Grey Mercian Red Mercian

if you've cut the top off you might as well give drilling/twisting it a go.
Not very clear in the pic but I did this exact and it worked for me although I had a long sash clamp which increased the leverage. Once drilled and and bolted I tried two methods, initially I tried gradually increasing the pressure of the twist going a bit further every time. I then got fed and gave it more of single big twist/push and after a couple of these it released.
I also had BB shell clamped in a bench vice.

Seatpostman further up thread is supposed to be great by all accounts.

I should say my frame was rather agricultural chromo compared to your lovely 531 Mercian.

good luck

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I'm in agreement that I might as well drill it at this point and insert something to get more leverage. I cut the post purposely high up and it seems to have a thicker wall than further down, so that isn't a bad thing. That's probably my last shot as I'm not 100% keen on the hacksaw idea and would rather take it in to Mercian or seatpostman, but let's see. Thanks @Josh89 & @littleK.

Did you try the coke yet? It's worth a shot....but that's a long post!

What can you lose by soaking it overnight? When it comes out though, wash out thoroughly and give it a slosh of linseed oil or wd40 to get shot of the water

Slight flip-flop on my earlier thoughts with this. Have decided not to put on the SRAM Apex. The Campagnolo has shined up lovely and it is perfectly functional, the silver goes really well with the grey frame and the Mercian decals are silver when they catch the light, I also think I can get the old wheels running again - so it matches nicely. I'll now be on the lookout for a silver 27.2 post and it will need gumwalls. I can see it taking a few weeks to resolve, so I rebuilt my other bike in the mean time.

What did you do about the seat post?

Coke treatment. It's sitting for a few days.

Frame is now with Mercian, they are using acid to dissolve the seatpost. The Cola didn't work in this instance, did make lots of things sticky for a while. I then tried to hacksaw four cuts in the post. It was quite tricky and worrying whether the saw was hitting the seat tube as it began to feel different. Got some pieces of the tube out, wasn't comfortable with it at that point and the tube is so long in there it was tough to exert pressure on the furthest point of the blade.

Mercian said the acid may potentially damage the paint work. I'm going to see the results of this then decide on if the frame gets a respray.

Good call though.

coke def worth a try but better safe than sorry.

Very good efforts though, and doing things the right way

I've yet to come across a truly stuck seatpost, seems quite the ball ache! Fingers crossed the paint isn't damaged.

Interesting post and subbed.

In the past I've sent bikes off for seatpost issues as costs £30-£50 from memory and do a much much better job in less time and with less damage.

I picked up an old KoM from the bay that I sent back to Mercian for a respray and to shift the stuck post and theu did a great job

While the frame is at Mercian, I stripped back the original Mirage eight-speed rear wheel. The two sealed bearings in the hub are fairly smooth and I regreased them. The one sealed bearing in the freehub is extremely crunchy; can barely turn it. It needs replacing. Now I don't know if it is better/possible to replace the freehub bearing itself, the whole freehub body, or rebuild the wheel with a new hub and save the whole kerfuffle? I'm hoping someone may have knowledge here? I might also post this in the any questions thread. The front wheel is pretty smooth now I have serviced it and I'd like to get the rear likewise, but not spend too much cash doing so.

can you measure the bearings? If so they might be replaceable but you'd need to be able to get them out and new ones "pressed" in.
I've had some success in the past taking the seal off sealed bearings and cleaning in white spirit and then repacking with fresh grease obviously if they're rusty they'll never be great.

Yes, I did this with the hub bearings, worked a treat. The freehub one is shot though. I have no idea if you can get it out because even the diagram doesn't show it as separate from the freehub?

I believe the rear hub bearings are: https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/p6183/SKF-60012RSH-Rubber-Sealed-Deep-Groove-Ball-Bearing-12x28x8mm/product_info.html

Not sure if the freehub one is a different size however.

If it’s dead give it a go. I have successfully changed free hub bearings on novatec and Mavic wheels with only simple tools. You can measure the bearing if you get it out and it’s easy to find the right bearing in based on dimensions.

I'd imagine if there's a part number it was previously available as separately?
as Simba says, if it's kaput might you as well have a crack at getting them out and then measuring.
It's possible that they didn't use standard bearings but they might have.

Exactly, and if it is industrial bearings they are an industry standard. Shimano uses loose ball bearing in their freehub, so if it dies it dies. With industry bearings they such should be hassle free to obtain from a seller like bearing-king.co.uk (if you can get them out). I would replace with SKF bearings. Good luck

Thanks @Simba. I took the freehub apart. There are two bearings inside separated by a spacer, so similar to the hub bearing setup. The bearings are marked '600 1RS' which matches up to the hub bearings: 12mm inner, 28mm outer. So maybe I will order 4 new bearings (might as well switch them all out) and in the intervening period work out how to get these existing worn ones out.

The freewheel exploded this time as I was knocking out the axle. Pawls and springs went everywhere. Fun times.

Picked up the frame today as Mercian had removed the seatpost. They used heat in the end and said it was a "right job", must have been solidly in there. Anyway lost a fair bit of original paint. They kindly put primer on and tidied the area up. Really happy they got it out.

Not sure on next steps, my first thought is to build it up and have a trial ride to see if the fit is good, then go from there.

Primer section looks kind of cool actually, good opportunity for a two tone paintjob perhaps?

Yeah, it's growing on me too. That eggshell primer is actually a lovely colour, though it would never stay clean. Probably going for a black respray eventually, minimal Mercian decal. Just great to finally get a seatpost and saddle in. The frame is ready to be built up at last.

looking good!!

They used heat in the end

How long did they try with acid? I had a frame soaking for about a week until the post disintegrated. Did mash the paint up a bit. But definitely not as much as the heat has though.

They originally said they would "melt it out" and it would mess up the paint which I guessed had to mean acid of some sort. Perhaps Mercian were meaning 'melt' as in heat.

In some Youtube videos there are quite messy versions of dissolving the post depending on how people go at it. Nice one for handling it yourself, I didn't trust it not to go badly.

Thanks @jBola!