Even funnier story.

A few months ago a creaking noise started that resonated through the frame
and sounded like it was coming from the front end.

Then I discovered that pressure on the saddle caused the creaking with
nothing else moving - I blamed it on the cheap & nasty Lidl/Crivit-sport
saddle.

Yesterday the seat post clamp sheared off the top of the frame - no more
creaking.

Its a bigger than standard seat post, so plan A was to cut the tube from a
regular steel frame and slide it into the old one and use a regular size
seat post.

Unfortunately it didn't fit - plan B was inspired by Frankenstein's monster.

On 2/10/2014 3:46 AM, Ian Field wrote:
A few months ago a creaking noise started that resonated through the
frame and sounded like it was coming from the front end.

Then I discovered that pressure on the saddle caused the creaking with
nothing else moving - I blamed it on the cheap & nasty Lidl/Crivit-sport
saddle.

Yesterday the seat post clamp sheared off the top of the frame - no more
creaking.

Its a bigger than standard seat post, so plan A was to cut the tube from
a regular steel frame and slide it into the old one and use a regular
size seat post.

Unfortunately it didn't fit - plan B was inspired by Frankenstein's
monster.
Oh heck no, not the bolt through and through making the adjustable seat
post non-adjustable forever. I have quite a nice old Peugeot dating from
the one year,1984, when they held the seat post using a single grub
screw in a braze-on on the back of the seat tube below the seat
stay/seat tube junction. They abandoned that idea after a year. I wonder
why? I leave that grub screw severely alone. If the braze-on ever strips
it will be a new braze-on and a repaint or Frankensteins monster. There
is no seat tube showing above the top tube for a seat clamp.

Are you speaking BTW of the sort of seatpost clamp that is two ears
either side of a slot in the top rear of seat tube and a clamp bolt
through the ears? If so, any chance of cleaning up the top of the seat
tube, if necessary cutting it a little shorter and extending the slot a
like amount and using one of those removable seat post clamps?

Several years ago I had a customer with an aluminium road frame that had
a removable seat post clamp and it had a vertical crack 3/4" long in the
*front* of the seat post tube coming down from the top. This tightass
person had acquired the frame for nix and insisted he wanted to build it
up into a bike. Weld repair was out, he'd already learned that no welder
of aluminium would touch it.
I bought in an seat post adapter shim for 27.2 to 25.4 and a 25.4 seat
post. The adapter was aluminium with a slot in it and 100mm long.
http://problemsolversbike.com/products/seatpost_shims
Drilled the end of the crack with a 2mm hole, cleaned up the inside of
the seat tube with a flexible hone so it was very clean with a fine
crisscross of scratches and similarly keyed the outside of the shim a
bit. Buttered up shim and seat tube with epoxy glue, tapped shim down,
aligning slot in shim with slot in frame of course. Inserted greased
seat post and applied clamp collar. After 5 days of epoxy curing
verified that the seat post would move for adjustment. I figured that
nothing catastrophic would happen even if crack started again.The frame
was on the upper limit of size for the owner so hardly any seatpost
showing so, I hoped, not too much leverage. I wasn't that happy about a
kludge but several years later the owner is still riding the frame.
PH

"Peter Howard" wrote in message
...
On 2/10/2014 3:46 AM, Ian Field wrote:
A few months ago a creaking noise started that resonated through the
frame and sounded like it was coming from the front end.

Then I discovered that pressure on the saddle caused the creaking with
nothing else moving - I blamed it on the cheap & nasty Lidl/Crivit-sport
saddle.

Yesterday the seat post clamp sheared off the top of the frame - no more
creaking.

Its a bigger than standard seat post, so plan A was to cut the tube from
a regular steel frame and slide it into the old one and use a regular
size seat post.

Unfortunately it didn't fit - plan B was inspired by Frankenstein's
monster.
Oh heck no, not the bolt through and through making the adjustable seat
post non-adjustable forever.

If any thin-walled steel tubing turns up, there's nothing to stop me
reviving plan A.

It can still be adjusted, just by drilling another hole - but I loose the
linear non-incremental adjustment.

On 2/10/2014 6:36 AM, Ian Field wrote:


"Peter Howard" wrote in message
...
On 2/10/2014 3:46 AM, Ian Field wrote:
A few months ago a creaking noise started that resonated through the
frame and sounded like it was coming from the front end.

Then I discovered that pressure on the saddle caused the creaking with
nothing else moving - I blamed it on the cheap & nasty Lidl/Crivit-sport
saddle.

Yesterday the seat post clamp sheared off the top of the frame - no more
creaking.

Its a bigger than standard seat post, so plan A was to cut the tube from
a regular steel frame and slide it into the old one and use a regular
size seat post.

