Threaded fork cut a bit too short?
03-16-21 | 08:48 PM
#26
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From: Los Angeles, CA
Bikes: 1981 Gazelle Champion Mondial, 1988(?) De Bernardi, 1985 Fuji Opus III, 1986 Bridgestone RB-2
AJI125 , that's so nice of you! Thanks for the link too. My only worry is it will reduce the space even further. I'm going to try riding it once the buildup is finished and see how it goes.
03-16-21 | 10:27 PM
#27
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From: Portlandia's Kuiper Belt, OR
Bikes: 1987 Woodrup Competition - 2025 Trek Checkpoint SL 6 Gen 3 - 1987 Lotus Legend - 2024 Trek Emonda ALR Rim Brake - 1980 Trek 510 - 1988 Cannondale SR500 - 1985 Trek 670 - 1982 Trek 730
I am a fan of the FSA Duron X headset. Stack height is quite tall, and thankfully there are many headsets that get down to the lower 33mm-ish area. It shouldn't have had to happen, and my heart sinks reading "I wonder what these are for, but I'll figure it out." Bloody hell, the fork was doomed before the start! So yeah, the shop messed up, which freaking sucks. Thankfully there are headset remedies that will be perfect, even if you should have never had to consider them (and buy one) in the first place. Best wishes on getting it sorted with the fork and with the shop. 
03-17-21 | 04:11 AM
#28
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From: Cambridge UK
Bikes: 1903 24 spd Sunbeam, 1927 Humber, 3 1930 Raleighs, 2 1940s Sunbeams, 2 1940s Raleighs, Rudge, 1950s Robin Hood, 1958 Claud Butler, 2 1973 Colnago Supers, Eddie Merckx, 2 1980 Holdsworth, EG Bates funny TT bike, another 6 or so 1990s bikes
The AHEAD system doesn't have a lock-nut either - it's all fastened by friction. The two bolts that clamp the stem to the steerer and the center bolt that pulls the steerer up will be more than enough to keep anything working loose on a quill setup. I rode a TT bike for years without a center bolt as the clamping bolts were more than enough to hold the stripped lock-nut tight. Having said that I don't believe the OP will have a problem. If it does strip on the road all he needs to do is to re-tighten the top race by hand every 50 miles or so and head home and execute plan B.
03-17-21 | 04:50 AM
#29
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From: Cambridge UK
Bikes: 1903 24 spd Sunbeam, 1927 Humber, 3 1930 Raleighs, 2 1940s Sunbeams, 2 1940s Raleighs, Rudge, 1950s Robin Hood, 1958 Claud Butler, 2 1973 Colnago Supers, Eddie Merckx, 2 1980 Holdsworth, EG Bates funny TT bike, another 6 or so 1990s bikes
"1. Not really acceptable that they cut the steer tube too short, or scratched up the headset parts (if they did the scratching, not you...). Normally I'd think they should be told this because:
a. They should make it right
b. Their mechanic should learn how to do this procedure correctly."
My LBS owner had been collecting a NOS 1984 panto-graphed Colnago Delta groupset for 20 years. Finally got it done and purchased a beautiful 'picture' Colnago custom frame depicting an Italian alpine forest scene to put it on. As we all know LBS don't make alot money so this was a once in a lifetime purchase. He and his Dad had over 100 years experience in their shop. Despite all of this and much measuring up he cut the steerer short. Poor guy was inconsolable for weeks. As a long time customer Colnago sprung for a replacement fork at cost - still not cheap and after a long wait.
The moral of the tale - it does happen to the best of them so pack in some washers, ride it for a a few hundred miles and then grind it down to what you want.
Oh yeah I should mention the Delta rear mech and selectors are even worse with modern rear sprockets/chains than they where in 1984 and the Delta brakes are just as bad as they were BITD.
He hates it!
a. They should make it right
b. Their mechanic should learn how to do this procedure correctly."
My LBS owner had been collecting a NOS 1984 panto-graphed Colnago Delta groupset for 20 years. Finally got it done and purchased a beautiful 'picture' Colnago custom frame depicting an Italian alpine forest scene to put it on. As we all know LBS don't make alot money so this was a once in a lifetime purchase. He and his Dad had over 100 years experience in their shop. Despite all of this and much measuring up he cut the steerer short. Poor guy was inconsolable for weeks. As a long time customer Colnago sprung for a replacement fork at cost - still not cheap and after a long wait.
The moral of the tale - it does happen to the best of them so pack in some washers, ride it for a a few hundred miles and then grind it down to what you want.
Oh yeah I should mention the Delta rear mech and selectors are even worse with modern rear sprockets/chains than they where in 1984 and the Delta brakes are just as bad as they were BITD.
He hates it!
Last edited by Johno59; 03-17-21 at 06:07 AM.
03-17-21 | 12:55 PM
#30
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From: Joisey
My brain does work a bit strangely, and I'm tolerant of a little component weirdness now and then. Necessary preface to the idea I just had which would be to just use the top cups from a Passage headset, leaving the nicer sealed Duron setup on the bottom, where it matters more. Headset top stacks never get polluted, unless your bike spends a lot of time upside-down.
That could possibly buy you an add'l 5mm, which likely includes the keyed spacer. That's assuming the lower Passage stack height is relatively equally distributed top-bottom.
Replacement steel keyed spacers should be easy to find, and pretty cheap. Just google "headset keyed washer" for tons o' links. Here's the first one I found, from Ben's, for half a buck:
https://www.benscycle.com/aheadset-k...UaAu8TEALw_wcB
That could possibly buy you an add'l 5mm, which likely includes the keyed spacer. That's assuming the lower Passage stack height is relatively equally distributed top-bottom.
Replacement steel keyed spacers should be easy to find, and pretty cheap. Just google "headset keyed washer" for tons o' links. Here's the first one I found, from Ben's, for half a buck:
https://www.benscycle.com/aheadset-k...UaAu8TEALw_wcB
pcb , you're right, no washer in between, and I remember now there were two in the bag I provided them. He said, "Not sure what these are for, but I can figure it out once I get into it."
I think your assessment is spot on that they knew they goofed. When I picked it up and asked how it went, he said, "Well, we had a hard time with it. These old frames are extremely hard metal and difficult to cut." These guys were very young so maybe this is the first time they've even touched or seen an 80s frame.
Interesting idea about taking some metal off the top headset lug, but given my luck thus far and lack of knowing any good mechanics in LA (I'm sure we have them, I just don't have any good leads), I'm pretty reluctant to take it to a shop again.
Thanks for the tip on the Tange Passage. I will probably try riding it once the bike is built up and see how it goes, and it it keeps coming loose, maybe swap for the lower-stack headset. If I did that and found it needed a spacer just to raise it a hair, where do you find keyed spacers? The only one I found was at Rene Herse:
https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop...adset-spacers/
I think your assessment is spot on that they knew they goofed. When I picked it up and asked how it went, he said, "Well, we had a hard time with it. These old frames are extremely hard metal and difficult to cut." These guys were very young so maybe this is the first time they've even touched or seen an 80s frame.
Interesting idea about taking some metal off the top headset lug, but given my luck thus far and lack of knowing any good mechanics in LA (I'm sure we have them, I just don't have any good leads), I'm pretty reluctant to take it to a shop again.
Thanks for the tip on the Tange Passage. I will probably try riding it once the bike is built up and see how it goes, and it it keeps coming loose, maybe swap for the lower-stack headset. If I did that and found it needed a spacer just to raise it a hair, where do you find keyed spacers? The only one I found was at Rene Herse:
https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop...adset-spacers/
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