Cheap Easy Tool To Clean Inside Bike Seat Tube
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- Опубліковано 3 лют 2025
- I show how to clean rust and corrosion from the inside of a bike seat tube using a cheap and easy to make tool. This is useful for cleaning out a seat tube after removing a seized seatpost. There is often ugly oxidation left over from the galvanic reaction between the aluminum seat post and steel frame.
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I used this method but with 1 minor change,i didnt have any steel wool so i cut a green scouring pad (scotchbrite type) in half & doubled it up,mounted it on the coathanger wire & it cleaned up the minor rust my frame had really well,brilliant idea rj excellent :)
That's the best cheap way of cleaning the bike seat tube I've seen, Well done RJ keep it up
Your videos are the best anywhere. Keep it up man✌️
This is still true !!
you are the only source I learned self-maintenance thank you for the videos man, you're awesome..
I just did this to a bike I was restoring and it worked great. I was too lazy to redo the bottom bracket though, so I turned the bike upside-down in the stand. Thanks, RJ.
No guarantee all the muck will fall out of the seat tube when you flip the bike. The spacer tube in the bottom bracket may be greasy and those sediments will just stick onto it.
RJ, thank you very much for this simple but effective way to clean. Why didn't I think of it myself? Keep up the great work and posting video's, love them.
Great and useful video. Thanks! I spent hours and money trying to find just the right brush for that purpose, but I like your way better. I will also use some CLR (calcium, lime, rust remover) to help get some of the rust out. Also a good method for the stem tube.
Love the simplicity and at accessability of this method thanks RJ
Chemist here. I suggest one minor improvement. Use Vaseline (or generic petroleum jelly) instead of lubricating grease for greasing the inside of a seat tube. Why? 1. You actually don't want good lubrication in the seat tube, because you want the seat post clamp to grab well. Petroleum jelly is a poorer lubricant, by a bit, than lubricating grease. 2. Most lubricating greases are thickened with a type of soap. Lithium soap is the most common. This makes them more water soluble than petroleum jelly, which consists entirely of water insoluble hydrocarbons. Since water repellency is the whole point of greasing a seat tube, might as well go with the most water insoluble stuff that is readily available. I would also recommend this inside head tubes, bottom bracket shells, and inside and out of steerer tubes, for the same reasons. Boeshield or Frame Saver in the other frame tubes, where you can't swab them.
This is Marine grease, so it is not water soluble.
RJ The Bike Guy Marine grease is less water soluble than other lubricating greases. That does not mean it is less water soluble than petroleum jelly, which is not formulated as a lubricant. I don't know which marine grease you are using. I looked up Lucas Oil brand Marine Grease. It is a lithium complex grease. This means it contains lithium soaps and other lithium-organic compounds as thickeners. Lithium thickeners allow the formulation of very good lubricating greases, but they are moderately water soluble because they are ionic compounds. Because of their excellent properties as lubricants, lithium thickened greases are very common. Petroleum jelly does not contain any ionic compounds. Although it is not made this way, one can think of petroleum jelly as a blend of mineral oil and paraffin wax. Petroleum jelly is highly water resistant. As I mentioned, it is also a somewhat poorer lubricant than specially formulated lubricating greases.
The marine grease you use is a fine choice for bearings. Petroleum jelly is better for water protection.
Spitch Grizwald Seat tube and seat post corrosion is a very common problem. Why risk damaging an expensive frame? The next time you are at a discount store, pick up some generic petroleum jelly for your seat tube and seat post.
I use Peak Synthetic Marine Grease.
RJ The Bike Guy Peak Synthetic Marine Grease appears to be a modern, high performance, water resistant, lubricating grease, a good choice for bicycle bearings. It uses calcium sulfonate thickeners. These are more water resistant than some other lubricating grease thickeners, but they are still ionic compounds, less water repellant than the combination of hydrocarbon oils and waxes in petroleum jelly.
If petroleum jelly were expensive, or hard to obtain, I would not bother mentioning it. Every bicycle mechanic has to have lubricating grease, and lubricating grease is much better than nothing for seat tubes and other water-proofing. But, petroleum jelly is easy to obtain and not too expensive. Petroleum jelly is, effectively, a less viscous, lower melting temperature, version of Cosmoline. It is a better choice when your goal is water proofing as opposed to lubricating.
