Originally Posted by Noonievut

I changed the stem on my bike and I guess it’s a tad shorter, as the distance between the top of the steerer tube and spacer (using one above the stem) is 1 maybe 2mm. When I snug the top cap bolt I believe the bottom of the cap is contacting the top of the steerer and it’s not preloading the headset (hopefully my explanation makes sense, I followed the Park Tool video). When I apply the front brake and push forward it feels like there is play.

So I got some 2 and 3mm spacers and replaced one 5mm with a combo of these and the steerer tube is now a good 4mm below the spacer on top of the stem (maybe 5mm?). Now when I snug the top cap bolt it feels like it’s engaging more (also took several more turns), and I can still rotate the bars easily. Now when I check for play it seems to be gone.

Sorry for the long explanation!

So, is it okay if that distance between top of spacer down to the top of the steerer tube is like 4-5mm?

I rarely touch this area of the bike so I’m not as confident. Everything is now torque to spec and it feels good.

edit: bike is a 2021 Bombtrack Hook. Top cap is very narrow/thin.