Seized Wicked Fat Chance Seat Post - Bike Restoration

[@SnootchieBootchies27]

My favorite seized seatpost story; 24 hour soak with WD40. Bike was stripped of most other parts, but BB and cranks were in still. Seatpost was decided to be a throwaway and got clamped into a bench vice. Heavy action on the post with a propane torch, a little bit on the frame, too. Two mechanics grab the frame and start levering on it. It starts moving. Slowly at first, then slowly all the way to the end. There was a lot of friction. When the post finally came free, and oxygen reached the superheated WD40, a 16 inch jet of flame shot out of the seat tube. It was glorious. I would use the same technique again, but just pull the BB to prevent a "framethrower" incident.

[@oldshovel]

Awesome story 🙌

[@murphykenji]

"Framethrower" is an amazingly good misuse of the english language. 😂

[@plepgeat]

I'd have kept the XT Thumbshifters, but GORGEOUS!

[@philjungels7617]

I so enjoy working on bikes, cleaning, lubricating, fixing - just making them better! Especially for kids, or big kids! You make it look so much easier than it is. Love watching your videos.

[@oldshovel]

Thanks 🙏

[@jonmopar7917]

A Fat Chance??!? Legendary! Keep up the awesome work! What you do for the bike community is inspiring.

[@oldshovel]

Thanks 🙏

[@elliotthopkins8174]

And not one swear. OS is a man of inner calm.

[@oldshovel]

Lol. This one did test that inner calm. 😂🙌 there was no swearing though.

[@Klunker1]

I bought my wicked in 88 and felt that it was the ultimate Mtn. Bike. I don’t understand how people let a nice bike ever get to that kind of deteriorated state.

[@trer04]

That seatpost removal is me trying to shake my college's alumni association's mailing list.

[@hramsay8756]

After stripping the bottom bracket, invert the bicycle. Fill the seat tube with Oxalic Acid. Let it sit in a well-ventilated area for ten days. Drain the acid out and rinse the bicycle with water. The acid dissolves the chemical bond between the steel frame and the aluminum seat post.

[@mrmagoo.3678]

My Cannondale F1000 had a snapped seatpost when I bought it (got it ridiculously cheap b'cos of this) .. but it was just below (like 1-2 mm) the seat-tube opening.. 05:57.. this looks VERY similar!.. I had MONTHS of messing around..trying not to damage the frame.. I got hold of one of those "single sided" hacksaws.. Padsaw i think its called.. and started gently sawing away.. cut out 2 lines opposite each other till i was close to the frame.. then just swapped sides after a few "saws" and POOF..or POP..out it flew.. hardest thing I've ever had to fix on a bike..it wasn't going ANYWHERE..litterally snapped on the other fella who tried to get it moving..thing was STUCK!.. it's starting to come together now though.. I ADORE this frame tbh.

[@emlyndewar]

Had similar on a used old frame several years back and saw a forum post advising to use caustic soda as it just eats aluminium. I left it a few hours and there was nothing remaining of the post in the morning. Was great, as had been tearing my hair out. Heat and large amounts of penetrating fluid did nothing.

[@ethanjack4298]

I've also done this with a stem to great success.

[@dumpkingbikes405]

Been there, tried all that. Chemistry works the best!

[@cccpkingu]

Disposing of or neutralizing caustic soda seems easier than to get rid of gallium.

[@shepEjones]

I've had great luck with ammonia on an alloy post in steel frame.

[@mrmagoo.3678]

I would NEVER have thought of using Gallium to screw with the post!.. great idea!.. my frame was aluminium though .. probably not the best idea to do this with a alu frame tbh!..lol..

[@jasonbannan4024]

WOW! I've never seen anything seized to that extent through galvanization. Loved your use of gallium on the aluminum post remnants. Thanks for sharing!

[@terryr4648]

Another great job, I love your ethos of sharing and repairing and helping so many other people 👍

[@bobbyswampfox]

ohh now I have to go in the basement and work on that Trek frame with a seized post too, thanks a lot!! haha. another beautiful restore cool to see the 'live' rebuild

[@InsanercYT]

thanks for getting me into old steel hardtails and teaching me so much about mtb service!

[@oldshovel]

Awesome

[@InsanercYT]

@@oldshovelI just picked up an ‘85 fat chance kicker for $50 cad

[@alecfrancis2084]

Currently fighting a seat post in a '90 GT all terra, came here for motivation! Hopefully will win the fight soon! Great work on that bike, that collective is lucky to have you!

