Originally Posted by
TheFort
I asked the maker of the stem about the compression issue, and they said, "You need a star nut in the steering tube"
Does anyone know what this means? I know what a star nut is, but I don't know what they mean. Are they saying you replace the hex nut on the compression plug with a star nut? I guess I can ask, but they don't seem to want to help.
A metal steerer tube has a star nut in it. Rather than using a compression plug, the bolt through the top cap screws into the star nut, which is held securely in the steerer. This creates compression on the bearings. You don't use a star nut in a carbon steerer because the sharp edges dig into the carbon.
You might be able to replace the bolt through your existing compression plug, with the bolt that's provided with the adjustable stem. If you can do that, the whole system will likely work fine, with the compression plug working normally.