Hi,

Had an epic meltdown today due to seat post slippage – guatanteed to make me see red.

Tips to stop this welcome.

Yeti asr5 frame, salsa QR, Thompson elite post.

Possibly the most annoying thing in the world!

DC

N.b. why dont they put measurements on posts!

N.b.b: Alternatively is this a psychological flaw and its all in my head.

The only thing that worked for me was swapping from a QR clamp to a bolt through. Not ideal if you’re a frequent post dropper!

I’ve been told that centre punching your post will help it grip.

Might just be that your salsa QR just isn’t doing it’s job. Can you borrow one to check/eliminate one factor?

Thomson posts are undersize. Just like King Headsets.

Try carbon paste.

I have problems with my salsa qr and a thomson post. In the end I put the post up as far as I needed it and tightened the bolt pretty much tendering the qr a bol up clamp. Regardless of how clean or what I use on it, I can’t get it to stop slipping yet

Thanks for your thoughts – its so annoying. These are premium products.

If i tighten it up as much as i can will it damage the frame which is aluminium.

I had the same problem on my Soul using a Thomson post and Hope QR, bit of carbon paste has sorted it. Might be worth a go for about £8 a tube.

Mine an s-works epic, so aluminium too. No need to tighten it to a death grip, just tighten it so you can’t move the post, that worked fine for me

My epic does this. There’s a bit of grease still on the post since new which doesn’t help but the clamp is a poor design meaning it doesn’t always tighten properly

If you’re near Glasgow, I have a knurling tool in the workshop especially for jobs like this. Some posts I’ve found, even if the right diameter, have a hard anodising which makes them slip when the clamp is correctly tightened.

Clean out ALL grease from the ST and try some carbon assembly paste. Worked on a steel from of mine.

I had this problem, despite doing the qr up as tight as I dared, the ungreased post would still slip. I realised the cam on the quick release was riding up out of its seat slightly as it was tightened, and then at some point it would click back and loosen off. I replaced the qr but I suspect greasing the cam would have fixed it by stopping it from moving as it was tightened.

My epic does this too! Never had the problem on any other bike bit however tight I do the qr it always slips down to the same place on the post. It’s the standard specialized post so has markings – I start off at 7.5 and it always slips down to 5. I has assumed it was a cheap post that wasnt completely straight or had a slight bulge at the 5 marking?

Plus one for fibre grip/carbon assembly paste after degreasing.

Clean off all grease.

Finest grade sand paper lightly and briefly except for carbon posts.

Just swapped to a Salsa QR from a Hope one because of slipping / creaking. Also cleaned post & frame with IPA. Seems to have done the trick. Thomson post in steel frame BTW.

Thanks for sharing and all your useful tips will take another look – good clean and carbon grease may be a first step if that doesn’t work maybe a go with the fine grade sandpaper.

Thanks for the offer bencooper but i’m in brighton – its not quite that annoying but close.

Carbon paste

Carbon paste

Carbon paste

I was tightening to death a QR clamp on a Thomson post….small dab of CARBON PASTE and now hardly have to apply much pressure on the clamp. Used to drive me mental, I feel your pain.

PS I also swapped to an excellent Chromag QR clamp but I think the game changer was CARBON PASTE.

Try a different clamp. I had a Hope once that slipped, switched it to a Shimano and that worked. Or it could have been the other way around.

Has anyone said carbon paste yet? There’s a chance that your LBS has a sachet or two lying around, or if not I’m sure they slap some on for you so you can see if it works (worked for me on my ancient Thomson post).

Secret training Nick?? 😉

Just to add a different suggestion – instead of degreasing the seatpost, have you cleaned and lubricated the seatclamp?

I thought I was doing up mine dangerously tightly, but the post still slipped. Eventually I cleaned & oiled the seatclamp cam and I could close the thing more easily and tighter.

paceman – secret training – well yes if the effing seatpost hadn’t kept slipping – spent more time swearing at the bike as i slipped lower and lower rather than getting those sneaky miles in!!!!

nb have you got any carbon paste as per the various suggestions to avoid a follow up tantrum on sunday!

+ 1 for Carbon paste: £2.99 delivered!

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=39481

yodagoat – Member
I’ve been told that centre punching your post will help it grip.

Not from me you didn’t

mcmoonter – did you do that?

mcmoonter – did you do that?

Yes, it was an Easton EA70 post I’d had from new. I centre punched it to mark the post height. It was fitted to my cx bike which I mostly rode on the road. It snapped without warning on a road ride in the dark without warning. It dumped me on the road at 20mph. Thankfully there were no cars around.

You can see where the stress fracture went through the punch mark.

Useful thread, I get this on mine even with a bolt through clamp, I put it down to the fact I’m using a shim. Well, that and my portly physique!

Not had any issues with my asr5 and a reverb. In fact it fits so perfectly it hisses air out of the headset when you push it down! Must be an issue with the Thomson I guess. Is it definitely the right size? (30.9)

I too have had sadness with this.

My solution was to use strips of aluminium foil tape along the length of the seatpost where it is installed to the frame.
Make sure the clamp is fully slack & carefully insert the seatpost. Most of the tape will be scraped off, but what is left will act like a full length shim, perfectly filling the gap between post & frame. Tighten clamp & clean off foil shavings & ride to happiness.

3M Foil Tape

If there’s enough clearance you could shim it with a piece of aluminium cut from a soft drink can. Makes and ideal shim for this, soft, malleable, already curved, sticky and cheap. You can even bend the top over to form a lip to stop it slipping down inside the seat tube when you remove the post.

The best solution is a second seatpost clamp fitted to the post above the seat tube. A crude version would be a simple hose clip but you might be able to find a proper bike clamp that will go small enough.

Carbon paste x100 or if all else fails and you don’t drop your post often, this has helped me on a tandem where the stoker bars adds an extra twisting force!:

Thanks everyone – surely with all this quality advice i can resolve my seatpost issues.

Funny how this resonates with so many of you.

I thought having a salsa clamp was the end to this chapter of my life -it was flawless on my 575 – no movement at all with very little tightening – change to the asr5 and it starts again.

I personally can change from a mild mannered janitor into a raging lunatic at the mere hint of this affliction, real or imagined.

Do any of you display these symptoms.

DC

Oh yes…..

Salsa clamps are very good, I doubt thats your problem. Also Chromag and one that came from Canyon you hardly need any tension as long as you use ****** *****

And Hope seat clamps are best avoided…..you end up tightening them like crazy, I dont know whats up with them.

timb34 has the right idea… oh that and carbon paste but if you dont have that to hand just lube the cam on the clamp & give that a try.

I had the same problem with a Thomson post. Changed the QR for a bolt up and it still slipped, to the extent that I had to stop repeatedly during the Selkirk marathon to put it back up.

Stuck some toothpaste on the posting around the clamping area, bolted up the clamp silly tight and it hasn’t budged since.

Remove the clamp and clean it thoroughly?

toothpaste – thats geinus