[@ferventheat]

Did you win? 😀 Just been given a gt timberline for free. Just get the seatpost out, new bb and cranks and it's mission accomplished.

[@wheels.3239]

Thankyou for what you do, I am currently living this seatpost hell on a old Giant. You have re-inspired me.

[@scottmasker4389]

Awesome job. Love to see the old bikes I remember brought back to life. Love the colors. Total 80s-90s.

[@jerrys.projects]

I found blow torches to work best. They tend to heat up the seat post way more than a heat gun and bbs, seatposts or forks come out so quickly and easily. I`ve been giving up on my favourite frame, rode it with a stuck bottom bracket and I've been so happy the day I finally got it out - without any harm and sweat - just by the use of a blow torch.

[@martimcfly6207]

I did that as well. It worked fine. But it was an aluminium fame. Since the temperature coefficient of aluminium (frame) and steel (bottom bracket) are largely different, the frame will expand more. Hence the BB will become lose. With steel on steel, or even an aluminium seat post in a steel frame that probably does not work.

[@jerrys.projects]

@@martimcfly6207 In my case: It did. I think all these approaches really contain some luck in every case. :)

[@martimcfly6207]

@@jerrys.projects good to hear. Maybe the expanding and shrinking also helps to loosen the bond between steel and steel. If it works, it works

[@lostnnva5432]

thank you for what you do for others. for no matter where there from or who they are. thank you

[@derkleinekerl8652]

Removing the seat post was like pulling teeth. But good things take time. Ingo sends a happy Easter from Germany.🚴👍

[@scottenglert4083]

Awesome new life given to that sweet old bike... The floor of the Old Shovel shop must be its own work of art from the blending of all the cool paint colors you've used for the rebuilds over the years...

[@oldshovel]

Lol actually one thing I like about the spray.bike paint is that it drys to a powder about 18 inches out of the can (ideal spray distance is less than 6”. So after a paint job I just sweep up.

[@scottenglert4083]

@@oldshovel Whoa that's really cool - never knew that could be a characteristic of a paint that could also be resilient enough to use on a bike frame... I've learned lots from this video !

[@ivanaraque]

I had NEVER seen a seatpost this bad, thanks for showing (and warning about) this!!

[@graememorrison333]

After trying everything else bar the blowtorch, I had to get similarly mediaeval on a campag chorus carbon post which had welded itself into a very expensive carbon frame. Thankfully it worked and with no (apparent) damage.

[@CradleOfBikes]

That's a wicked paint job. You brought that bike back to life

[@jezzarisky]

Advocating for better bike infrastructure is also a great way to help those who get around on bike as transportation. Be it kids, those who can’t drive, or afford to drive, and everyone else! :)

[@RigorMortisItrium]

I am in awe how you remained 'family friendly' during the lengthy process of seat post removal.

[@eddyg1794]

ah...it's called editing...lol

[@hennings3938]

Love, when an Oldshovel video comes out an a sunny day :)

[@oldshovel]

Awesome

[@jhscotty]

the reaction from the chance guy though.. little did he know the patience, love, and effort that went into that previously condemned bike..

[@Reciovex20]

12:12 epic crossover moment haha Great video also thank you

[@mave0184]

Nice job removing the seatpost, got one like that waiting for me in the shop like for half a year now 😁

[@austinrich6464]

Love the way bikes look when it's just handle bars and and some wheels they just look so cool to me

[@mountainsnmoore256]

Awesome video and awesome opportunities for you, man! I mean, it's every bike geek's secret dream to get to travel to new places, work alongside Calvin & Truman, show off your work to the guy that is responsible for the bike being manufactured in the first place, and then present it to a non-profit back home as a fundraiser. Okay, well maybe ALL of that isn't every bike geek's secret dream, because who could've dreamt all of that up for one sub-20 minute video??? Another cool bike build and another great job of documenting it.

[@oldshovel]

It was cool how it all worked out.

[@mountainsnmoore256]

@@oldshovel I bet that it was. Enjoy the videos.

[@zenspeed404]

I felt like a bit of a geek at @12:19 when I thought I recognized Calvin!

[@thomaseisen304]

That's the true nightmare of any mechanic !!! I still got a rare CroMo frame from Bogner Racing with a seized seat post ... wish me luck to get it out of there 😂. Nice work Oldshovel !

[@Makulax]

Love what you're saying. I work at a shop, but I don't charge for simple things. It's amazing that we think alike.

[@michaellofaso1351]

Probably my fav build yet!

