Seatpost sizing worries on British made Proteus frame

[BikeRiley]

Hi - I have what I understand to be a British made Proteus frame (photo below - maybe I'll post properly about the frame separately as I'd love to know more about it.) and I'd love some help around the seatpost diameter.
TLDR: It came with 27.2 which was hell to remove or put back greased
bought 27.0 also hard to put in thuough in an uneven way.
will I break my frame if the 27.0 is actually too small and its just that the lug is warped/ deformed?

More detail:
right now I have an issue with the seatpost. I needed to adust it and it was extremely hard - but not impossible - to move. I finally got it out (by bracing a foot against the bottom of the triangle and corkscrewing for about 20 minutes). No aparent corrosion. the post was a modern alloy 27.2 that I assume the previous owner had put in.
I greased this up and tried putting it back - fet like hell so I stopped and tried with another post I have that's the same size - also hell.
also tried gently prying the slit open a bit - no help.
I wondered about a warped lug?? (saw that on a forum)
Anyway I ordered a 27.0 post
This is hard to push in at the top and then fairly smooth for about 150mm and then seems to hit somethingthing jaggy inside the tube that makes it very hard to move (and scratches the post? or maybe thats a jaggy bit where the seat and toptubes meet - also the jaws of the clamp slit scratch the hell out of posts)

I would just force the 27.0 in and call it a day BUT I'm worried that if this IS too small will the 0.2mm play cause damage to the frame over time? (I'm a faily llight rider about 75kg incase that factors in)

I guess I'm asking what are the possible causes of all this awful and will I break the frame using a 27.0 if its really 27.2 but the lug at the clamp is defrmed or some other pokery.

Thank you

View attachment 848784

Your Proteus was built in Warrington in

Hi - I have what I understand to be a British made Proteus frame (photo below - maybe I'll post properly about the frame separately as I'd love to know more about it.) and I'd love some help around the seatpost diameter.
TLDR: It came with 27.2 which was hell to remove or put back greased
bought 27.0 also hard to put in thuough in an uneven way.
will I break my frame if the 27.0 is actually too small and its just that the lug is warped/ deformed?

More detail:
right now I have an issue with the seatpost. I needed to adust it and it was extremely hard - but not impossible - to move. I finally got it out (by bracing a foot against the bottom of the triangle and corkscrewing for about 20 minutes). No aparent corrosion. the post was a modern alloy 27.2 that I assume the previous owner had put in.
I greased this up and tried putting it back - fet like hell so I stopped and tried with another post I have that's the same size - also hell.
also tried gently prying the slit open a bit - no help.
I wondered about a warped lug?? (saw that on a forum)
Anyway I ordered a 27.0 post
This is hard to push in at the top and then fairly smooth for about 150mm and then seems to hit somethingthing jaggy inside the tube that makes it very hard to move (and scratches the post? or maybe thats a jaggy bit where the seat and toptubes meet - also the jaws of the clamp slit scratch the hell out of posts)

I would just force the 27.0 in and call it a day BUT I'm worried that if this IS too small will the 0.2mm play cause damage to the frame over time? (I'm a faily llight rider about 75kg incase that factors in)

I guess I'm asking what are the possible causes of all this awful and will I break the frame using a 27.0 if its really 27.2 but the lug at the clamp is defrmed or some other pokery.

Thank you

View attachment 848784

Hi. Your Proteus frame was built in Warrington in February of 1992. The tubes were 531 Super Tourist 19/22g main tubes. These tubes have a thicker wall thickness than the lighter guage 531 Competition and after clearing post production take a 27.0mm seat post. Sounds like you need a reamer running through to clear any dirt and maybe bits of corrosion. Then a 27.0 seat post will slide on and out comfortably enough.

 

[chickendrumsticks]

Your Proteus was built in Warrington in

Hi. Your Proteus frame was built in Warrington in February of 1992. The tubes were 531 Super Tourist 19/22g main tubes. These tubes have a thicker wall thickness than the lighter guage 531 Competition and after clearing post production take a 27.0mm seat post. Sounds like you need a reamer running through to clear any dirt and maybe bits of corrosion. Then a 27.0 seat post will slide on and out comfortably enough.

Welcome @BikeRiley - any relation of Dr Paul Proteus?

