Really stupid, I know. Bought a new bike. I didn't secure the post to the seat right. The thing just fell right into the frame. I can't get it out. Tried turning it upside down, bouncing it (scuffed up my handlebars really bad, but it looks a little more rugged now). Lubricated the hell out of it. I'm going to have to buy a pair of very long needle pliers, but I thought I'd ask if anyone has been in the same situation.
Bike Seat Post Fell into Frame [FIXED!]
BadGiraffe on 28/07/2020 - 01:29
Last edited 28/07/2020 - 23:33
Last edited 28/07/2020 - 23:33
Comments
Thanks, Hybroid. The first. The hook itself was too wide, and it was to fiddly to make it more narrow. I ended up yanking the top and bottom away from each other, and made a hook out of that. I made a comment below about how I finally did it. Pity I can't attach photos here.
Bad luck mate
…well thats not very helpful :P
I told a friend of mine it was a $200 bike off Kogan. That was his response, and he said to chuck it and buy a real bike. We're still friends.
Sorry, it was late and I was being genuine. It sucks. I wasn’t suggesting there’s nothing you could do. Unfortunately I have no better suggestions than what you’ve already tried and the upside down clothes hanger.
Lol, that's a problem most people never have. Swap you one of mine that has one of those bouncy post thingys stuck in it.
Try what Hybroid said, otherwise I have had to do similar in the past though.
Grab a bike tube (handily you'll already have two of these) and with a stick push it down to the bottom of the seat post.
You want the valve to be at the top of the post.
Roll up the rest of the tube that's hanging out.
Inflate the tube.
Pull tube out, hopefully it'll drag the seat post out with it.
Otherwise you need an expanding mandrel. I wonder if those old man head stems would fit inside a seat post: https://www.sefiles.net/merchant/370/images/zoom/sm2421.jpg.
…might work. id probably just go the coathanger option…use some wd40 or similar to get some movement happening between the stuck post and the seat tube of the frame
This was exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to do, but I didn't have the tube. I wanted something I could push down there, inflate and pull out. I've got details of how I managed to get it out in a comment below. Thanks for your suggestion.
How did the seat fit through the hole?..
its probably a straight steel seatpost (seat pillar?) with no clamp at the top. he hasnt secured the seat properly to the seatpost and the post has dropped in to seat tube of the frame
Yeah. I just loosely tightened the seat and thought I'd kind of figure out how high I wanted it to be.
I finally got it out though. Made a comment below. I was thinking I should put something in there so it won't happen again, but now that the seat is securely on there, it should be fine. Right? I really tightened the nuts on that thing. The seat AND the neck on the frame.
had a read of a few threads….seems this would most likely work
Just get a piece of stiff wire with some spring to it (coat hanger, etc.), and bend a little hook on the end, at an acute angle.
Push the wire down through the seat post, and when the little hook goes past the swaged-down neck of the post, it will spring back and grab the inside of the post - Pull up, and Bob's-yer-uncle.
Just be careful, if the frame is conical and you push into with the wire you'll make it more stuck. What material is the frame? If metallic turn it upside down and pour hot water on the frame. That will make the frame expand and hopefully the stem will fall.
If your frame is composite, DO NOT do this, or you'll damage your frame.
Good luck…im not the op. just thought id throw in my 2c…😉
Pretty unlikely to have a seatpost without a clamp fixed to it in a composite frame. That style are reserved for the most basic bikes.
That's sort or what I did. It was too rigid to spring back, so I shoved a stick in there with it to wedge the hook at the end of the… swage? Is that what it is? I just called it a tapered end. Anyway, it's out now!
wd40
….just wd40? not sure thats going to achieve much by itself!
and the middle appendage.
I wd40'd the hell out of that post, put the bike upside down and bounced it. Damaged the handlebars, but not a big deal. Might think about spray painting it or something.
Start with bike lying on its side (to prevent superglue running away). Get a piece of straight wood or metal that is narrow and apply super glue on the end. Put it down the frame without touching the frame and when it reaches seat post then rest the end with superglue inside the seat post, wait 5 minutes, then try pulling it out.
Don't hold me responsible for anything that goes wrong lol
Don't hold me responsible for anything that goes wrong lol
op 's next thread…..'Superglued my seatpost into my Seat tube….??! any recommendation on a new bike??'
try to keep the piece of metal/wood or plastic parallel to the seat post, you will probably need to either hold it while drying or rest the non-glue end on a piece of cardboard or something that is the same thickness as the seat post at the end of the frame. This will maximise the contact patch of the post/glue. Also if you just put glue on the underside of the rod and at the end, then while inserting down the frame you can keep the rod up to prevent glue from accidentally touching the inside of the frame. Or you could do it the other way round if you're worried the glue could drip. Glue on top at end of rod, push rod down the frame while keeping the glue from touching inside the frame, then turn rod 180 degrees?