Boeshield, which is a good water-proofer for the insides of frame tubes that can not be swabbed, is very close in composition to petroleum jelly, except it has a light petroleum solvent added to make it fluid. That solvent evaporates after application, leaving the petroleum jelly like material in place to repel water.
That's a great Hack, not bad for a Canadian! lol- seriously thanks I just freed up a stuck seat post. Was standing on my 24" Pipe Wrench for weeks...finally, it gave way:)
That's a great method to clean out that seat tube. Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for the hack. I'll be doing that tonight a my latest project:)
thank you sir for sharing your idea. very simple and easy to do
great tips. thank you RJ
Simple and effective method.
Kudos
Nice use of the Drillo Pad :)
That 70's Schwinn Vintage Bike Channel
Brilliant!!! 😂😂😂
Cool video and nice cheap way to clean the seatpost, I just bought a brake hone to attach to my drill for this purpose, my interest is are you going to do a video about cleaning rust off the frame? It appears to be a good candidate for that too, I have seen another bike rehab enthusiast talk about using oxalic acid mixture in a kiddie pool for frame derusting, interested to see your approach
AWESOME HACK! I'm gonna use it next time. Thumbs up!
Found this very useful. Another way to get similar results would be to use a shotgun bore brush with a with the cleaning rod. 12 gauge would be a good start for those who own firearms. If the brush is too sloppy you can wrap the steel wool around the boar brush.
Great Idea, if you get time can you show us your tool collection and advise the best for us to build up the toolbox.
You seem to have every tool for every job.
Thank you for posting..
ua-cam.com/video/KBvUIQSmkcA/v-deo.html
That is brilliant! Thank you for this great idea!!
great invention.
Very good, cheap, and clever method that everyone can do it at home, thanks a lot!
Well this was useful 🎉 saved me a ton of money too.
Exactly what I used. But the hardware store actually sells a better type of steel wool for grinding. I zip-tied that to the end of a 40cm long drill bit for wood. 15 min later, it was clean. I also expanded the tube using an old aluminium seatpost, as aluminium expands more when heated than steel, thus expanding the hole. I used a simple buthane burner.
Great idea, used the same principle of the coat hanger and attached a sponge on the end to clean the inside of the down tube of the seat post on a carbon frame. The seat post is slipping and hope that this cleaning inside works.
You will still want to grease your post to prevent it from becoming seized. Make you you have have the correct sized post. Make sure you're clamping it tight enough. Some people seem to have luck with grease made for carbon fiber seatposts which has some stuff in it to make it grip better. I haven't tried it.
@@RJTheBikeGuy yep, the recommended is 5Nm and it's the original seat post /frame. There was a lot of dirt inside the tube and it seems that the effect is the contrary of what you would think of in the sense that this dirt doesn't make it more coarse, it acts like small bearings of a sort. It's the only explanation that seems plausible with the situation.
You are my savior! This is brilliant! I’ve subscribed!
What're you going to do about the paint on that Schwinn?
Great tip! A method restorers of tubular aircraft fuselages use to combat corrosion is to coat the inside of the Chromoly with linseed oil.
Here/8, There/10 . . . “There” wins!
Can you do one for rust on the outside of the frame? I'm restoring 2 old Schwinn road bikes and am apprehensive about doing much with the rust due to the paint.
RedWings-44 im also wondering what to do with my vintage projects paint/decals. i wamt to strip it off and repaint it but i have no idea how to remove the oaint with out damaging the frame
Cyrus Lever I was told not to touch the original paint on my Schwinn's. It is in decent shape but there are scratches from the course of their 40 year life spans.
What usually works for me to clean them up a bit is WD40 and steel wool. It's not going to make them showroom fresh but it will remove a lot of the rust that bubbles up. Don't scrub too hard or you'll take the paint off though.
Exact same problem here !
But I did just that, "hard polish" and finger nail stuff.
Problem is: the finger nail thing is water based so the rust actually reappears...
Desi I'm finding that even with a product like evaporust, it'll get the rust off but if you don't apply any protection (oil, etc.) The rust begins to reappear.
if you rotate the bike upside down in the stand you don't have to remove the bottom bracket. awesome video as always.
Good pointers you always have useful information
Thank you. A previous viewer mentioned a brake cylinder hone which I have also used successfully to remove burrs that scratch the seat post.
