Is it bad to have the top headset tube rising above the stem?
I bought a used kestrel frame and it has an carbon fork....the part where you clamp on a stem is carbon. I've read that you don't use a hacksaw to cut carbon and I kind of want to leave it alone. Is it considered cheap or amateur to have some space on the top above the stem? I won't be using a spacer so that means there's a gap above the stem making it not perfectly flush.
And another question. The frame came with a king headset. The fork is attached. But on the top I guess I'm missing the cap I see on all bikes. The round top thing (metal) with the screw in the middle... Is this an expensive part to replace and can I get it just by itself? So basically looking down on the tube there's empty space and nothing covering the top but I still have a fork attached to the frame.