I thought about that. Getting a stick or a something and putting some liquid nails or epoxy on the end and leave it in the post overnight.
Decided not to, just in case I somehow got that down the frame while trying to get it into the post. I was going to go the needle pliers route instead of doing this. Got it out though! Details below.
lots of suggestions here, but if none have worked i'd take it to a bike shop and see if they can help. I'm sure you aren't the first person who has done this.
If you are, then maybe bargain with them to name the 'i dropped the the seat post into the frame' maneuver after you?
Top tip - do not ride bike to bike shop incase you forget seat is not longer there and you get a nasty "surprise" in your behind
Yeah. I was going to call them to ask how much it cost. If it was the same price as getting the pliers, I'd have gotten the pliers instead. But I got it out with a hanger and stick. I was very, very, very, very happy to get it out without having to look a bike expert in the eye and tell them what happened.
Can you see the seattube from the top?
Maybe get some needle nose pliers and insert, then expand to grip the inside of the tube and pull out.
The ones I had didn't go deep enough. Was going to get a pair of longer ones. They're $30 or so. Finally got it out with a stick and a hanger.
What sort of bike? Wonder if it falls into warranty zone? If purchased from a bike shop take it back to them and see if they can help. If you bought from Kmart or online you’ll probably have to pay a bike shop.
Kogan, actually. I was considering the bike shop option if I couldn't get it out. But I managed to!
I suspected a cheapie. Not many bikes would have such poor tolerances that a seatpost would just slip into the frame without some pushing.
Have you tried riding it without the seat on? Maybe it's not that bad?
It's out now, but I would have definitely done that to get to bike shop. When no-one was looking, of course. I'd be jogging and pushing it otherwise.
Get a piece of wood or metal that will fit inside the tube of the seat post. Ensure this rod is strong and won't snap.
Apply some adhesive such as 2 part epoxy. Liquid nails may work but it does have stretch. You want to avoid glues with stretch as they generally do not withstand shear forces well and in turn, may debond with rotational force.
Place adhesive onto the sides of the tip of this rod. Carefully place the rod through the bike frame without touching the sides and insert into bike post. If you did leave some adhesive on the frame of the bike, stop, clean up and start all over.
Once the glue has set, spray a whole lot of lubricant between the seat post and frame. Jiggle the rod clockwise and back whilst withdrawing.
Good luck.
I thought about the adhesive option. There was a chance I would have gotten some of it in the frame as I was getting my stick down there. Decided not to. A hanger and stick did the trick.
Having built several bikes, alloy and full carbon frame, I would not advise putting any form of adhesive inside the frame in the hope of it sticking to the seat tube. I think that the chance of failure is extremely high and may complicate matters by adding hardened glue inside the tube to further obstruct the seat tube.
If inverting the frame, and using a torch to see what is going on/jamming it hasn't helped, head down to your local bike shop. Sure you'll spend a few bucks, but it's bound to be less than a new frame.Wow. Thanks everyone. I didn't think this would get that much attention.
Latest update… success!
This is what I did:
Find a metal hanger. Mine are mostly plastic. Managed to find 3 that were metal. I thought of just undoing the entire thing to make it a single, long piece of wire with a hook on the end. Didn't work. It was very rigid. So I just yanked the top away from the bottom.Now that I had this two-wired piece of metal, I formed a hook at the end of it. It had to be a thin enough to fit through the tapered top of the post.
Once I was able to get that in, I needed a way to wedge the hook open inside the post so that it would catch the bottom of the tapered part. I grabbed a stick, shoved it down the frame and post, somehow managed to wedge the hook open a little more, then pulled the entire thing up. It sounds easy, but it took a few attempts.
One of 2 things happened. I either wedged the hook open, or I pushed the hook closer to the side so it would catch the bottom of the tapered end.
Thanks for all your help! Sorry I didn't respond to your messages. Busy day working from home and all.
For anyone interested, I bought that $200 foldable mountain bike from Kogan. It rides like a $200 bike. Worth it? Sure, but only if you're willing to tune the brakes and derailleurs on your own. I figured it might be fun learning to do stuff like that.
Yay OP! Celebrate good times, come on!
I would, but I'm not allowed to have guests over… or whatever the restrictions are now. I'll celebrate by cycling to the shops tomorrow morning and getting some iced coffee or something.
…and thus concluded the epic tale of the ozbargainer and the stuck seatpost.
Not terribly epic. Solved in under 24hrs using the first solution.
…humour not one of your fortes? 😄
Well there was that ‘pedals are stuck’ thread on rotorburn that went for dozens of pages.
Try a clothes hanger upside down to hook into the screw slot and pull it up.