I have looked at those. This is a lot cheaper. It will do the job in most cases. :D
Two separate tasks, one to debur the inside of the seat tube, one to rid the seat tube of corrosion and crud.
Great invention again.
Genius, is that bike grass good for car caliper brake pins?
Brilliant! 👍
what steelwool grit u use?
Coarse,
Good idea! Reminds me of a bore snake for gun cleaning.
Very helfull thankyou
Could spray the inside with paint ( like Temple bikes)?
How did u attach the metal wire to the drill ?
or instead of removing the bb you can flip the bike upside down :)
The fact that the seattube is that bad. I am assuming the bottom bracket is pretty much the same so will need servicing......
The shit will just fly up into the grease of the bb
Any issues using that steel pad on aluminium or carbon frames?
Aluminum, no. I wouldn't do it on carbon.
@@RJTheBikeGuy thx
I know Mommy Dearest hated the wire hanger, but for a tinkerer; it is an indispensable tool! I have also used a shotgun cleaning rod with a modified end to hold a larger rag. Thanks for sharing
Right on RJ, Much Love!
You can use a brake cylinder or engine cylinder hone for a very quick and beautiful result.
Hi RJ
Maybe you can assist. Great video by the way.
My seat tube has a similar issue and I never noticed until I realised the paint was bubbling on the outside, if I look carefully there's a tiny whole inside with rust around it. Would this method work still?
Thanks
Very cool! I think you hate stuck seat posts as much as I do!
Awesome thanks for this 😀👍🏻
Recommend steel wool as well for cleaning bottom bracket housing with same rust issue? I did lightly, but didn't want to affect the threading at all.
For BBs I might do this:
ua-cam.com/video/1IrAGP22V34/v-deo.html
Awesome Tip!
The video was very helpful thank you
Will this work on aluminium frame? There is some minor corrosion on my pinarello magnesium alu frame. Im guessing that it should be fine. Only the lube nees to be chosen correctly to suit the metals.
Yes.
nice will use it
Would you use wire wool in an aluminium tube? or can you think if an alternative to it?
I think it would work fine.
Thnx sir for this useful tip.
How to remove a foot long segment of a seat post that has fallen to the bottom of the seat tube and is stuck inside? The post is aluminum; the tube is steel. I don't know if galvanic action is holding it or if my efforts to remove it have wedged in a tapered portion of the seat tube's interior at the bottom. Is there a way to remove the segment with only moderate effort, or should I just leave it inside. It leaves me about 4 inches of seat tube to grasp a new, truncated seat post.
Great tip, thanks
very clever, Sir.
RJ the bike guy how can I clean a frame with rust in little corners? Is it possible without a new color? Make it look fresh again?
Good job
thanks
That bike owes its ancestry to the Arnold Schwinn 6 day Paramount racer. Whoever built it, built it with pride, this is one ☝️ bike which deserves to be restored.
Great idea!
No rust on the top tube? And other frame tubes?
Fantastic THANKS !
You da man RJ !!
How long did you spend reaming it?
IDK. Maybe 5 minutes or less.
good idea
I've used a Green or red scotch-bright pad and a wood dowel from with a slot cut in it. Other than that-similar approach! Good ideas here-thx.
great tip RJ, thanks for sharing, i will certainly do this on mi bikes moving forward :)
Brilliant. Love it.
素晴らしい！
I found sand in my bottom bracket. I bike a lot of gravel roads. Seals looked OK, so I determined that the sand came through the seat post and down the seat tube and into the bottom bracket. I sealed the saddle post to prevent that.
logical canuck ru sure it wasnt rust flakes entering the bb from where the frame tubes meet @ the bb?,this happpened to me after taking apart the cranks on my steel framed giant mtb & flakes fell through the holes :(
+niel froggy crompton---It was definitely sand. Some seat posts have a cover (sealed) to prevent this. Some, like the one my bike are left open. Sand from rear wheel (no fender) bounces off bottom of seat and finds the seat post opening. From there, it's straight down the tube and through the 1/2" hole into the BB.
It's a simple fix. I squeezed a small piece of foam pipe insulation down the seat post to plug it.
A can of framesaver or Boeshoeld T9 (airplane protectant) is the preferred way to coat the inside of bike frames. The greasey rag method will be hit-or-miss and may not coat the tube fully.