Unfortunately it didn't fit - plan B was inspired by Frankenstein's
monster.
Oh heck no, not the bolt through and through making the adjustable
seat post non-adjustable forever.

If any thin-walled steel tubing turns up, there's nothing to stop me
reviving plan A.

It can still be adjusted, just by drilling another hole - but I loose
the linear non-incremental adjustment.

Are there any local machinists in a small shop who can reduce the
diameter of the non-fitting salvaged seat tube? Would that make it
paper-thin or is this frame not worth the expense?
PH

EXAMINING FOR FLAWS is an acquired talent but start with curiosity, intelligence, a wire brush, a strong light and an eye exam.

An LBS does actual work is a small machine shop prob stocking tubes for measuring post OD's. try that.

I use a digital vernier. The DV gets you into the ballpark but tube sizing gives the answer.

If your frame sports an odd size n you ride a lot, buy 2.

On Wed, 1 Oct 2014 18:46:45 +0100, "Ian Field"
wrote:

A few months ago a creaking noise started that resonated through the frame
and sounded like it was coming from the front end.

Then I discovered that pressure on the saddle caused the creaking with
nothing else moving - I blamed it on the cheap & nasty Lidl/Crivit-sport
saddle.

Yesterday the seat post clamp sheared off the top of the frame - no more
creaking.

Its a bigger than standard seat post, so plan A was to cut the tube from a
regular steel frame and slide it into the old one and use a regular size
seat post.

Unfortunately it didn't fit - plan B was inspired by Frankenstein's monster.

To "shim" the seat tube to fit a smaller seat post it might be
possible to use a slightly larger tube and slot it which might allow
it to be pressed into the seat tube.

This depends largely on the I.D./O.D. of the various bits of tubing
but is something to be thought about.

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Wednesday, October 1, 2014 1:46:45 PM UTC-4, Ian Field wrote:
A few months ago a creaking noise started that resonated through the frame

and sounded like it was coming from the front end.



Then I discovered that pressure on the saddle caused the creaking with

nothing else moving - I blamed it on the cheap & nasty Lidl/Crivit-sport

saddle.



Yesterday the seat post clamp sheared off the top of the frame - no more

creaking.



Its a bigger than standard seat post, so plan A was to cut the tube from a

regular steel frame and slide it into the old one and use a regular size

seat post.



Unfortunately it didn't fit - plan B was inspired by Frankenstein's monster.

What's the internal diameter of your seat tube? Is this frame steel or is it aluminium?

Good luck. Cheers.

shiming a seat tube is off the wall...but try sand.

want to ID oak barrel tools or something from the ice house ?


http://goo.gl/ltUAVU

"Peter Howard" wrote in message
...
On 2/10/2014 6:36 AM, Ian Field wrote:


"Peter Howard" wrote in message
...
On 2/10/2014 3:46 AM, Ian Field wrote:
A few months ago a creaking noise started that resonated through the
frame and sounded like it was coming from the front end.

Then I discovered that pressure on the saddle caused the creaking with
nothing else moving - I blamed it on the cheap & nasty
Lidl/Crivit-sport
saddle.

Yesterday the seat post clamp sheared off the top of the frame - no
more
creaking.

Its a bigger than standard seat post, so plan A was to cut the tube
from
a regular steel frame and slide it into the old one and use a regular
size seat post.

Unfortunately it didn't fit - plan B was inspired by Frankenstein's
monster.
Oh heck no, not the bolt through and through making the adjustable
seat post non-adjustable forever.

If any thin-walled steel tubing turns up, there's nothing to stop me
reviving plan A.

It can still be adjusted, just by drilling another hole - but I loose
the linear non-incremental adjustment.

Are there any local machinists in a small shop who can reduce the diameter
of the non-fitting salvaged seat tube? Would that make it paper-thin or is
this frame not worth the expense?

The bike was scrounged on Freecycle a couple of years ago, and I have
another from the same source kept as a spare.

The broken one has a light weight alloy frame, so there was some motivation
to devise a viable bodge.

Skimming down a section of frame tube would probably cost more than alloy
welding the broken bit - if I could find a local firm with the right welding
gear.

Thin walled tubing in mild steel would probably be too weak for what I had
in mind, stainless would be far better - and much more likely in the thin
wall dimensions I'm after.

Even if I had thin wall tubing to do plan A, there's no getting away from
Frankenstein's monster - the inserted tube would have to be pinned even if
it was long enough to butt down on the bottom bracket shell.

CHECK od TO YOUR id...ALSO CJECK 'RIGID' et al

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...8&category=167

cost of repair prob 100 times bikes worth. Bike parts transfer to the next.