Merlin 64 Titanium

MRledzepo

Nice bike , 56cm , carbon forks
Dura Ace 7800 group set
Mavic open pro wheels
Seat post stuck in frame , wouldn't be hard to get out , don't want to risk damaging the frame , I'd rather let someone who knows what they're doing take care of it .
New cables and grip .
Great opportunity to get your hands on a Titanium frame for less then €1000 .
Haven't come across many of these in Ireland , lightweight bike not at the expense of durability , come and have a look , open to offers .
€950 .

ridelikeaturtle

How stuck is the seatpost? I hope you're not too heavily discounting because of this.

Do you know what material the seatpost is? There are ways to remove it.

RobFowl

Where abouts are you so could have a look?

ridelikeaturtle

RobFowl wrote: »

Where abouts are you so could have a look?

Have you tried *carefully* (*carefully carefully!*) prying the frame's seat lug apart with a large flat-blade screwdriver?

Can you twist the seatpost (using the seat as a lever)? Use some penetrating oil (or WD-40) and let it soak in overnight.

Have a look at Sheldon Brown's page, there's lots of suggestions:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

There are pipe freeze kits (get at a builder's suppliers - Chadwicks, Brooks Thomas, etc) that could be used to cool (and hopefully, contract) the seatpost enough to pull it.

A final resort would be to cut the seatpost & use a hacksaw to cut it out. You'd be using a "jab saw" - a long narrow saw that'd fit down the seatpost - with a hacksaw blade. But this'd be a last last resort.

Beasty

MRledzepo wrote: »

OPEN TO OFFERS

You must state a price you will accept

MRledzepo

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

How stuck is the seatpost? I hope you're not too heavily discounting because of this.

Do you know what material the seatpost is? There are ways to remove it.

All I've tried is applying lubricant and trying to pull it out anytime I walk past the bike , the seat post is aluminium

MRledzepo

RobFowl wrote: »

Where abouts are you so could have a look?

I'm in ballyfermot , pm me and I can give you a number and address .

MRledzepo

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

Have you tried *carefully* (*carefully carefully!*) prying the frame's seat lug apart with a large flat-blade screwdriver?

Can you twist the seatpost (using the seat as a lever)? Use some penetrating oil (or WD-40) and let it soak in overnight.

Have a look at Sheldon Brown's page, there's lots of suggestions:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

There are pipe freeze kits (get at a builder's suppliers - Chadwicks, Brooks Thomas, etc) that could be used to cool (and hopefully, contract) the seatpost enough to pull it.

A final resort would be to cut the seatpost & use a hacksaw to cut it out. You'd be using a "jab saw" - a long narrow saw that'd fit down the seatpost - with a hacksaw blade. But this'd be a last last resort.

I've just tried leaving some WD-40 to sit overnight and have had no luck at getting it to budge , I didn't use much physical force , I'd rather someone that has more faith in their methods to give it a shot , I don't want to do any damage .

JonDoe

You could try Plusgas, it's got a catalyst ingredient that breaks down rust etc. pretty quickly. I've used it myself with steel frames, try from both sides of the post (remove bottom bracket and spray up seat tube, swirl and hang upside down, repeat, it'll eventually get everywhere and dissolve any bonding)

MRledzepo

Still for sale , can view anytime .

Juan More Time

Would you take €400 for it? At least then if the seat post removal surgery goes horribly wrong, I will have a nice dura ace groupset for my trouble...

MRledzepo

Juan More Time wrote: »

Would you take €400 for it? At least then if the seat post removal surgery goes horribly wrong, I will have a nice dura ace groupset for my trouble...

No thanks .

Finnrocco

MRledzepo wrote: »

I've just tried leaving some WD-40 to sit overnight and have had no luck at getting it to budge , I didn't use much physical force , I'd rather someone that has more faith in their methods to give it a shot , I don't want to do any damage .

I have a thing called Chillzone, its meant to freeze the post and therefore it will contract. Its hard to get though.

Could let you borrow it if you want.

Also read it could be possible to put the head of the seatpost ( i.e. the saddle) into a vise and twist the whole bike and that apparently works!

Worth a shot!

boomdocker

Finnrocco wrote: »

Also read it could be possible to put the head of the seatpost ( i.e. the saddle) into a vise and twist the whole bike and that apparently works!

Worth a shot!

I've done that before - it's a bit nerve wracking and you'd want to be careful not to bend the frame - but I guess with Titanium the chances of that are low..

ridelikeaturtle

boomdocker wrote: »

I've done that before - it's a bit nerve wracking and you'd want to be careful not to bend the frame - but I guess with Titanium the chances of that are low..

I imagine you could use any seat-sized gap (in a fence, on the ground, etc). You could even hold the seat against a step while holding the bike upside-down. So you sacrifice the seat and the seatpost, it'd be worth it to un-stick it.

Take the wheels off the bike and use the frame as a giant lever... would certainly be nerve-wrecking.

If I was certain the seatpost wasn't ovalized and so turning it would make things worse, this is the method I'd go for - before cutting the seatpost and hacking away with a jab saw.

Juan More Time

Curiously enough there's been a lot of trash talk about how one would go about removing the seized seatpost from the Merlin, but no one has been brave enough to put their money where their mouth is except me...:rolleyes:

ridelikeaturtle

Juan More Time wrote: »

Curiously enough there's been a lot of trash talk about how one would go about removing the seized seatpost from the Merlin, but no one has been brave enough to put their money where their mouth is except me...:rolleyes:

How'd it turn out? Is it ****ed, or fixable? If someone's gonna seriously pony up nearly 1K for a bike, they'd want to know if could be fixed.

