Youse Floridians should hold a CR ride in Del Ray, bring a can of Kroil and get Julie on the road. I volunteer Lou and Jonathan.
Mike Schmidt Stirling, New Jersey Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 7, 2008, at 3:26 PM, Julie Cleveland <juliecleveland@mac.com>
wrote:
> thanks, lou.
> Does anyone here live near Delray Beach, FL?
> Thanks,
> Julie Cleveland
> Delray Beach, FL, USA
>
> On Aug 7, 2008, at 3:20 PM, loudeeter@aol.com wrote:
>
>> Ask the list if anyone lkives near you who might help. Lou
>> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Julie Cleveland <juliecleveland@mac.com>
>>
>> Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:17:41
>> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>> Cc: <david.r.stacey@gsk.com>
>> Subject: [CR]Re: Frozen seat post
>>
>>
>> Dear David:
>> re seat post
>> It's alloy, according to the specs I found online for this bike.
>>
>> Does that mean I am stuck with a bike in which I can't lower the
>> seat? That stinks! (I didn't of course think to ask these questions,
>> stuff that seemed pretty obvious, when corresponding with the guy I
>> bought the bike from on ebay).
>>
>> I also don't have any of these chemicals, or a workshop, i'm just a
>> pianist with a bike she wants to ride!
>>
>> Thinking after getting all these replies maybe I gotta not "do it
>> myself" and bring it back to the shop.
>>
>> is this list for bike shop owners? I don't have any of the stuff
>> people are mentioning, I'm just a humble, know-nothing newbie OTS
>> rider, hope that's ok.
>>
>> --Julie Cleveland
> Delray Beach, FL, USA
>> On Aug 7, 2008, at 12:43 PM, david.r.stacey@gsk.com wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear Julie,
>>>
>>> Oh dear. This is a problem that often kills an old bike. Have a
>>> look on Sheldon Browns website for full details, but basically If
>>> you have a steel seat post, keep up the WD40 remove the seat bolt
>>> completely, use a screwdriver to gently open the frame and get a
>>> gorilla to twist the seat tube free.
>>>
>>> If however it is an alloy seat post, then the thermite reation has
>>> occured and the aluminium has reacted and fused together with the
>>> steel of the frame. It can be cut out, carefully, rolled up and
>>> pulled out, though I have never found this works. I have heard of
>>> someone using a threaded bolt as a puller braced against the frame
>>> and winding the seat tube out, this is gentler.
>>>
>>> The last straw is to use 5M sodium hydroxide solution (caustic
>>> soda). This will dissolve the aluminium alloy, but not the steel.
>>> It also, if you are sloppy strips the paint off your frame and
>>> dissolves skin and eyes (and dissolve rims and cranksets), but if
>>> you are careful (or a chemist like me) it works where all else has
>>> failed. You have to plug the base of the seat tube with clay or blu
>>> tack and fill with sodium hydroxide solution 40g/200ml leave it
>>> 24hours, flush it out with water and repeat until the metal is
>>> paper thin and can be removed.
>>>
>>> All this is quite extreme and I would ask around for some help with
>>> this if you are not familiar with using chemicals. Please be
>>> careful and remember, if you want to put the tube down and it is a
>>> plain tube type, ask an engineer to cut it shorter and reshape the
>>> top (I've done that the other way round for a longer tube). A good
>>> engineer can also drill/ream out an old seat post, but he'd have to
>>> be a good one.
>>>
>>> Good luck and be careful!
>>>
>>> Regards
>>> David Stacey
>>> County Durham, UK