When a threaded steerer is too long...
 

I've just built 2 bikes where I barely had enough steerer to put a new headset on. Now I have the opposite problem. I am using Paul Mini-Moto V brakes on this bike and do not need the cantilever brake cable stop, which is quite thick. Without it I can not snug the locknut down. The fork is a real nice old Ritchey that's even signed by its maker (!) so I'm a bit loathe to cut it. What does one do?


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There are plenty of various sized 1" spacers out there or you could cut your own if you had the means.

What's the most elegant solution I suppose is my question? One big spacer?

Yes, just get a spacer. No one will notice the spacer, it is common for many setups to have one.

IMO the right thing to do is cut down the steerer, but that requires a modicum of skill and proper tools. But you only need to cover a few threads. If you were in the greater Portland area I'd tell you to swing by, I have a lot of spacers I'd give you. Search for headset spacer 1", you'll find many online sources, or just go down to your LBS.

Which brings up another point, it's a good idea to post your location, you could make some new friends with tools and knowledge to help you out.

Good enough for Indurain…

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Thanks for the opinions guys. I'm in CT. I have a lathe and a mill and a buncha tools and can cut the steerer if it seems the right way. I'll ride with spacers for a bit.

Just remember, it's much easier to cut the steerer than add metal back on. I'd use a spacer, myself.

Spacers cost only pennies on eBay and come in a multitude of thicknesses and colors

If you want to hide the spacer, tap it for a bell:

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Headset Spacers
 

Several 2mm aluminum spacers will cure your problem. See examples below.

Cut down the steerer??? HUH! Me thinks thou hast been breathing the rim cement fumes too much! :innocent:

VERY SIMPLE SOLUTION... Headset spacers, been used for years. Common issue BITD when folks switched from center pulls to side pulls. Back then nice polished chrome plated spacers were hard to get so people used black or silver stamped steel spacers.

As gugie mentioned nice aluminum spacers are readily available in black or silver in 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm and so on.

7 threads of engagement provide the maximum strength in most threaded applications. I like to use a minimum of 5 threads or 5 rotations on headsets.

1" keyed spacers for classic British or Italian headsets. BTW, I stopped using these because they tear up the threads when they rotate out of the keyway slot in the steerer while tightening. Use a pair of spacers without the keyway tang (file it out or just use the aluminum spacers).

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25mm spacers with a flat for French & metric headsets. Those steerers have a flat cut or ground on the top threads.

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1983 Trek from the factory with multiple spacers.

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3 each 2mm spacers.

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Frames made after threadless headsets became popular tend to have longer than necessary steerers. Striped black & silver spacers on a long steerer. I don't cut them off unless absolutely necessary because down the road, may not be able to get a proper fitting threaded headset.

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Headset Stack Height measurements.
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Easy way to measure the steerer to determine Stack Height capacity. This steerer has about 40mm of capacity.

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verktyg

I'd also vote for a spacer. As you have seen first hand, changing a headset and discovering you don't have enough stack is very frustrating. Doing so and discovering you need a spacer is much less so. In this case, cutting the steerer would prevent you from switching back to brakes that need a hanger.

I've got a few bikes with a pretty big spacer in the headset. Just low end bikes like LeMond, Stella, and Colnago though. :eek:

Here's the Colnago. Curiously, this one doesn't even have the usual keyed washer. Plenty of room for one, obviously. I don't think the steerer even has a slot for it. I guess Colnago just decided people should know how to adjust the headset without relying on such a crutch.

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Lucky for me, [MENTION=381793]gugie[/MENTION] didn't notice the spacer on the Stella when it was in the Atelier for other modifications.

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In general, I think it's a good idea to have at least a few mm of spacers so that you can potentially switch to a different headset at some point in the future if you need to. That way, you're not locked into looking for the same stack height or shorter when you're shopping for that next headset.

So a spacer is my vote. It's slightly more elegant to have a single spacer that's the right height, but no one should get on your case if you have two or three spacers in there.

Hey, I'm retired from my old day job now, and the queue at the Atelier is getting shorter as a result. Cut down steerers may be too short in the future, at which point I can charge for a new steerer.

The new Gugificazione business model:
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I'm thinking of changing my name to Sylvester McMonkey McBean

good busines model F + 1 fixit and then fix the fix :D:giver:

McBean was a piker. It's not a truly modern business model unless you can get the customers to pay you every month for the rest of their lives for the privilege of using the intellectual property associated with the cut down steerer.

Just went through the same issue. Had to order some spacers. I have a few extras. PM me with your thickness , I can send you one if one of them fits. I think they range from 3-7mm. On the road at the moment. Will confirm when I get home Monday.

Not a close call in my mind: get the spacer(s). I would not cut anything off that steerer - there is nowhere near enough margin for error in my book. Another advantage of the spacer: it lets you get the stem a little higher than if you cut it. There will come a time when that matters, even of it only a difference of a few millimeters. Don't ask me how I know.

Hmm, I already have a publicist, sounds like I need a business manager.

Raising the stem higher by using headset spacers isn't a good idea. It's a false sense of security thinking that as long as the little max height line on the stem isn't exposed above the headset, you're good. I've seen people use fairly tall spacers to "enable" bringing the stem up higher, when in fact it may just bring the expander plug up into the threaded area. And I'll tell you how I know people do this - I've replaced several steerers with this exact issue where the threaded area was either bunged up or broken off completely. I even documented it on this site for a Paramount steerer repair for [MENTION=401497]RiddleOfSteel[/MENTION] who found the frame and fork up at the co-op he volunteers at.

Now a production bike probably doesn't have this issue, but there were plenty of replacement forks sold BITD with very long threaded areas on the steerer. This allowed a bike shop to stock just one replacement fork - a safety issue in my mind.

Now, with the OP's few mm of headset threads to cover, it's highly unlikely that this would be an issue, and I agree that spacers would almost assuredly be fine. I just don't want everyone having the takeaway that you can just put a spacer in without thinking of where the expander bolt will hit - and it better be completely below the threaded area.

As I'm learning, it can be quite tall without being a visual problem. When I built the frame, Doug Fattic said, "I want you to still be able to ride the bike in ten years" (or words to that effect). Accordingly, it has a small extension (~10mm) on the head tube lug, and the steerer tube is a bit long, necessitating some spacers (a plain spacer and a Paul Funky Monkey). After I go to my eternal reward, the next custodian of the bike can cut things down if they want.

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Okay, everybody, who are you going to believe, an engineer with actual experience with this stuff (gugie) or a lawyer with no such experience but who has a lot of opinions and the ability to tie you up in litigation until your grandchildren are of retirement age (me)?

Yes, this is a trick question. If your answer is anything other than a resounding "gugie." I have a bridge in Brooklyn up for sale on reasonable terms.:D

another Masi visual riff, kind of like Maasi…
one can tell the guidance of a master builder, terrific fender lines.

I was thinking of Steven Maasland's Maasi. How'd ya know?

I was surprised at how easily the fenders went on the bike. (With plastic fantastic adjustable fenders I've always just stopped fiddling when the fenders stopped rubbing the tires. ;)) I'm sure a lot of the credit for that goes to Doug for proper placement of the three mounting points.

Another vote to keep the steerer length and use spacers. Someday you (or someone) may want to use a different headset, or switch back to cantilevers.