Carbon Seat Pin Slipping!

stevewheel

Just taken delivery of a wonderful new Bianchi 928 C2C.....everything I was anticipating...all good, except Can't stop the carbon seat pin slipping down from the position I set it to at the start of a ride. The clamp specifies a torque setting but please tell me I don't have to invest in a torque wrench just to clamp the pin securely? Having said that, carbon being what it is I am reluctant to just heave on the Allen key to do it up. Is there a dodge that any of you mechanics or seasoned "carboholics" use to stop the seat pin slipping down? As you will have guessed by now it's my first carbon bike!

Many thanks.

Steve

IanTrcp

http://www.swinnertoncycles.co.uk/Carbo ... l4760.aspx

heavymental

Probikekit have a small sachet of Ritchey carbon grease similar to the above stuff. Only a quid or so. Probably all you need for the occasional refitting of your seatpost.

Slow Downcp

Try a bit of hairspray - once it dries it will stop it slipping.
And I'd recommend a torque wrench if you're uncertain about how tight to do it up - overtightening could be a VERY expensive mistake.

cougie

I'll vouch for the hairspray thing. I have to take the carbon post out of the carbon frame every time I fly to races abroad and i need the hairspray just to fix it back in again.

Cheap and cheerful !

Kléber

Without a torque wrench, you risk problems. If the clamp breaks and you have no wrench, your warranty could be invalid.

Sandpaper: use fine paper to gently remove a bit of the lacquer on the seat post. Hold the post in the your hand and wrap paper around the post. Twist it. This will score some rings aronud the post and add friction. Obviously, only do this to the area that is clamped and which nobody sees. Several pro teams use this trick.

Bianchi Boy

I had the same problem with my new CR1 Pro. I bought a Ritchey Torque Key that was preset to 5Nm and quite inexpensive along with some carbon assembly paste. It's all now OK. I was quite supprised at how much tension 5Nm is. It was certainly more than I was prepared for.

Bianchi Boy

Oh! and I would not use hairspray. The chemicals in it can cause the carbon to delaminate.

Gerry Attrick

Kléber wrote:

Without a torque wrench, you risk problems. If the clamp breaks and you have no wrench, your warranty could be invalid.

Sandpaper: use fine paper to gently remove a bit of the lacquer on the seat post. Hold the post in the your hand and wrap paper around the post. Twist it. This will score some rings aronud the post and add friction. Obviously, only do this to the area that is clamped and which nobody sees. Several pro teams use this trick.

Oh horror! Do you not realise that scoring of carbon can cause sudden catastrophic failure? The pro teams have pro mechanics, we are mere laymen. Go with the carbon assembly paste for safety. :shock:

thetrotter

Another vote for hairspray. Recommended by my LBS and haven't had any problems with carbon delaminating.

Kléber

Gerry Attrick wrote:

Oh horror! Do you not realise that scoring of carbon can cause sudden catastrophic failure? The pro teams have pro mechanics, we are mere laymen. Go with the carbon assembly paste for safety. :shock:

Score only the lacquer!

andy_wrx

ProBikeKit sell the Tacx carbon assembly compound in a smaller 'syringe' rather than big pot - £3-odd rather than a tenner and you don't need that much of the stuff...

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=A1637