 

[chickendrumsticks]

Welcome @BikeRiley - any relation of Dr Paul Proteus?

Ignore my question! He was associated with Proteus in the USA.
Can't find anything on the Warrington connection. More info please @BikeRiley

 

[BikeRiley]

During the late 1980's through the mid 90's, I built a reasonable number of frames under the Proteus badge. Bear in mind that it was pre internet and at that time I had no knowledge of the American company. This particular frame produced out of the Warrington workshop in February of 1992 was for a lovely gentleman by the name of Ken Hartley, a stalwart of the Blackburn CTC group. I still have the notes. Ken knew what he wanted and specified all of the geometry and tube selection. The fork to this frame is particularly unique in being the heavier gauge Reynolds 531 continental style that Ken preferred for loading up the bikes front end with racks and panniers. He selected the Prugnat long point lugs and the cast bracket shell and the pump fitting that allowed a Zefal frame fit to sit underside of the seat stay. Surprisingly the frame still carries its original livery that was finished by C&G's in Liverpool. I hope this gentleman can get the seat post problem sorted out and make good use of a frame that is now over thirty years old.

 

[Wandering_Lark]

During the late 1980's through the mid 90's, I built a reasonable number of frames under the Proteus badge. Bear in mind that it was pre internet and at that time I had no knowledge of the American company. This particular frame produced out of the Warrington workshop in February of 1992 was for a lovely gentleman by the name of Ken Hartley, a stalwart of the Blackburn CTC group. I still have the notes. Ken knew what he wanted and specified all of the geometry and tube selection. The fork to this frame is particularly unique in being the heavier gauge Reynolds 531 continental style that Ken preferred for loading up the bikes front end with racks and panniers. He selected the Prugnat long point lugs and the cast bracket shell and the pump fitting that allowed a Zefal frame fit to sit underside of the seat stay. Surprisingly the frame still carries its original livery that was finished by C&G's in Liverpool. I hope this gentleman can get the seat post problem sorted out and make good use of a frame that is now over thirty years old.

How wonderful to get the history of the frame - thank you! I'll post up some more pitures - baring a bit of scuffing the paintwork in in god nic for its age. I noticed the pump fitting - what a nice detail - I'll have to get a pump to fit it. I plan on using the frame to tour with and I'm sure I'll get the seat tube sorted soon enough. Any more details greatfully recieved. and it would be lovely to know a bit more about the Proteus badge if you are willing to speak on the subject?

 

[BikeRiley]

I served an apprenticeship with one of the last bicycle companies in Britain producing steel frames before moving on to a bespoke workshop in the city of Salford. They were exciting times but the pay and conditions were somewhat Dickensian and after my father died in 1988 I was in a position to build frames under my own marque. My father had taken me to sea many times as a child and was quite the hero on several occasions keeping a cool head and bringing home the small boats in sea conditions that had other grown men crying. In Greek mythology, Proteus was the Shepherd of the Sea. It was a name I chose to honour my father who had been unfortunate to have died so young.

For six years, I produced the Proteus frames and built around five hundred in that time. I enjoyed being a one man operation, always busy and turned down more work than I could manage. By the mid 90's the trade was changing fast. Cheap aluminium frames flooded the market and the first inexpensive carbon frames appeared in shop windows and mail order advertisements. I spent a few years out of the cycle trade renovating houses before finding myself in Manchester building steel frames for a small company in Ancoats. I continued building frames throughout the 2000's albeit on a small scale. I haven't constructed a complete frame for around five years but am still riding on a regular basis using a selection of bicycles I have built over the years. All the equipment and tools are still in the workshop and I have no doubt I shall light a torch anytime soon.

It's lovely to see some of the bicycles and frames I had a hand in producing reappear from time to time via the various internet and social media pages. I never made much money from my frame building days but it was a fantastic job that allowed me the freedom to be creative and work to my own standards. I probably spent too long on any one frame or project but when I see those that have survived all these years it brings a smile to my face. I imagine most of the frames were probably resprayed, crashed and just plain wore out. There can't be too many in the original condition like this one here. Lovely to see and I hope you have some enjoyment from this bicycle.

 

[BikeRiley]

I haven't seen these for years. The specification note regarding the aforementioned touring frame. Note the tube being 531st and the pin size of 27.0mm.