I am building Fairlight Strael 3.0. The previous owner has cut the steerer tube very low. The steerer is 5mm below the top of a standard height stem (40mm) and just above the bolt.
What should I do? A few options so far:
1. Low stack height stem (35mm), but these are rare and expensive (I don't want -7 deg aero stem)
2. 10mm steerer extender
3. New fork – expensive new, hard to find matching fork used
4. Replace headset with a low stack one (current Hope headset is rather thick)
5. Do nothing
by norwegiancatwhisker
14 Comments
5, as long as the the steerer is above the body of the top bolt.
5. The top of the top is júst below the thread of the top screw, I wouldn’t worry about it.
Nah that’s fine. Just put her back together and ride it
sometimes the stem cap ( topcover )needs also 2 mm inside diameter clearance . I wouldn’t mind the 5mm just take care about tightening the upper bolt but normaly the cap will take a bit of tightening pressure too … use some hairspraygel or specified carbon mounting paste on fork and inner of stem to add some extra hold with low torque value ( mostly 4 to 5 Nm ) good luck !
You’re good, I would assemble and ride it
You’re good, I would assemble and ride it
Also expanding plug will add those 5mm
Yes, it’s close, but I would ride it.
5.
Or use expander plug that sits on top of the steering tube adding like 2mm and supporting the top of the steerer from the inside.
These carbon forks are pretty strong. On my youtube channel I tried to crush the piece of unsupported fairlight steering tube (from secan 2.5) with an old stem. Long story short – I went up to 11 Nm and stripped the stem bolts. You can check here: “Скільки Nm витримає карбоновий шток?”
https://youtu.be/fTTUfHQ9Pnk
It’s in Ukrainian but I think this type of video doesn’t require any translation.
Especially if you would like to raise the stem a small amount for better fit, I would seriously consider using one of these: [https://www.velobike.co.nz/products/steerer-tube-extender](https://www.velobike.co.nz/products/steerer-tube-extender)
It’s essentially just a very study expander plug that also provides a short extension for the steerer. The bottom of the stem still clamps on the original steerer.
I’d go for it. Looks perfectly safe
I am actually in this same situation right now but decided to go for a low pro stem partly because of aesthetics.
I want at least one spacer involved
it’s fine
Looks good to me but are you missing a top headset cup/cover?
If everything is assembled correctly and you’re happy with your handlebar height/stack, then you’re good to keep it as is. No concern.