Engineering/Mechanical people

[Linliel]

So I bought a folding bike (Dahon) from a reputable online shop (I did a lot of homework!) but the courier decided to play "kick the expensive bicycle around" and broke the main catch that holds the frame together.

Anyway, I rang them up etc. and got all the replacement parts organised, but I have to now remove the broken catch. They sent instructions on how to do it, but I think whatever the couriers did must have bent the hinge pin in one side of the catch to the point where it's very firmly wedged in (literally no jiggling possible!).

If I can get the hinge pin out, I can just replace the catch (easy). If I can't, I have to return the whole bike and wait ages and blah blah (sucky).

So, any suggestions? Here's a picture for reference:

http://grab.by/1TUK

Note that I've tried gentleish hammering, and I've tried wedging a blade up there to force it down a bit. I've also tried pushing it "in" further, all to no avail. It doesn't reach the screw hole toward the bottom end, so I can't really use that. I don't really have any leet equipment, though I have general simple tools like screwdrivers, etc.

Thanks in advance for any help! I'm sure there's a way to get it out of there.

[sephir]

Can you show some pictures further out? I need some better perspective.

[Plow]

have you tried a hacksaw?

[Blabj]

Totally misread the title as "Engineering mechanical people" and I got all excited

[Linliel]

Nope, I haven't tried a hacksaw! of course! (That'll go through fairly thickish metal right?)

Here's an "official" picture, with my arrow pointing to the bit that's not coming out (inside)

http://grab.by/1TXW

[Plow]

It should, so you can at least figure out if it's an accessible part of the pin that's jammed or if it's too deep to do anything.

It's always possible that the slot itself got bent, depending on how hard the metal there is compared to the pin.

[Linliel]

It should, so you can at least figure out if it's an accessible part of the pin that's jammed or if it's too deep to do anything.

It's always possible that the slot itself got bent, depending on how hard the metal there is compared to the pin.

I can easily saw either side of the hinge. There's a lot of room there. Thanks for the suggestion! I'll see about hunting down a hacksaw.

[willriker]

GDI, i got beat. I wanted to recommend the hacksaw!

Seriously though, youll need to cut that pin. There are many ways to do that, a fairly fine toothed hacksaw should be the cheapest way to do the trick. If you gotta buy one, you might as well get an extra blade. Assuming you do not run into any issues, you might ruin your blade for other uses. It wont matter, its just a blade though.

[Linliel]

GDI, i got beat. I wanted to recommend the hacksaw!

Seriously though, youll need to cut that pin. There are many ways to do that, a fairly fine toothed hacksaw should be the cheapest way to do the trick. If you gotta buy one, you might as well get an extra blade. Assuming you do not run into any issues, you might ruin your blade for other uses. It wont matter, its just a blade though.

I'd much rather ruin a cheap hacksaw than have to go through the hassle of organising couriers etc. to pick the damn bike up

[Linliel]

Thanks guys, just thought I'd let you know that the hacksaw worked -- got a cheap one from a hardware shop nearby and hacked away with a successful result!

It's a bit hard to tell if the pin was bent though, now that I've sawn it in half, but I'll keep my fingers crossed

(Also I'm very pleased my Dahon came with a little tub of touch up paint -- I needed it!)