Mercian seat post problems

Ok, I picked up my Mercian yesterday.... got it home and my Damn seat post doesn't fit!!! They told me it was a 27.2mm so I went out and bought a shiny new Dura Ace Seatpost size 27.2mm. But it seems to be too big. It kind of goes in, but then gets jammed about 3-4inches down!

Anyone know if I should have bought a smaller seatpost?.... this messing around has scratched the seatpost, and chipped a bit of the paint from the top of the brand new Mercian's seattube!!!

Mercian have yet to get back to me. Must admit, i'm not as impressed as I thought i'd be 20 weeks ago, when i ordered it!

If you can get a post 3-4 inches down the tube then it may be a construction effect ie:

Butted tubing narrowing at that point
Pins left in the tube from pinning before welding sticking in to the tube.
Solder or other in the tube.

Frustrating as it seems, you're going to have to wait for Mercian's response on this one. They may have some suggestions or ideas of what you can do.

BTW have you tried another post or shinning a light down there to see if anything is visible.

jon just get a hammer out and wack that post in!:)

Maybe they forgot to ream the seat tube after brazing? Possible. I agree wait to hear what they have to say. If it just does need reaming some bike shops have a seat reamer or a local frame builder but get the bill sent to mercian, rather than post the frame back up to them. Try and get hold of some vernia calipers to mesure the seat tube your self if you can't wait.

Jon I am very sorry to hear this best bet as tommy says is to measure everything.

Still nothing from Mercian!

So what are they saying at Mercian then jon they going to call you back or something..?

Well, they never got back to me via email so I decided to call them. They seemed astounded that there would be a problem and suggested 2 reasons:

1. I was not putting the seatpost in at the correct angle
   
2. Sometimes it's just a snug fit
   
   

Well, what is happening now is that I am to pack up the Mercian and then call them to arrange a pick-up. It will go back to Derby and they will assess the problem there. They said to mark the frame with tape to where the seatpost went up to, and to where I would like the seatpost to go up to.....

It all seems a bit odd to me £580 and the paint is chipped because the seatpost got stuck and their suggestion to get it out was to put a long screw driver through the stay bolt and bend the pillar hole outwards in order to extract the seatpost.

I am really starting to think that I would never have had these problems with a Bianchi Pista! When I finally get it built it better be the best f**king bike I've ever ridden.

Mercian weren't rude or anything..... It just seems a bit weird.... their suggestions and also.... well, maybe I just can't get over the fact that I've spent soooooooo much money on a frame that will have caused me more problems than any other bike I've had before.

People have told me that when I build it up it's going to be amazing.... I have heard that Mercian's are supposed to be consistently excellent rides, I really do hope so.

The Dura Ace post is marked 27.2 I take it Jon. Sounds to me like they are going to ream it out. Are they going to take care of the paint too...?

Yes the post is marked 27.2mm... that's a good point actually as I bought it on eBay..... I did check though. In a way I wish I'd bought the wrong post.... easier to sort the problem. They said that the frame will definitely have been reamed more than once throughout the process, and it was unlikely to be the problem.... they think it might be paint of metal shavings or something in the tube..... to which I say for £580 there should be nothing in that tube, or they should make sure there is nothing in it by the time it gets to me!

They have made no mention of the paint yet. I have a feeling I'll have to bring it up. Maybe they are taking on little too many frame builds at the moment.... When I picked the frame up the man I payed kind of sneered at my London address..... "Another one from London" He said.....

They have not met my expectations.... I have had a lot of dealings recently with Bob Jackson through Brick Lane Bikes, and also my Girlfriend is getting a Custom Pista built there and they have been nothing but fantastic, bending over backwards to help with the whole process and make sure my girlfriend, who doesn't know that much about bikes, feels comfortable, and knows what she is buying.

that sound really bad jonaent, have you got a 27mm post to hand?? or if you could borrow one just to see if it goes in easier.
if not, it's definately their problem,.

I thought that too. I tried a 26.6 and it went in ok, a little loose. The seat pillar hole measures 27.2mm as does the post.... that's what's so weird.

Sorry to hear you've had a bad experience.

I am in the process of having my Yamaguchi built and so far they have been pretty damn amazing. I choose the frame (aero track), they then arranged for me to be measured at a local bike shop and my measurements to be then sent to them. About a week later I got a phone call from one of the builders asking me what I would be using the bike for, what sort of riding position i prefered etc. He seemed very knowledgable and explained to me how the bike will feel depending on the material. A few days after the call I gt an email saying they had a prvious customer based in Norwich who has similar proportions to me and would be willing to let me try his bike to see how it felt. I had to decline but the process so far has truely amazed me. I hope this is going to be the best £700 I have ever spent!

ah, go on, wind him up why don't ya .......... 8^P

And everyone complained cause I choose not to buy British :)

That's the sort of service I was expecting

I met this American girl in the summer she was looking for a bike to tour europe on. I sent her to Bob Jackson (they were a little bit cheaper than Mercian) and she said that they were wonderful too..!

So how come Mercian are overloaded with orders all of a sudden..?

Im sure it will all work out for the best. "Good things come to those who wait!"... We hope! If not you can sell it on ebay and get a Bianchi Pista!

i know condor have a bad rep on here but theyve just built my 631 custom lugged frame - keith did the measurementsand we had a long chat about what i wanted - finally got it a couple of weeks ago and its fucking gorgeous and fits like a glove!! £800 for the frame - the rest of the build knocked that up a fair bit tho!

"I tried a 26.6 and it went in ok, a little loose. The seat pillar hole measures 27.2mm as does the post."

I'm wondering how accurately have you measured the seatpin and the seat tube? If they are both actually 27.2 then the seatpin won't fit in the frame beacuse the hole has to be slightly bigger than the seatpin. It seems either your seatpin is slightly oversized, they're not always accurate in size, or as already said, Mercian have not reamed the seat tube to the correct size. If this was my frame and Mercian did not ream the seat tube, I would of course want Mercian to sort this out, and quickly, including paying postage both to get the frame back and then sending it back to me. I'd also want them to sort out the paint chip. IMHO anything less is not acceptable service.

So how come Mercian are overloaded with orders all of a sudden..?

I don't know if its because Mercian are overloaded all of a sudden, they've been getting busier and busier for a while (driven by strong demand), but the Paul Smith bikes (horrible as they are) really got a lot of attention.

i hope this all works out well. i would like to think one of our supposedly best frame-builders aren't cutting any corners and this is just some one-off glitch that will be completely rectified. do keep us posted jon

You mean someone actualy bought a Paul Smith bike, Jesus, that would by like living with a schizophrenic