Weight Weenies

Hello,

I need your advice. My Easton EC70 carbon post seems to have seized to the seat tube of my Dean Ti. I can't seem to budge it - even with a mallet. I think there is an aluminum sleeve in the seat tube.

Anyone experienced this before? What can I do to loosen the post? Would WD-40 work? Help!

My wr carbon post bonded to my aluminum insert in my ONCE frame.......can't get it out of the insert!!

Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com

Rippin wrote:Hello,

I need your advice. My Easton EC70 carbon post seems to have seized to the seat tube of my Dean Ti. I can seem to budge it - even with a mallet. I think there is an aluminum sleeve in the seat tube.

Anyone experienced this before? What can I do to loosen the post? Would WD-40 work? Help!

It happened to a buddy of mine, but with a cheaper post and frame. After some serious effort he took it to a shop and had them do it.

Anyway, I'll tell you what a maintenance book says to do:

1) Remove seatpost binding bolt (obviously!)
2) Squirt penetrating oil all around the post so it will seap into the tube. If you're serious about it, you should also remove the bottom bracket and squit oil in from that end. Let it sit overnight.
3) Next day, stand over the post and apply twisting force to the saddle.
4) If step three doesn't do it, you must sacrifice the post.
5) remove saddle, clamps, etc. Put the post in a vice (thus ruining the post forever). Apply twisting force to the frame around the post, grabbing the frame from the extreme ends around the post - and realizing you can possible even bend the frame (but It's a Ti frame, they're very resilient). You should hear a loud "pop" if it releases.
6) if THAT fails, go to a machine shop. It can only be reamed out .. $$. I guess if it's a Ti frame it's worth doing that.

Good luck!

Hey Rippin.. and adendum here.

Instead of removing the BB .. Remove the bottle cage holder screws. Use WD40's supplied "straw" to squirt oil in. What a freekin pain in the arse to remove the cranks and BB for that side of the post!

Thanks all for those suggestions. I'll give it a try tonight. Any more comments from others?

How could carbon seize to aluminum or titanium??

Try some soft tapping with a plastic hammer on the seattube. It will take you quite some time, but usually this will work!

Good luck!

Rippin wrote:How could carbon seize to aluminum or titanium??

Dont't know, but I have a carbon post in an Al frame and I have to change the saddle height regurarly. Some months ago, the post was nearly seized, I asked a mechanic what to do and he told me to put a little bit of grease between it. A month later the seatpost went lower. I went to my bike shop and he put some black, 'dirty' grease on the post.

Rippin wrote:Thanks all for those suggestions. I'll give it a try tonight. Any more comments from others?

How could carbon seize to aluminum or titanium??

did you grease it? grease bonds carbon to aluminium.... you have to very carefull with carbon as its easily penetrated....

bobalou wrote:Hey Rippin.. and adendum here.

Instead of removing the BB .. Remove the bottle cage holder screws. Use WD40's supplied "straw" to squirt oil in. What a freekin pain in the arse to remove the cranks and BB for that side of the post!

mite be worth removing that before it ends up seized!!! its only a 30 min job @ the most

i just saw this post, so if it doesn’t budge with lateral leverage on the seat or the end of the post, and the insert is aluminum.... carbon post.... its toast.

you could try heat and cold but the battery between the carbon and aluminum has welded them together to a point that the post will most likely not be salvageable when you do get it out.

never never put carbon and aluminum together.

if the ti frame builders were wise, they would use an epoxy/glass shim instgead of aluminum bacause soem many people like to put carbon posts in there.

nicrump wrote:i just saw this post, so if it doesn’t budge with lateral leverage on the seat or the end of the post, and the insert is aluminum.... carbon post.... its toast.

you could try heat and cold but the battery between the carbon and aluminum has welded them together to a point that the post will most likely not be salvageable when you do get it out.

never never put carbon and aluminum together.

if the ti frame builders were wise, they would use an epoxy/glass shim instgead of aluminum bacause soem many people like to put carbon posts in there.

you lost me on this one..... im sure there are 1000's & 1000's ov al frames wiv carbon posts in them?

you are correct, and there are 100's of them getting stuck as we speak. its a bad idea. if its not maintained it will eventually get stuck.

if that were not true... then this discussion would not be happening.

nicrump wrote:you are correct, and there are 100's of them getting stuck as we speak. its a bad idea. if its not maintained it will eventually get stuck.

if that were not true... then this discussion would not be happening.

Is there anything that can be done (anti-seize, etc.) that can prevent Alum and a carbon post from seizing?

keep it clean and greased. pick a post that has a thicker clear coat. the thinner the clear, the closer home the reaction.

The environment can make a big difference. I had a number of aluminum lugged carbon bikes fail on me from galvanic corrosion when I lived in Hawaii and was in salty air all the time - a couple of them in less than 6 months, but I knew people with the same frames that lived in the interior of the US that never had any problems.

Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com