As above really, out for a ride and it suddenly started to bind at about half height. It moves up and down normally in the top half of its range but won’t budge past about halfway. It doesn’t suddenly stop but feels like it’s wedging. Takes a bit of a pull to get it to come back up after it has stuck too.

I had a look at it at the time and noticed that a streak of coating had been scuffed off the inner post, and thought a bit of crap must have made it past the seal. I have since taken it apart for a thorough clean and regrease. It wasn’t particularly dirty inside though and it hasn’t fixed the problem.

Only other thing I can think is that it has bent somehow.

Any thoughts?

Seat post clamp too tight?

What does the ‘streak’ look like? If it is a thin vertical line, then it sounds like a worn or damaged guide.

This service video is helpful for things to look out for: http://youtu.be/VodHTo5zxls

Yes, a thin(ish) vertical line it is. So whatever is causing it to stick is rubbing at that point.

I figured that could be a symptom of several issues though…

Will have a look at the vid, thanks.

Andy – Do you have any experience of a tight seatpost clamp causing similar? It wasn’t something that had crossed my mind, and I can’t imagine it is likely but I’m not going to rule it out.

Hold a ruler up against it to see if its straight. You might need to strip it down to do this if you cant get it all the way out.

Grizla – Member

Andy – Do you have any experience of a tight seatpost clamp causing similar? It wasn’t something that had crossed my mind, and I can’t imagine it is likely but I’m not going to rule it out.

It was just a thought, that’s all – but if it was working fine and then started to stick mid-ride then it’s unlikely to be the reason I suppose.
I suppose you’ve tried it with the clamp slackened off anyway?

I suppose you’ve tried it with the clamp slackened off anyway?

Yeah, it still sticks when out of the frame.

I Ache – It’s stripped down at the minute so not a problem. Funny enough I thought of the ruler thing last night, when it dawned on me that it might be bent. Not had chance to look at it yet though.

Incidentally, it sticks whilst stripped down too.

I guess it’s not looking good though, what with KS’s lack of availabilty of spares or repairs in the UK. Better start saving my pocket money for a reverb.

KS’s lack of availabilty of spares or repairs in the UK

you know they have an importer now?

I was quoted £25 for a service and bush change on a ks lev this week by Jungle.

you know they have an importer now?

I did not. Just found them on Google though, thanks.

Did you speak to them direct about your service?

I used info@jungleproducts.co.uk to contact them. They emailed back a form to fill in and return with the post.

Thanks, I might have to give them a try.

Jungle have done 2 of mine now, excellent service the first time, slightly erratic the second because they had some sort of comedy stock control fail- they forgot to send the second post back because according to their records, they’d already returned it, a month before they received it… But other than that the price was excellent, the work is perfect, very happy.

One thing they did do, was turn the seatpost lowers around so now the markings aren’t at the back. Makes sense, they’re basically rotating into a different set of grooves to spread wear. But it looks a little bit weird so if you care about that might be worth mentioning.

That’s good to hear, thanks. Was that for a routine service?

I remain convinced that mine needs repair (or replacement parts) rather than service. I looked at the above video and that is exactly what I did to it last night, with no improvement.

You could kind of call it a routine service except both posts were years old so about a million hours overdue 😉 One needed some minor repairs, the other was just a full service, I do the basic servicing myself but they’d both got to the point of not really working right

Well it’s nice to know that they can last that long!

TBF I’ve found them really excellent, one of them was borked from day one and had to go back to be rebuilt, which since it was Superstar at the time was not a joyful customer service journey. But it was bang on from then on.

The inner post is indeed bent. It’s out by about 2mm over the length of it. I don’t remember doing anything that could have caused that.

Better see about a replacement part(and check if they have a rider weight limit while I’m at it.) I’m not exactly a biffer, I wouldn’t expect that I should be able to bend one of these through normal use.