Saddle came off sprung seatpost - Repair

[GliderRider]

The saddle on my girlfriend's Specialized Expedition started rotating on the seatpost the other day. Initially only moved a few degrees, then it would spin around, and on investigation could lift straight off.

There was no obvious mechanical attachment, just what looked like a plastic roller bearing cage that fitted in splines on the light alloy stem, which in turn engaged in the socket to which the saddle is attached. It finally dawned on me that the 'roller bearing cage' was actually either hot melt glue or epoxy resin. What threw me was the fact that this bonding material didn't extend into the bottom of the hole, nor go from spline to spline in the socket, it was just down each spline and around the open end.

Anyway, onto the repair...

• The saddle was supported with the socket facing up vertically.
• The socket and seatpost rod were cleaned with iso propyl alcohol (meths would have probably worked equally well).
• 24 hour epoxy was applied to the socket and all over the splined end of the seat post.
• The seatpost was pushed into the socket, and the whole lot warmed with a hair dryer to make sure the the epoxy wetted out thoroughly into both machined surfaces (I find epoxy always works better if the substrates are warmer than the resin itself).

I hope this helps anyone who gets the same problem.

By the way, does anyone know if the gaiters around the saddle stem are available separately? The one on this stem had perished and split.