[@dervwfahrer]

Gallium ... what a great Idea. I have a 1993 Marin Bear Valley SE in my Barn .. Nowadays totally stripped for Parts but with a Setpost that Stuck even the Frame is sucked on like Shrink Tube. I never won't to let it go and throw it away. Now i know a new Route to go. Thanks alot

[@oldshovel]

It takes more work than it looks like in the video but it did work. The Gallic process took most of a day, letting it sit for a couple hours between “soakings” and chipping. Good luck.

[@davedelarosa319]

Love the new colorway on this.

[@oldshovel]

Thanks

[@randallblytheadlercavalera8373]

thats why i maintained my bikes because of your videos ❤ gdblss you man mad respect on your builds ❤😊❤

[@stever2726]

Adding to all the others who've shared ideas... I had a stuck carbon fiber post in an aluminum frame. There had been a chemical reaction that bonded both in place really tightly. I used citric acid drops around the insert point to soak/seap down into the spaces around the seatpost inside the frame. That helped break the chemical bond. Then I used repeated rounds of nearly boiling hot water over the seat tube to create a gentle expansion of the aluminum. After a lot of that and multiple rounds of trying to wiggle the post, it finally broke free after like 45 minutes. I was able to save the frame and not damage the paint with a torch while still doing the job of adding the necessary heat. The seatpost came out in one piece too.

[@oldshovel]

Interesting. I haven’t heard of that technique.

[@stever2726]

@@oldshovel Thanks! I can't take credit for it. I found it searching online. Some engineer type who loves to wrench explained that it has something to do with the two different types of materials and how they both oxidize. I'd been using citric acid to remove rust oxidation on bike parts, so figured it was worth a try. Lo and behold, it worked great! Thanks for all your great videos!

[@curtislee6242]

Been there, done that. It took me weeks to get it out. The alloy had fused with the steel frame. I had to saw and chisel it out. There's still a bit left in the frame. So much pain.

[@robinrai4973]

Super cool seeing that gallium work!

[@Edogawa1117]

Great to see a master craftsman at work.

[@jjonsolomon]

Oh boy. Right after graduation I worked at an engineering college. I purchased a bike from the police auction with a stuck post like that. I worked an hour a day in the machine shop with a drill and a rat tail file. It took 3 weeks to get that seat post out. When I was done the machinist asked how much a bike without a stuck post would have been. Good learning discussions were had

[@nikitashkredov8901]

The fact that I have recently found a 93 Rockhopper, with seized seatpost and this video came out makes me wanna cry

[@BB-ik7mv]

This is a gourgeous bike. Astonishing. Bravo! 👍

[@sagehiker]

Think you might test the seat post first before picking a bike out? Watching Spindatt last year scared me and a lifetime as an industrial mechanic have me leary of extra wrenching and heating. Great work for a fantastic organization. Rather than collect the big parts bin, your channel has inspired me to pass on working spares and take-offs to Boulder area coop since I don’t have one in my area.

[@bearded_borg]

Honestly i feel you on this one. have a 1996 karakoram with a stuck seat post and it wont barge a millimeter. the bike is almost done but the seat post stops me in my way.

[@cstaff4773]

Have you tried vinegar pour it down the seat post let it sit overnight put it in a bench vice and it will brake free make sure you tape it off though.👍

[@bearded_borg]

@@cstaff4773 no I haven't, but I can't put it in a vice anymore. But I will pour vinegar in it and smash it.

[@michaelsnedden9029]

I was having flashbacks to my past adventures and disasters with stuck seat posts. So far, I've been successful every time except the time that the screw driver punched through the seatpost on an otherwise really nice Rockhopper. What a nightmare! Great work on rescuing that frame, Rob! -Mike's Bikes Work

[@donaldfranklinjr7087]

Awesome restoration old shovel keep up the good work

[@garysprojects]

Wowww! That seat post was a really stuck in there, glad you got it out. I thought mine was stuck but it was no where near as bad as yours!! Great to see it saved ! I was surprised how light the frame was all the welds/joins were spot on. Fat chance makes great bikes. Nice work on the resto 👍

[@oldshovel]

Thanks my friend. It was a rough one to get out. I’ve had some bad ones but not this bad. 🙌

[@joaobikes]

Belíssima bike. É parabéns pela sua ajuda no trabalho comunitário. Projetos como esse são ainda mais importantes. Obrigado e continue sempre seu trabalho artístico

[@Flako-dd]

for aluminum/steel galvanic corrosion i always go pretty quickly to the reciprocating saw and cut the top then the inside. It is usually the only way since it is almost like it's welded. Puts less stress on the frame you just have to be careful to only cut the seatpost.

