How to stop your seatpost from slipping

The first thing to do is remove the seatpost, making sure you have fully backed off any clamps that hold your seatpost in place first. If you have electronic shifting you need to be careful when fully removing the seatpost as this is where the battery is sometimes housed. When the post is fully removed, make sure to carefully disconnect the battery before moving it away from the bike.

Now that the seatpost has been removed it is time to clean both the seatpost and the seat tube. The main thing you want to make sure of is that all grease or dirt is removed from the area. Using isopropyl alcohol or disc brake cleaner can help get rid of all the old grease.

Now is the perfect time to inspect the seatpost for any signs of damage. If you have over-torqued the clamp on as carbon seatpost in an attempt to get it to grip better there is the chance it could have crushed the seatpost. When looking for any scratches or signs of crushing, if you come across anything you are unsure of take it to your local bike shop for them to inspect and give their verdict.

As with every bolt on your bike, the seatpost clamping bolt will have a specified torque setting. It is important to make sure that the torque you apply goes to the clamp rather than as friction in the threads. Cleaning the bolt threads will make sure that the clamp operates properly and all the force applied goes into clamping the seatpost. Once the clamp bolt is clean, apply a small amount of grease to the threads and refit it.

Now that everything is clean it is time to apply a thin layer of carbon paste to the section of the seatpost that will sit within the frame. With the carbon paste applied, it is time to refit the seat post, making sure not to trap any cables as you do so. When the seatpost has been inserted to roughly the right height, wipe off any excess paste with a rag.

If you know your bike fit measurements this part will be relatively pain-free. For those of you who do not know your saddle height measurement this will take a little more time. Fear not, however, as we have you covered with a how-to on saddle height.

Now that the saddle has been set to the correct height it is time to clamp it in place. To nip the clamp up so that the seatpost stays in place a simple hex key can be used. When you start applying tension on the clamp you will want to swap over to a torque wrench to ensure that you do not exceed the specified torque value.

For almost all cases following, the guidance above will remedy the issue of a slipping seatpost. If you find that even after carrying out the tips above that your post still slips on the frame, it is time to dig a bit deeper into what could be causing it.

Checking that the clamp isn’t bottoming out is the easiest place to start before looking closer at the frame or post for any cracks. If you are struggling to pinpoint what could be causing the issue, popping the bike down to your local bike shop would be the recommended course of action.