CramCycle

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

How'd it turn out? Is it ****ed, or fixable? If someone's gonna seriously pony up nearly 1K for a bike, they'd want to know if could be fixed.

+1 lovely bike but I wouldn't pay a grand unless I was confident I could fix it or get a refund if it wasn't fixable. The only way to do this is for the OP to try and fix it. I don't need the parts so I wouldn't offer just for those. If the OP is living near south Dublin I'd be happy to help out with some of the methods

Juan More Time

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

How'd it turn out? Is it ****ed, or fixable? If someone's gonna seriously pony up nearly 1K for a bike, they'd want to know if could be fixed.

Well I offered €400 and was refused.... I'm pretty confident in my ability to remove the seized seatpost, but it's still very risky working with 6/4 titanium, as it has a reputation for being quite brittle, and NOT as ductile as the cheaper heavier 3/2 titanium.

CramCycle

Juan More Time wrote: »

Well I offered €400 and was refused.... I'm pretty confident in my ability to remove the seized seatpost, but it's still very risky working with 6/4 titanium, as it has a reputation for being quite brittle, and NOT as ductile as the cheaper heavier 3/2 titanium.

I think that was the point, you maybe confident but whether you like it or not, it may be worse than you think. It may be better than you think as well and only require 20 minutes work. I have loads of stuff in work I could use with minimal fuss but I won't gamble 1000euro on it.

This said you are offering 400 pretty much for the parts and a tiny gamble, I am not surprised the OP refused the offer.

OP is the post alu?

Juan More Time

CramCycle wrote: »

I think that was the point, you maybe confident but whether you like it or not, it may be worse than you think. It may be better than you think as well and only require 20 minutes work. I have loads of stuff in work I could use with minimal fuss but I won't gamble 1000euro on it.

This said you are offering 400 pretty much for the parts and a tiny gamble, I am not surprised the OP refused the offer.

OP is the post alu?

Even at €400 I'm still taking a risk....money doesn't exactly grow on trees ya know.. and the groupset is over ten years old...

ridelikeaturtle

OP you're gonna take a bath on any sale until you sort out the stuck seatpost. That doesn't mean you should accept any old offer that comes along.

If it were mine and I wasn't prepared to attack the seatpost myself, I'd take it to a professional, probably a high-end bike shop. Since I know a custom motorcycle builder and superb machinist/fabricator out in Trim, I'd trust him to do the work, but knowing it'll probably cost a couple hundred quid.

The worst-case scenario is the frame needs repair after the seatpost is removed. (I doubt anyone in Ireland does this? I could be mistaken. This means stripping it down and shipping it to the UK...) For me, it'd be worth the risk, because I'd hate to have to sell it at such a dropdown price.

I've got a bike to sell in the meantime, but if this is still around when I get some funds I'd be interested in making you an offer. In the meantime, you might have some tough decisions to make... good luck!

MRledzepo

CramCycle wrote: »

I think that was the point, you maybe confident but whether you like it or not, it may be worse than you think. It may be better than you think as well and only require 20 minutes work. I have loads of stuff in work I could use with minimal fuss but I won't gamble 1000euro on it.

This said you are offering 400 pretty much for the parts and a tiny gamble, I am not surprised the OP refused the offer.

OP is the post alu?

Yes , it's Alu

MRledzepo

anyone is welcome to come and view the bike , just pm me .

MRledzepo

Seat post has been removed with absolutely no expense to the well being of the frame ! Bike has been fully serviced , new inner/outer cables and grip , pm me to view and try it out .

Wishbone Ash

MRledzepo wrote: »

Seat post has been removed with absolutely no expense to the well being of the frame ! Bike has been fully serviced , new inner/outer cables and grip , pm me to view and try it out .

So what's the new price! :pac:

ridelikeaturtle

Great news - how'd you get it out after all?

MRledzepo

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

Great news - how'd you get it out after all?

Hole drilled just below the seat clamp and a metal rod inserted through for leverage , and a lot of penetrating oil and patience !!

Juan More Time

MRledzepo wrote: »

Hole drilled just below the seat clamp and a metal rod inserted through for leverage , and a lot of penetrating oil and patience !!

Sounds like a lot of brute force was used...So I shall be withdrawing my more than generous Offer of €400

letape

Juan More Time wrote: »

Sounds like a lot of brute force was used...So I shall be withdrawing my more than generous Offer of €400

I don't think there was any chance of your "generous" offer being accepted!

Alanbt

Any photos of the drilled area? Just to see how clean it is?

ridelikeaturtle

MRledzepo wrote: »

Hole drilled just below the seat clamp and a metal rod inserted through for leverage , and a lot of penetrating oil and patience !!

I just re-read this: you drilled a hole /below the seat clamp/ ??? As in, into the bike frame itself??? That cannot be correct.

I'd love to see some pics, especially if I was to make you an offer.

(By the way, there was a good thread on bikeforums.net (in the C&V section) about a guy dissolving an aluminum seatpost in a steel frame, using lye.

http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1058811-currently-melting-aluminum-seat-post-first-hand-experience-dumb-here.html )

MRledzepo

I've no pictures , i actually brought the bike to euro cycles and a lovely guy called Thiago did it for me , the drill was actually drilled in the seat post ! Not the frame .

MRledzepo

Still for sale

shaka

Would like to see picture of drilled hole

Alanbt

shaka wrote: »

Would like to see picture of drilled hole

I believe the seatpost was drilled, not the frame. So I would assume that the seatpost is not included anymore