 

No ****?

Thus far, we've always been able to make it work without taking parts off the bike, so I was curious.

big john

You could use a machinist's rule and take an accurate measurement of the post height.

phughes

As I said, you can find a rubber plug. There are some that expand via a screw or nut, or ones that are simply like a cork. https://www.amazon.com/MECCANIXITY-T...s%2C109&sr=8-6

Or take an old seat post, cut it down, then cap the top, leaving a rim so it won't go all the way into the seat tube. Once the seat post is removed, put the capped post in to cap teh seat tube.

rollagain

^^^ I'm pretty sure I've seen rubber stoppers like that in my local Ace hardware.

noimagination

(Depending on the seatpost diameter): champagne cork.
Bonus: you get to drink the champagne.

Herzlos

Just score a mark on your seat post just above the frame (with a screwdriver or knife, you just want to mark the paint), then dropping and raising it should be trivial. Or if you can raise the seat, another clam will avoid you needing to scratch the post.

Mtracer

While I'm sure there is some way to mark the post that won't rub off, another option is to create a gauge from a length of wood or dowel. Something you can set against say the top tube or just the seat tube clamp, and a point of reference on the saddle such as the rails or somewhere on the saddle clamp. This should allow you to pull the seat back up and reset to the same position without having to look at anything.

As others have said, if you want to remove the seat and plug the hole to keep crap out, a simple rubber stopper should work. But I like the idea of dropping the seat. Simpler than pulling the seat out. And it avoids the possibility of leaving the seat behind or on the roof off your car or bumper.

My rack uses full-length trays that allow me some flexibility to position the bikes side to side. This has allowed me to avoid the conflict of handlebars to seat. Or even if not a tray, I think many racks allow you to position the wheel positions to avoid this. But I know I had one rack and a particular pair of bikes that was impossible to avoid the conflict.

Just throwing this out there in case, your having a brain fart and forgetting an obvious solution.

Broctoon

It's called a well nut.

Troul 

Find a long piece of heat shrink that will slip around the seat post & cut the heat shrink to length. Once it's fitted, shrink the material securely in place.
it not only marks the post, but also will indicate if it's slipping.
Benefit is also, it is not permanent. Works on nearly all types of posts.

CaptMike

I did Icemilk. Thank you. I don’t do the crazy MTB stuff. No need for a DP. And certainly don’t want to add one just for the racks sake. I’m an old gravel grinder/fat bike type of guy.

CaptMike

I think I will re-analyze the way the bikes sit, and go from there. A rubber plug may be in my future. This has been an enlightening thread😊. Thank you guys.

grumpus

A length of cord attached to the saddle frame and the clamp bolt, or only tied at one end and used as a measure rather than a stop.