Dead Isis

dogboy73

My beloved Isis could be dead. And it's all down to a snapped seat post. I was riding home from work the other day when my seat post suddenly snapped off! The FSA post was some crappy alloy with a carbon wrap to make it look nice (I can't think of any other reason why they would have bothered). Anyway, I can't get the bugger out for s**t! As I'm trying to move it pieces are simply snapping or ripping off. There's not much left to grip hold off so we're now down to trying to drill it out. No joy so far. It's a right mess & making even more of a mess out the seat post. There still seems to be quite a lot of post left in the seat tube so knocking it down into the tube is not really an option. Can't go forwards, can't go backwards. It's buggered!!

nicklouse

read the topic on sheldons pages and take your time.

Or ask about seat tube reaming at your LBS's

baznav73

Seat tube reamers will only work if the post is stuck fast and you need a shop with a lot of sizes to gradually ream the post remains out, what i have done in the past is to use a hacksaw blade with one end taped up so you can hold it and cut through the poat inside the frame the only problem it takes ages and generally one cut won't do you need 2 or 3 but it's a sure fire way of getting it out.

cooldad

Depending on the diameter, you can try an old quill stem - stick it in, tighten up the expander or wedge and you have something you can grip onto.
Soak with plusgas or something similar overnight.
Worked for me once.

bikaholic

Here's my attempt at a seatpost extractor:




Hope you find it useful.



Btw, any royalties will be gratefully received.

nicklouse

Which is very similar to a fork bush extractor except that that is a slide hammer action.

My only change would be to have the sleeve longer and also stepped.

cooldad

Surely that would only work if you can get in through the bottom of the seatube? Which is quite rare.

nicklouse

Nope, the biscuit is free to move. Like I said just like a fork bush extractor.

cooldad

Aah the biscuit is the bottom. Bit slow today.

sanchez89

bikaholic wrote:

Here's my attempt at a seatpost extractor:




Hope you find it useful.



Btw, any royalties will be gratefully received.

this is good. i like.

if the post is stuck hard in, try and gently tap in a star nut, without knocking the remains of the post too far down, then put in threaded bar and something on the top and get pulling. or a weight and use it like a slide hammer.

not sure on how the star nut would hold up though?

dogboy73

Great stuff. Thanks for the tips people. I'll get that bastad out yet!!! :x My Isis will ride again! It will never die!!

allen.coulson

cooldad wrote:

Aah the biscuit is the bottom. Bit slow today.

This device really does take the biscuit.

yetibagpuss

You can use a similar device to the Park Tool RT-1 head cup remover. Google it!
Basically you need a piece of steel tube narrower than the internal diameter of the seat tube and about two feet long. Cut it in a similar fashion to the Park Tool RT-1 using a band saw, cutting four 5mm channels and then bend/splay the four wings out. Then on each of the four splayed wings tap a small hole for a small bolt to be screwed in. These are your teeth! You should then have four little bolt/teeth at the end of the splayed tube able to slide down into your snapped seat tube and then flick out and grip it at the bottom. Clamp the end of the gadget into a bike stand, as you would a normal seat tube. And "hopefully" you should be able to just slide the broken tube right out!

dogboy73

Got the bugger!! I brought the bike into work where a colleague in the workshop had a go at it. He basically ground away a groove down one side of the inside of the post & then crushed it in on itself. Job done, panic over :?

I do tend to panic a little whenever anything goes wrong with the frame. I did the same when I cross threaded the BB but the LBS sorted that out as well. Maybe I'm just secretly looking for any excuse to buy a new bike?! :roll:

Anyway, this is all that is left of my carbon wrap FSA seat post;



My colleague in work said it was some of the poorest & most brittle alloy he'd ever seen!

dogboy73

Weird! A noise, that I thought was coming from the drive train, has gone since I put the. EQ seat post in!!! :?