I solved the problem by cutting the stem shorter myself.

The shimming part is still visible from the top of the headset. Try loosening the allen bolt at the top of the stem a bit more and when inserting make sure the wedge is slanted inward toward the direction of the handlebars.

The steerer tube is probably butted for strength toward the crown. If you want to use your existing stem, you'll need to chop off some of the shaft.

If loosening and realigning the wedge doesn't work, I would try sanding down the stem up to the minimum insert line a bit. Did you buy the new for new or used? It could potentially have a smaller inner steerer diameter than your stem is designed for, despite your crown race fitting correctly, and a previous owner may not have known this was the case (a lot of old bikes were sold new with standard stems ground/milled/sanded down to fit French forks)

no TIG welded bikes have a 22.0mm inner steerer diameter

e: replying to MNTC, he's talking about something that doesn't apply here

What's that mean? I'm doing something wrong here?

@Leuky I think that's the reflection of the headset methinks

You're right!

Now that's the cause, I would like to shift my mullah to realfaux's guess.

OK, but if the I.D. of the two forks is the same, why is there a problem? Seems to me like that is the only variable that has changed since the successful installation. Maybe a distortion of the steerer is preventing the stem from fitting?

Have you measured the ID of both forks or are you just assuming they are the same?

I assumed that they were the same.

new picture

Measure the ID, like you've been told numerous times.

not sure if its something as obvious as this, but if the fork in the back of your picture is the new one, its pretty clearly much longer than the other...

Too easy.

And then there's this:

I chopped it yesterday. They are the same size now on the steerer.

If you do that, you'll also need to trim and perhaps extend the threads on the bolt as well.

I don't get it (and i may be missing something obvious). If he cannot get the stem to go into the steerer, why would he need to tap/die the threads on the drawbolt for the wedge on the quill stem further? That would be a "not tight enough" problem, not a "i can't even get the thing to go into the steerer to the depth i want" problem.

I feel like I'm missing something here, and i third (fif'?) the recommendations to measure the steerer ID.

He's saying that if the OP shortens the stem as suggested, then he will need to shorten the bolt as well.

Which isn't even the problem at hand.

This thread is amazing. I missed so much being away.

Or at least extend the threads:



If the stem is shortened by 2", the wedge will run out of threads before it even reaches the new bottom of the stem.

Understandably so but he's saying the quill doesn't fit inside his new fork. That has nothing to do with how long the stem or the bolt is.

The way I read the original description, I understood that the stem and quill go in, but not as far as it did with the old fork. In that case, shortening the stem may be one way to address the problem

Edit. I don't think it would be the right way

Waaaaaaaaat