[@desohara7466]

Love your videos Sir! All done for the love of cycling. Keep up the great work!

[@enestahirozan]

12:12 the parktool guy😊🍻

[@marcocabral4838]

Gorgeous build! 👍

[@Prefer2Hibrn8]

stellar job mate! I watched this entire video with a big fat smile on my face :D

[@tonydejesus2134]

Wow, I feel you man. I had a stubborn seatpost last year I had to take a blowtorch to.

[@carlitoxxe0]

12:13 My man Calvin Jones. The Legend.

[@edwar_cerrada]

Amigo. Excelente trabajo. Felicitaciones. Un saludo desde Mérida Venezuela. ✌🏼

[@jullyanoaf]

Grande trabalho! A bike ficou linda, parabéns.

[@martijnvandewalle5545]

Hi Old Shovel, I often wonder how you determine the correct chain length. Would be awesome if you elaborate this in one of your videos. Thanks for the awesome content, you have been an inspiration for me to rebuild old bicycles in my family!

[@nickmassey9104]

Great video Rob

[@jonsonneborn]

It sounds counter-intuitive but if you were to give that seatpost a whack towards the frame rather than away from the frame you’d have a much better chance of breaking the seized seal. I did this with a wicked frame once. Post moved a fraction of a MM which was enough to work out out with the vice.

[@oldshovel]

I did try that, I’ve had it work before also. This was definitely the worst I’ve ever dealt with. I spent way more time trying then I showed.

[@michaelhughes3302]

@@oldshovel Salt Lake and Aluminum do not play well together.

[@TheHadzihajdarevic]

Thank you for for everything you do! You are great man!

[@psclassy1123]

Chris Chance could have been more excited. The fire in his heart seems out. Maybe he is just low key but if your at trade exposition you have to turn it on at least. I think oldshovel has be part of a restoration bike hobby for a older generation and thats great.

[@oldshovel]

He was actually really great to talk to. The clip doesn’t do him justice.

[@curtislee6242]

Oh that brings back so many memories (bad ones). Pretty much exactly the same process I followed.

[@keithschrack]

Gallium...what a concept! I know that lye will do a similar number on aluminum posts, without harming the steel. Been in the same situation and I really hate it when an otherwise good post has to be sacrificed. It leaves me feeling defeated.

[@ToddNZMTB]

Is that what that stuff was?! Seemed to work, I've not seen that method before!

[@komoonkh]

Yeah, Gallium. Spindatt Eric did a video about that. It is better than lye, because it wont destroy the paint. But it is kinda expensive, if you can get it at all.

[@keithschrack]

Me neither. But, as soon as I saw the vial, I knew what he was up to. It's a strange molecular reaction that causes solid aluminum to become crumbly. The whole idea is inspired! DON'T use it anywhere near an aluminum frame, though!

[@oldshovel]

Yep I saw Eric Spinny do it and tried it out.

[@2scoops624]

Dang, extraordinary efforts to remove that seat post, I'm impressed. Well done 👍.

[@coletrick8748]

I’ve removed no less than a dozen severely stuck posts. Lay the frame on the ground flat (on grass), take the pipe wrench and put a pipe on it for leverage, stand on the frame and push down with leverage.. I use a four foot pipe for leverage. Sometimes I’ll have someone stand on the frame so I can concentrate on the pipe wrench.

[@jonkennedy5063]

Nice colour 😁👌 love the work

[@jrd044000]

Very nice bike. Great job!

[@oldshovel]

Thanks

[@dtolios]

Great vid. I was "listening" to the banging as I was trying to remove a wire-bead 30tpi tire from a MTB wheel to convert to tubeless...bead was able to get a perfect lock between the J hook and the rim tape and would not budge...ended up separating one side with a vice, and the other only came out after I destroyed and pulled out the rim tape to creat that much tiny of space...two wheels, took about 2 hours before I decided that something had to be sacrificed. No Rims, Inner Tubes or Tires were destroyed in the making of all these sweaty spots.

[@nthonyholden]

Is that Calvin @12:13? So much good work put into this rebuild!!

[@oldshovel]

Yep

[@jeremy5393]

Great vid and so inspiring.

[@landyr71]

Great job as always 👍🏼

[@oldshovel]

Thanks

[@kristiandawe85]

I love that Calvin Jones from Park Tool is in this video

[@mclovin583]

You can rot an alloy post out with caustic soda.

