I prefer steel frames which usually come with threaded forks so threadless headsets are foreign to me. I recently purchased a niece piece of American handmade steel on craigslist (see below) and I am trying to figure out how to set it up. If it wasn't such a nice frame I would swap the fork for a threadless.
The frame came with a Chris King headset, 2 spacers, and some sort of shim over the exposed portion of the steerer tube. I assume the steerer tube is 1-1/8" as the stem cap says 1-1/8". Isn't that the standard size so why the shim? What measurements do I need to know to pick the correct stem for size 26 bars.? How do I get the most accurate measurement?
Last, there seems to be a little bit of side to side back and forth play/wiggle of the fork within the headset. Makes me worried that the headset diameter is not the proper size for the fork. Or if a little play is normal is thank going to make the bars jiggle?
Please educate me.
