Seatpost stuck in frame. Aluminum Frame

[Sparrow421]

So i just got my new seatpost in today. I was so happy i ran out side pulled the old one up and without thinking dropped the new one right in, and now it's stuck. I have been looking at alot of information of how to get them out, i tried Liquid Wrench with a coat hanger (coat hanger never grabbed anything.) and i also tried some needle nose pliers, i can get a fair grip on the post with them but it feels like it is just locked in there, which is weird because it just slid right in with no problems.

My bike is an aluminum frame and the only advice i am seeing is for steel frame bikes and this is the post that is stuck http://www.ebay.com/itm/251410948715?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I am all ears for any safe ideas for getting it out

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Depending on 'how' stuck it is a slide hammer with a hook end works well.

http://www.harborfreight.com/15-piece-slide-hammer-and-puller-set-5469.html

And expanding anchor bolt from the local hardware might also give you something to grip for pulling.

 

[Sparrow421]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB
Depending on 'how' stuck it is a slide hammer with a hook end works well.

http://www.harborfreight.com/15-piece-slide-hammer-and-puller-set-5469.html

And expanding anchor bolt from the local hardware might also give you something to grip for pulling.

I wouldn't even begin to know how to use that thing. and i just make sure i get across that the post is all the way inside the the tube with none of the post sticking out, would this tool still be able to help?
There is no corrosion since it is brand new and i have no clue what is gripping it so tight when it literally just slipped right down.

 

[dabac]

Kinetic energy. It fell in, managed to collect some speed, and then immediately spent that speed on jamming itself against some dirt, a burr or whatever. Wedges can be mighty powerful stuff.
If you can't get the needlenose pliers to work I do think your best chance is to fashion something harpoon-like that can be threaded through the post, hooked onto the bottom edge and then pull.

A slightly risky option would be to turn the bike upside down and give it a good whack vertically, from below on the seat tube.
Maybe create enough of a jolt to knock that thing loose. Or deform the entry to the seat tube.

Or try getting a can of coolant spray. Wrap a towel soaked in hot water around the seat tube.
Aim the coolant spray inside the seat post and give it a good blast.
With a bit of luck, the heat from outside will expand the tube slightly and the cold from inside will shrink the post slightly and cause them to part company.

Better do this with the bike suspended upside down to avoid going from bad to worse.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

dabac and I suggested different versions of the same tool/procedure. Make a 'harpoon' as he called it. A simple, but sturdy, rod with a hook protruding from one end. Insert it until the hook engages the bottom lip of the seatpost. Then start pulling up on the harpoon. A slide hammer is simply a harpoon with a sliding weight. The inertia of the weight helps get the post unstuck and pulled.

 

[Sparrow421]

Originally Posted by dabac
Kinetic energy. It fell in, managed to collect some speed, and then immediately spent that speed on jamming itself against some dirt, a burr or whatever. Wedges can be mighty powerful stuff.
If you can't get the needlenose pliers to work I do think your best chance is to fashion something harpoon-like that can be threaded through the post, hooked onto the bottom edge and then pull.

A slightly risky option would be to turn the bike upside down and give it a good whack vertically, from below on the seat tube.
Maybe create enough of a jolt to knock that thing loose. Or deform the entry to the seat tube.

Or try getting a can of coolant spray. Wrap a towel soaked in hot water around the seat tube.
Aim the coolant spray inside the seat post and give it a good blast.
With a bit of luck, the heat from outside will expand the tube slightly and the cold from inside will shrink the post slightly and cause them to part company.

Better do this with the bike suspended upside down to avoid going from bad to worse.

Im going to try the hot towel one today. I will use a blow dryer to heat it up some more and see if anything will happen.

I don't know if i want to spend anymore money on this bike. If worse comes to worse i will just pick up a new one. I will still take any other ideas for getting the post out.

 

[brianbarber]

If you have canned air (the stuff for blowing dust out of nooks and crannies), turn the can upside down and using the nozzle, spray it into the seatpost. Make sure that the frame is upside down, too. Aluminum expands/contracts 2.5 times faster than steel. If you can get the seatpost frosty, it may contract quickly and gravity will pull it out of the tube.

If you want to read a crazy stuck seatpost journey, read this: http://experimentalrunner.blogspot.ca/2015/02/the-straight-goods-on-removing-stuck.html.

 

[maydog]

Will it budge if the seat is put on and twisted back and forth?

I had a badly corroded Al post in a CrMo frame that I ended up boring out with a large drill bit.

 

[FX777]

A simple to make homemade tool worked for me. All you need is 1/2" copper pipe and some wire hangers.

1) Lay bike sideways so gravity doesn't work against you.

2) Retract hanger wire into pipe. Insert 1/2" pipe into seat stem and go down at least 3 or 4 inches.

3) Push out hangar wires beyond end of copper pipe as shown and slowly pull back on hangers until the hooks catch on the end of the copper pipe.

4) Pull back hangar wires and pipe simultaneously. Try slow pulls and try fast pulls. You'll get it.