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    Is this too much play in the stem?

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    12 Comments

    2. SCOTTGIANT on

      Yes, this is too much play. You’re likely either missing a bushing or need another spacer.

    3. riprainbow on

      That’s too much play, did you happen to forget to loosen the stem bolts before you tightened the top cap?

    4. bohring1150 on

      Yes, any amount of play is too much. Loosen the pinch bolts, tighten the top cap until there’s no play (if there’s a grinding/crunching feeling, you’ve overtightened), and retighten the pinch bolts.

      If the above doesn’t work, it’s possible there are too many spacers on your steer tube, which would keep the top pinch bolt from making effective contact.

    5. mmlow on

      As I mentioned on your other post, the extender can’t bottom out on the top of the fork or you won’t get proper preload. You need a little bit more spacer below the extender, but not the full 10mm you had before.

    7. Lexicon101 on

      Top cap can’t bottom out on steerer. Loosen pinch bolts on stem, try and tighten top cap. If it’s bottomed out, you’ll need to add a spacer above the stem, reinstall top cap, and tighten it down until things don’t shift. If it isn’t, then.. Yknow.. Just do the tightening part and tighten the pinch bolts.

    8. Historical-Tea9539 on

      You need abit of gap (1/8”) between the steerer and stem to compress the bearings. To check, compress the bearing by tightening the top cap, then tighten the pinch bolt. Remove the top cap and check if there’s space between the steerer and the stem. If there’s none, you’re likely bottoming out on the stem.

      It also looks like you have about 60mm of spacer. That’s too much. Use a stem with higher angle instead (12,17 or 24 degrees). Typical recommendation is 40mm. Good luck and happy riding.

    10. Wolfy35 on

      Any play is too much. Loosen the stem clamping bolts and tighten the preloaded screw down the centre of the stem until there is no play while still allowing unrestricted turning then tighten the stem bolts back up.

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