Spacers

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MajorMantra
Posts: 286
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:38 pm

by MajorMantra

Even fully integrated headsets can vary in height since the top cap is a separate part.

There's no consistency about manufacturer recommendations regarding steerer stacks but I think it's best not to overthink it - manufacturers tend to be very conservative to cover themselves. For example, they recommend not using many spacers on top of the stem since this moves the expander plug up and out of the clamping area, making it easier for the ham-fisted to crush the steerer. If you're obeying typical clamp values of 5nM anyway though that is highly unlikely to happen.

One recommendation that still puzzles me is Scott saying you should always have a 5mm spacer under the stem, which appears to serve no purpose. My old Addict has been fine for years without one though.

If you want real peace of mind the Cervelo approach using a glued-in sleeve protects the steerer effectively. It does reduce the scope for changing stack heights down the line though.

seve88
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:06 pm

by seve88

I presume you are trying to avoid having the ugly looking spacers above the stem for now? If so this can be avoided by using a stem with a different angle. For example, if your current stem is a +-6 and slammed onto the headset then you could keep the extra steerer length for now and use a stem with a +-10 or +-17 angle. A few spacers would sit below these stems (don't stack more than recommended), you wouldn't have excess spacers above these stems and the drop to the bars would be the same.

To see the difference angles make buy a school protractor and ruler. Draw one line horizontal at the bottom the page. Next, towards the left fraw a line at 73 degrees (about the average head tube abgle). This is your headtube. From a fixed point on the head tube draw lines at -6, -10, -12 and -17 however long your actual stem is. This will give you a 1:1 scale of the differences in drop each stem makes.

The cost of the stem (get one from Ebay cheap) will be nothing compared to the cost of cutting too short.

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jimboweenie
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 1:24 pm
Location: North London

by jimboweenie

This is good for comparing: http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php

seve88
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:06 pm

by seve88

jimboweenie wrote:This is good for comparing: http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


That's really handy. Just shows that if you run an 11cm stem the difference between a -6 and -17 stem in the height of the bars is 21mm, with just a 2mm difference in reach.

Choose your stem angle carefully.

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