Hey,

Real quick, my stem doesn't have a minimum insert line. I've never paid enough attention on my previous quill stems to remember how far they were supposed to be inserted. Plus my last few bikes have all been threadless.

So what's is there a rule of thumb here or a standard minimum insert depth? The stem will only go so far into the steerer (I read that the steerer could be butted/tapered which makes sense) so I pulled have it pulled out about half an inch from bottoming out which I know should be plenty of steerer in there. However I wouldn't mind raising it a bit.

Thanks! You guys are always very helpful.

Several guide lines are in play. 2 1/2", insert so that the expander in below any threaded section (of the steerer), the more insertion the better. There are other guides. But I think you get the idea. If the stem expander is within the top threaded section it can cause a crack that will break off the top of your steerer. This is a problem on bikes that have had replacement forks installed that end up with most of the threaded section NOT cut down, due to the length of the head tube and headset.

So how far is your stem's insertion? How long is the threaded portion of the steerer? Andy

Okay Andy, thanks for that.

I had the fork out and recall the threaded portion being 2 to 3 inches but I'll have to pull it to measure exactly. It is the original fork.

The stem is in there about 4 inches or so (maybe more) but I'd also have to pull it and measure. For now I'm riding it a half inch up from bottom out.

I'm not the most observant when I get onto assembly mode so those numbers are just what I recall.

OK I've a few stems here so had a measure up, all mine are the taper bottom type not the split bottom type, all the measurements are to the tip of the taper:-

5."1/4 long marking line 2."1/4 up
5."1/2 long marking line 2."1/2 up
7."1/2 long marking line 2."1/2 up
8." long marking line 2." 1/2 up
11."1/2 long marking line 3" up

Hope that helps