Stuck Seatpost

[Jezston]

My commuter 3-speed has an old steel 'careba' supposedly 531 frame with an old presumably aluminium Campag Athena aero seatpost. It's always been a bit stiff since building, but could be moved with a reasonable amount of force which has led me to believe it wasn't the wrong size to start with.

However I now just can't budge it at all. Two of us have tried pulling on it, putting a decent amount of grease around it, hammering against a block of wood underneath it to no avail.

Anyone got any tips for budging it? It has been suggested it's a steel-aluminium sticking issue, but the thought does remain perhaps the chap who built it put the wrong sized seatpost in it. Is that possible?

Caustic soda has also been suggested but I'm not sure what that will do the powdercoat on the frame!

 

[accountantpete]

Good luck!

I had a similar post - but by putting the post in a vice and turning the frame I found I could move it slightly.

I then sprayed wd40 at both ends,turned it again and re-sprayed WD40 and left for a day.

Finally I taped as many bags of frozen peas as I could to the seatpost and gently warmed the seat tube at the same time (to expand the tube and contract the post) then popped it in the vice and she came out quite easily.

 

[Zoiders]

Have you spread the seat clamp yet?

Left clamped up they cold set around the post.

 

[the snail]

You could try giving it a whack downwards to break the bond, and a combination of the above. Or cut the post off near the clamp and saw through it with a hacksaw blade (tedious last resort), or the caustic soda works apparently. It's possible that the post was oversize. a friend had that problem, but it must have been forced in, and I don't think it ever moved, even slightly.

 

[biggs682]

best of luck with that