I am borrowing a friends bike for the week and his transition comp seatpost is stuck in place. The bracket that holds the seat in place is fine, and can be adjusted, but without the bracket even on, the seat is stuck in place. Any ideas on how to loosen the seatpost so I can move it??? Maybe the material has swollen, or there is corrosion holding it in place- any ideas???
Your question is confusing…
So the seatpost is stuck, but the rail binder bolt is fine? That makes sense, but one thing has nothing to do with another.
Assuming it’s a newer Transition (post-2008), the seatpost is held in by a wedge assembly. The wedge force is tightened/loosened by the bolt near the seatpost, along the top tube.
Is the bolt seized? Are you able to fully loosen the bolt, but the post won’t budge? Even with the most dirt, sweat, pee, and gatorade, I can’t see the post being truly stuck. The post is all clear coat, and the inside of the frame is bare carbon, so it really can’t seize up. Undo the wedge all the way, shimmy the seatpost back and forth a bit, and give it a good vertical yank.
Yes, the wedge is fine and is loosened all the way. There is nothing holding it in place and I still can’t move it. It is 100 percent stuck. I have tapped it with a hammer and it still won’t budge.
Can you take the wedge out?
If I had to guess, it’s probably just sweat & gatorade providing a light bond, and it’s probably going to take a stronger tap with a hammer than you’re comfortable with. I can’t see anything causing actual seizure, unless there is something dumb like glue in there for whatever reason.
You can stick a needle in the minimum insertion hole to see if the post is bottomed out. If it is, hitting downward won’t do you any good. But it should help otherwise.
I had the same thing happen to my 2008 transition comp. I took it back to the shop I bought it. The carbon on the inside of the seat tube started to delaminate, they had a brand new pro frame there for me in 3 days. Covered under warranty. Good luck!
Yeah it’s not moving. I sprayed some lubricant in there to see if it will loosen up and just doesn’t move. Maybe if there is a way I can soak it it would help. This bike is probably a 2008 and wouldn’t be covered under warranty, so no luck there. Not really sure what else I can do - I’ve banged on it pretty hard now-
I’ve banged on it pretty hard now-
THat’s what she said.
I had the same thing happen with my 2009. It was just stuck. If you have the heart for it, take some cloth (towels) and put it on the back of the seatpost and bang on it with something (hitting the towels). Make sure the wedge piece and seatbracket are all off the bike first. Good luck.
In my experience, most fitters cut the seat post on a Transition so that it is resting on the curve part of the frame inside. The clamp is not really keeping it in place in that case, it is resting on the inside of the frame on a curved section. Over time that can become pretty tightly pushed together.
Make sure the clamp and wedge are loose. Go get a rubber mallet from the local hardware store, and depending the seat post installed, smack the bottom of the seat in as close to a straight up in respect to the seat post as you can. Try to hit the seat rails. Don’t be timid, smack the shit out of it a few times. It should pop right out.
This is you friend’s bike? Have you taken it up with him? I can’t imagine him being too happy if your returned the bike with a crack in the frame or seat post.
Just to be certain, you are banging on it in an upwards fashion and not tapping it further down into the seat tube right?
Update- got the seatpost out this morning. Soaked it in coke overnight and took the hammer to it this morning to bang it straight up and it came right out. Thanks!