Removing a Stuck Seatpost
Davis and his successfully removed seatpost.
A seemingly not-too-uncommon problem encountered by bicycle enthusiasts is a stuck seatpost. This is almost always a consequence of not putting grease (or, better, anti-seize compound) on the seatpost before inserting it into the seat tube, and over time, the seatpost virtually “fuses” with the seat tube via oxidation.
My friend Dave had this problem recently with a near-new Ibis frame. He attempted the following (all of which were suggested on USENET newsgroups) to no avail:
- Lubricant (e.g., WD-40)
- Attaching an old saddle to the seat tube and banging it with a hammer
- Ammonia (as in Windex, to react with any internal rust)
- Dry ice (to chill the seatpost and make it contract) while keeping the seat tube warm (to make the seat tube expand)
He then came over to my home for the two of us to give it a shot. 
The method we then successfully used was attaching a long (approx. 3-foot) square tube (e.g., from Orchard Supply for under $5) to the seat post via the seat post clamp:
Then, while Dave held the frame firmly on the ground, I used my strength + the tube’s leverage to turn the seatpost. At first the seatpost would only turn very “notchily”: the rotational action was not smooth at all. We then applied more WD-40, though, and kept turning the seatpost (via the square tube) in a counterclockwise direction. It then fairly easily came out. See the photo at the top.
Phil said:
Cheers for posting this… my next attempt was going to involve a stick of dynamite and a one tonne weight (Road-Runner cartoon style)… I’ll give this a go instead.
Jon said:
Last year I had a seatpost that was terminally stuck and I resorted to a somewhat different brute force approach to remove it: rope and pulleys from my rock climbing gear. In my basement I have two very strong tubular steel posts that I used as anchor points. I laid my bike on its side on a foam pad and anchored the bottom bracket shell to one post with a short length of 1″ tubular webbing. The seatpost was hooked up to the other anchor point with an 8:1 pulley system and static rescue rope. I used prussik knots as a ‘ratchet’ to capture the rope progress so that I could take my hands off the rope between pulls. After several pulls to take the stretch out of the system, the seatpost popped right out. Had I not had the rope and pulleys, your “long lever” method would likely have been the only other option.
Dave said:
Less violent method:
Use a hack saw blade to gently, carefully, slowly cut a kerf in the inner diameter of the seat post. Use a fine metal hacksaw blade with a few turns of tape around one end for a handle. Make a few strokes, take a look, make a few more. You’ll get a good feel for what you are doing in a few minutes. In less time than it takes to get to Home Depot and back, you’ll have the seat post out. When the kerf is nearly through the wall of the post, twist the post with a pair of channel-lock pliers, Vice-Grips or a monkey wrench. A big mug of hot tea will still be warm when you’re done.
pete robinson said:
Thanks for posting,i found this last nite after finding the seatpost completely glued to my carbon dolan mythos frame.
i was dubious at using any other method i had found on the net till i found this one.
As you can expect i was worried about killing a £1,000 pound frame!!!!! ihad tried to twist the thing using the saddle attached and nearly gave myself a hernia and severe back problems!!!!
SO found a long peice of iron in the shed that woud fit into the seat post clamp.drilled a hole in it to secure seatpost bolt through. sprayed copious amounts of wd 40 around seatpost entry point amd within five minutes of creaking and twisting,oh and the wife holding down the back wheel……..the bastard was out…..complete post with no damage and more importantly no damage to my carbon frame,which incidentally had an alloy insert approx 6 inches down the frame,this is why the post got stuck…..fusion of metal to metal it was covered in a white sort of residue……no not cum…lol.
any how a good result and me mug of tea was still hot when i finished………effin good leverage is the answer cheers Davis.
pete said:
fantastic!!!!!! worked for me on a carbon dolan mythos frame.Spent hours day before trying to remove it with the seat.
most carbon frames have an alloy insert approx. 6 inches into the frame so mine had welded itself and it was really stuck.with the seat in place trying to twist it nearly killed me!
the long leverage method is a winner …….cheers for posting this.
Dennis said:
Wonderful page, the long square pipe idea saved the day for me… thanks and blessings!