Originally Posted by Dirtdrop
All I've been able to find is a steel Tange or Ritchey Logic. I hate to admit it, but I bought a beautiful NOS Shimano 600 from Loose Screws without thinking about stack height. It's
way too tall. Anybody got a steer tube stretcher I can borrow?
I have a '92 Trek 1420 with the same problem. Trek cut the steerer to JUST fit the OEM Tange Levin headset with no spacers. When the Tange died (after only 2000 miles) I was able to replace it with a Shimano 600 loose bearing headset with the same stack height of about 33 mm.
When the 600 died after 15,000 additional miles, I was unable to find a decent headset to replace it as the newer Ultegra cartridge bearing headset had a stack height of about 37 mm. I wound up biting the bullet and replacing the fork and headset with a threadless upgrade.
If the cost isn't a deal breaker, Chris King headsets can be set up with very short stack heights. Otherwise, I'm afraid your stuck with the cheap and fragile Tange or Ritchey headsets.