seatpost question

[Joshua85]

ok i'm learning the many "fun" things about dealing with older frames, the seatpost tube on my western flyer bike is small in diameter, i honestly don't know how skinny seat tubes can get

sorry for the awful photo, its about .75 of an inch across...which is fantastic because the smallest seatpost i have is monstrous compared to this thing.

any ideas? anyone have a post lying around that will fit?

 

[Markm]

try a schwinn....

 

[Joshua85]

im using a scwhinnn.......i looked around and i think a 13/16" seat post will work

i have another question tho regarding the stem, the headtube on my fork has a what feel like a little ledge in it all the way around the tube which is stopping me from putting the stem in any further, however the stem i have feels loose in the tube (i can jiggle it) has anyone dealt with this before?

 

[socal_jack]

Yeah, that appears to be one of many sizes you run across on these old frames. I have a Colson frame that also takes a .75 in seatpost,luckily I got it with one. The Rollfast in my build thread has a 27/32" seatpost right between a schwinn and a bmx size. 5/8 was common on some brands

The fork-stem issue is pretty common from what I've seen, if you notice on ebay most if not all of the pre-war stems are really short. If you try to use a modern stem, they don't go down very far.

 

[Joshua85]

thanks for the info, yea thats what i thought, hmm i'll have to try and get my hands on different stem then as well at 13/16 seatpost i think

 

[Joshua85]

haha i found it on ebay, its a 5/8" seatpost! happy days for me

...now for that stem

 

[2manybikes]

Your frame probably came with a solid seatpost with an L bend. If you have a steel fabrication shop near you then you could buy a short piece of round stock in the diameter you need and bend it. I have made a number of longer layback posts out of round stock. It makes a small frame more rideable for a taller person.
The steerer tubes on early forks were thinner in wall thickness, so a lot of ballooners have slightly larger stems than middleweight bikes.
I may have a stem and a post that will work. Let me know if you end up needing them.