RIP My Kona Frame

Soldato
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:(

I've had my trusty 2002 Kona Lavadome for 3 years. I bought it new for £300 (half price) from a shop that was closing down in Crawley where it sat for a few days saying "Buy me, buy me, please Sir, buy me"! So I did.

It's taken me through many a good ride in its time, but alas no more.

It all started last summer, when I was looking to replace the seat post with something a bit longer (I'm tall you see, 6'4"). I undid the seat clamp, twisted the saddle, and nothing! The saddle moved, but the seat post stayed firmly stuck. I tried WD40, twisting, turning and even riding for a good 10 miles with the clamp undone. Nothing. I took it to a bike shop, and they couldn't help.

At this point I gave up, and thought no more of it. We spent another summer frolicking o'er vale and glade in the sunshine. It was a happy time.

Yesterday, I thought that maybe next year we'd do the London-Brighton, but in order to do this I'd really, really need to do something about the saddle height. So out to the garage I went, armed with my manly man size tool box full o' stuff and began to embark upon what was the final effort to remove the seatpost from the frame. This should've been simple, you see, because the frame is Chromoly and the seat post anodised aluminium, between which there is no chemical reaction. Also bear in mind that the seatpost WAS greased aswell. I twisted the saddle in the last attempt to remove it before I bought out the big guns. Nothing. I removed the saddle and used the largest adjustable spanner I have to lever round the seat clamp. Nothing budged. I even had my wife swinging off the spanner at the same time. Still nothing. After reading a guide by a mad cyclist guy called Sheldon, I decided the most practical, albeit invasive step to next take was to cut the seatpost 1/2" from the top of the seat tube and slot it down the inside with a hacksaw blade. The seatpost was engaged by 6". I finished slotting it out, grabbed my biggest pliers and sqeezed it to hopefully break the jamness. Nothing. I cut 3 more slots today, 90deg. apart and sqeezed them together with mole grips, working WD40 down the resulting gap. Nothing.

The seat post will not move at all. I fear there is nothing more that can be done for my frame, so I must now try to get through the grieving process and find a cheap, probably turd replacement second hand or otherwise frame. The Lavadome frame was just about the only good part of the bike, and I planned a few future upgrades to further improve my beast. New shocks, new rims etc. But alas no, the bike is no more :(
 
Soldato
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t`is a sad day indeed:(

if you've cut slots down the post why not try and bang one piece down out of the way of the others a little to free up some room?

Also I have a Colella cts-xc full sus frame sat here doing nowt ;), with XTR front mech and a few other bits still bolted to it including a long seat post as I'm 6 foot'ish ;)
 
Soldato
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That won't work. If it could be reamed/drilled I'd do it myself. I have the necessary machines at work. I can't think how I can ever get it to move. I'd post pictures, but you'd just laugh at me for the state it's in! :p
 
Soldato
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Bahh. I've just done the London-Brighton... and on a '98 Kona Lavadome :D

I bent the seat post about 6 months after getting it though.. so the frame has a slight bend in the up-pipe :D

Only original things are the frame, v-brakes calipers, brake levers and the handlebars!

It's sat there with HollowtechII 9spd XT gears, hope ti hubs, ti spokes and Mavic 517 rims (ti too IIRC), alu seat post, new seat, spds, Marzocchi Bomber Atombomblight shocks, ...

I agree - this should only be the start of the war to get the old seat post out!
 
Soldato
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We had the same problem not too long ago with my Dads bike. The seat pole was going nowhere. It had to be hired.

We ended up with the bike on its side on the floor. My brother was pulling the frame towards him and I was pulling the seat pole (with the seat still attached) towards myself with my Dad spraying WD40 around the edge of the pole next to the frame. Started to loosen, then it came off after 20 mins of sweating like a mad man.

Got there in the end but it was hard work.
 
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We also had that idea. Clamping the bike to the vice in garage sideways then attaching the rod through the seat pole to the car and drive slowly. We thought, that there could be a chance of the bike, vice, work bench, half of the garage wall coming with it, so we thought against it :p
 
Soldato
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Thanks for the replies guys.

I think the only way to go now is to make a piloted cutter. The cutter will have a plain diameter slightly less, by say 0.1mm than the inside dia. of the seat post ~21.0mm. It will have a hole drilled through it, approx 2" from the end, through which I will insert a piece of ground up high speed steel to act as a cutter, to just under the full dia. of the tube.

It appears that I may be able to ream it out to start with using an adjustable reamer, just to clear out the end of the seatpost and have a nice parallel bore to work with. After which, in with the cutter in an electric drill, and hopefully out she comes!

I'll keep you guys posted if/when things progress!
 
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Could'nt you get another cheap seat pole or peice of pole that just the right size for the frame. Place it over the existing stuck one and smack it one. The old one coming out of the bottom if there is enough clearance.

Got any pics?
 
Soldato
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Am I the only one chortling at the prospect of you reaming it out?

Now you mention it, no :D

As for smacking it in with a hammer. No. I tried, It wont budge. I supported the BB with a block of wood and hit the top of the seatpost with a copper mallet. It didn't budge a single iota.
 
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