Instead of holding the bare coat hanger in your hand, insert a small tube before chucking it in the drill. That way, the coat hanger wire spins inside the tube which you then hold in your hand. No wire burns! 😄
i picked up a pretty broke down but still good condish frame specialized hardrock, my intent is to make it a single speed as the gears and all of that are pretty thrashed and im trying to make it as rideable as possible for cheap but i cant find any specs. do you know where i xan fond them/can you recomend a seatpost that will fit,single speed conversion kit,and a less ugly stem that will fit.... haha build my retro junker project for me. whats a good gear ratioi think i need a new clamp think that connects the saddle to the seat post, i also have no specialty tools, can i realistically do this build for under 100 dollars? im gonna need tires too and maybe breaks, it has a rear but the front is shot
its like an early 90s model
You need to figure out what seat post it was supposed to have. Sometimes not easy: ua-cam.com/video/E4YHKdqwnFY/v-deo.html
RJ The Bike Guy im pretty sure its 26.6 but.... someone jammed a 27.2in there and now i need yo get it out. Ive seen you make a video on it but i couldnt find it
ua-cam.com/video/S3ek2GeZzE0/v-deo.html
You can also try something like this:
ua-cam.com/video/7GvN7w386U0/v-deo.html
hey rj, how do you remove a piece of pipe inside a seat tube from a kids bike.
I want to lower down the seat from my daughters bike, with that thing on there I can't lower it anymore.
Any tips? I looked online and I did not find anything.
thanks
You can get something and try to hook it and pull it out. But if it's stuck in there, you are going to have a hell of a time to get it out. Frozen seatposts are hard enough when you have something to grab.
great idea and well done!!
I would spray a bit of Fluid Film Powerful Rust & Corrosion Protection down in their. It should last a long time preventing future rust building back up and yet allow for ease of setting seat post height without having to over torque.
Hey I’m really enjoying your videos right now and I have a bike that’s in a similar state that I’m also trying to restore. Can I ask what happened to this bike and have you restored it?
I bought this junk frame to play with rust removers. I am not building it.
RJ The Bike Guy oh ok I, I’m respraying mine so I was just wondering thanks
1:42 "This is basically my tool right here" 🤣🤣🤣🔨🔨🔨
nice job!
May I ask u a question on bottom bracket? Some years ago. Out of frustration. I clamp the bottom bracket cup on a vise. Turn it the wrong way, break half of bottom bracket cup inside the hole.
Now there is no more grip to get it out. It is a Nishiki frame.
How would you get it out? I try to cut it out. But bearing cup is harden metal. Can not cut.
I can't tell you. There is not a standard I Broke My Bottom Bracket Off In The Frame answer. You just have to figure it out.
Can I do this to remove the rust from my bottom bracket?
Maybe. Be careful around the threads.
@@RJTheBikeGuy got too excited and did it yesterday. Threads seem fine as the bottom bracket still adheres to the threads, but I might change to either thread together or press fit.
Thanks!
@@icerink239 ua-cam.com/video/1IrAGP22V34/v-deo.html
Hey RJ what do you recommend for cleaning ou the other parts of the inner frame?
Something like this: www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001447PEK/ref=nosim/youtube25-20
You could also use spray grease..
Do aluminum seatposts in aluminum frames need grease? Galvanic corrosion won’t be an issue since they’re the same metal…also, the grease just collects dirt. Thoughts?
You still want grease.
Very clever
Ingenious, i will use that from now on :D
That was neat. Wow!
Where do you buy wire hangers from though?
Wherever.
HOYE ,RJ,AMI PASA LO MISMO ME TRAEN MUCHAS BICICLETAS ASI TANTO DEL POSTE DEL ASIENTO COM DEL MANUBRIO YO CALIENTO Y ENFRIO CALIENTO Y ENFRIO,CUANDO SON DE ACERO ,OK
A small 3-legged brake cylinder hone works also great.
As long as they don't self destruct at the seat tube clamping slot. Any distortion or burrs there will tear your hone to pieces.
But now how you gonna hang up your coat?? Seriously, this is a fantastic video and I will try this technique on old Trek hybrid which been languishing in backyard for awhile. Thank you!
You made my day !
Thank you kind sir :D
Fluid film is best instead of grease.
Where can u buy a used seat tube?
Seat tube (part of the frame), or seat post that goes into the frame. You can find seatposts on Amazon, ebay, local bike shop, etc. Seat tube...buy a new frame...