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Pro tip: That seized seatpost took me 6 hours to finally remove
I had a steel frame come in last week with an aluminum seatpost that was completely stuck. Tried the usual tricks - penetrating oil, heat from a torch, even the old quill stem trick. Nothing budged for the first 4 hours. Finally mixed up some caustic soda solution and let it sit overnight, which ate away at the aluminum without hurting the steel frame. Next morning it slid right out. Has anyone else had luck with that method or do you have a go-to for really stubborn posts?
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coleman.henry19d ago
Honestly, I gotta push back on the caustic soda thing. That stuff is no joke if you don't know exactly what you're doing with it. One wrong mix or spill and you're looking at a frame that's pitted or worse, a trip to the ER. Ngl, I've seen too many frames get ruined by people trying chemical shortcuts when heat and patience usually do the job. Tbh, you probably could have saved those 4 hours by just being real about how much heat you were applying. A good map gas torch and some careful work on the aluminum usually opens it up way faster than letting caustic soda sit overnight. The quill stem trick worked for me on a 30 year old Peugeot that had been stuck since the 80s, so I know it's not impossible. Just seems like a lot of risk for a problem that usually solves itself with the right technique.
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