[@flyriviera]

WOW! What a GREAT Work! It remembers me trying to repair my brother's old bmx bike to his daughter. The worst problem is 20 years forgotten in my farher's barn, with no caution at all. So rust has made its appearance... hopefully, it is a really hard bike. Let's hope I can unmount completely! Now i'm at wheel status.. (trying to recover them... I don't know if I should change spokes... not rusty at all)

[@Caseya1980]

If you take a can of duster spray and hold it upside down while spraying it will instantly freeze anything in front of it . I would try heating the steel seat tube as you did then freezing the inside of the seat post next time . Just a thought , love your videos .

[@KensalRider]

Very well done.

[@hotrodjoey50jo]

When I have one that stuck I take the seat post water bottle cage bolts out, turn the frame upside down, then soak the inside of the seat post tube overnight with your favoeite penetrating oil. then, clamp a pipe wrench in your vise THEN hook your seat post in the wrench and twist the frame. also, would help a lot if you could get your vise bolted down solid. GREAT video as always - good work sir

[@dougfromsoanierana]

Love what you do. Great work.

[@divineinpurple9058]

Wow, pulled out almost every tool in the shop on that seat post and not a single swear!

[@oldshovel]

Lol I’m not big on cursing but this definitely tried my patience. What’s not on is I worked on this seat post on and off for over a month. 😁

[@330_Crew]

I see u finally went with the Spindatt post removal technique.

[@oldshovel]

🙌 Eric is awesome. Perhaps my favorite bike KZbin channel. @spindatt

[@petererbse6253]

I had a post that was seized on a tandem. I drilled a hole and put a solid steel bar through and with a lot of cursing and anti rust spray I got it out. First by rotating it a few times and then with pulling.

[@ferventheat]

Well it's the first time I've seen a toxic metal to get a seatpost out!☣️ If you come across stuck seatposts a lot, I recommend building/buying a seatpost removing jig. Basically you push the seatpost out via two hefty tubes e.g scaffolding pipe either side of seatpost linked together at one end through an old set of BB cups and a rod, going up to the seatpost end (anchored at seatpost via various methods). And some screwing mechanism at the top. It looks pretty effective and saves all that agro. You can apply a lot of force to get the seatpost out, mm by mm. Another technique is a slide hammer. From videos on yt that works pretty well too. If you're going to clamp a cut tube in the vice, put an expendable lump of metal e.g. a socket to support the tube otherwise it will inevitably get crumpled and useless for leverage. I'm currently working on one method with a stuck post. Got the frame inverted and I've filled the seat tube with an equivalent to wd40 . I'm going to leave it a week, give it some heat occasionally, and see how it goes! If that doesn't work I'll try with releasing agent.

[@giancarlorivera8113]

Nice build as always! What type of Bottom Bracket is that? My Panasonic Mountain Cat is also threadless and has a cup and ball bearings, the diameter of the BB shell is larger that those Shimano BB that fit most bikes. I'm lucky that it doesn't need replacing yet.

[@blue3549]

beautiful vintage Fat Chance, love the way it turned out

[@oldshovel]

Thanks

[@andriyhavdo]

Great and hard work!

[@jakubharwacki]

Graet idea with the Gallium. When I was in this situation i used sodium hydroxide solution which solves aluminum but not steal, and it is more accessible than pure Gallium.

[@davidc6032]

If you were around 30+ years ago, those Fat Chance's were coolest of the cool.

[@jacobg130productions]

Finish Line Products has a spray for that kind of seizing

[@GiuseppeFuscoGuitar]

Beautiful bike!! You did a great work. Did you ever think about using two-component spray cans for painting? They are much more durable than normal cans and you don't need to apply transparent finish.

[@rfenton313]

That seat post!

[@delano007100]

Amazing work i like the bb i never seen this kind of bb before

[@jeremyharding1959]

I had one that took me 4 days to get off last summer. I ended up using heat and pounding it down with a rubber mallet. I ended up moving it up about 1/2 inch at a time. Each session took me about an hour.

[@grigoryrechistov3040]

On these old frames, do you usually check the derailleur hanger alignment before you start bolting on the derailleur?

[@Flatmint911]

I use the two hacksaw cuts method 'cos I like not being able to feel the tip of my index finger for a month . Nice work sir.

[@MrPsirois]

My Surly Moonlander's seatpost was pretty much as stuck as this one. Good times! (not). Good job my friend :)