How many headset spacers are too many?? Or too few?

[rualexander]

I am surprised that you feel too much seatpost is showing. If you have a biggest size then I should have thought the opposite!
Anyhow it is steerer spacers in question.....
John

Well if I didn't have a steep high rise stem I would have a lot more steerer spacers.
You can see my Mk3 here http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=9693.msg67961#msg67961

[Audax hopeful]

Thought I'd attach a couple of photos to show the starting point of my present tinkering!

[Audax hopeful]

And the second one:

[leftpoole]

And the second one:

Hello,
I am not a lover of those accessory bars but, at least the steerer is a decent length!
Regards,n
John

[leftpoole]

Well if I didn't have a steep high rise stem I would have a lot more steerer spacers.
You can see my Mk3 here http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=9693.msg67961#msg67961

Hello,
I can see that you need the bike set up this way, but if I were you I am afraid I would change to a bike that fitted 'correctly'!
Sorry but no offense intended. It just appalls me that riders (buyers) need such drastic measures to get a reasonable comfortable fit. After all your height whilst tall, is not unusual. The bikes 'designer' Andy Blance however is not tall??!!
I'm happy that I'm shorter!
Best regards,
John

[honesty]

Long seat posts gives smoother rides. I have no problem with large amounts of seat post showing, its the semi compact geometry of most bike that cause this nowadays and that's a straight design decision to build in some vibration cancelling effects granted by a long seat post.

As for stacks of spacers, its more to do with a limited number of frame sizes over anything else. I have no real problem with seeing them.

[leftpoole]

Long seat posts gives smoother rides. I have no problem with large amounts of seat post showing, its the semi compact geometry of most bike that cause this nowadays and that's a straight design decision to build in some vibration cancelling effects granted by a long seat post.

As for stacks of spacers, its more to do with a limited number of frame sizes over anything else. I have no real problem with seeing them.

Hewllo,
Seatpost length no worry at all, but I have seen, indeed on this Forum, bikes with steerers uncut and bars so high it seems ridiculous.
It also looks silly?
Regards,
John

[honesty]

Yeh it does look a bit odd definitely! I've cut mine down to a 50mm spacer + stem and I'm happy with the way that looks.

[rualexander]

Hello,
I can see that you need the bike set up this way, but if I were you I am afraid I would change to a bike that fitted 'correctly'!
Sorry but no offense intended. It just appalls me that riders (buyers) need such drastic measures to get a reasonable comfortable fit. After all your height whilst tall, is not unusual. The bikes 'designer' Andy Blance however is not tall??!!
I'm happy that I'm shorter!
Best regards,
John

Changing to a bike "that fitted correctly" is easier said than done though.
There were no other brands that had any better overall dimensions, I could have got a frame with a slightly longer seat tube and a taller head tube but that would also have given me a longer top tube and for me, the Mk3 already has a slightly longer top tube than I would prefer.
So other than getting a frame custom built, I had to settle for a compromise.
One day I may indeed go for custom built, but its hard to justify the expense.

[Far-Oeuf]

Thought I'd attach a couple of photos to show the starting point of my present tinkering!

Not sure if it's obvious, or not, but for those worried about wrecking future bar configuration options (ie, raising it up again), you can always just buy a new set of un-cut forks.   If you're unhappily riding around with a huge stack of spacers and a 'just incase' thought, you don't need to.  Yes, they are not particularly cheap, but they do give you some security that you're not about to permanently wreck your bike.   The 'worst case scenario' isn't that bad.

Good luck.

cheers,
Doug

[jags]

I wonder did someone start a trend accidently  by leaving the tube uncut thinking ah yes i can attach so many  gadgets to this if i leave 12inches sticking out.

ok i can see that the folks that adventure tour would find this great but for the like of myself that  would only do a few days here and there ,sure a fella might as well get a bike that fits.
mind you having said that my own audax is to big for me ,not by much tho i reckon a 50cm frame would suit me better.
yeah unless you go the custom route your kinda stuck with what comes off the shelf not always a good choice,but personally what i have will do me fine i dont ride every day and i will never do any big tours  so i reckon i can mould my little body into doing 100 plus  miles a week no problem if i need to.

jags.

[leftpoole]

Not sure if it's obvious, or not, but for those worried about wrecking future bar configuration options (ie, raising it up again), you can always just buy a new set of un-cut forks.   If you're unhappily riding around with a huge stack of spacers and a 'just incase' thought, you don't need to.  Yes, they are not particularly cheap, but they do give you some security that you're not about to permanently wreck your bike.   The 'worst case scenario' isn't that bad.

Good luck.

cheers,
Doug

It is possible to buy an 'invisible' extension for fork steerers if cut too short.
John

[Mart]

Sorry to semi-hijack this thread but my steerer is too high on my new Raven (my fault, I specified an overly relaxed fit). Is it a reasonably straight forward job with a hacksaw to shorten it?

Many thanks

Mart

[rualexander]

Sorry to semi-hijack this thread but my steerer is too high on my new Raven (my fault, I specified an overly relaxed fit). Is it a reasonably straight forward job with a hacksaw to shorten it?

Many thanks

Mart

Yes, just be certain about where you want to cut it.
Some folk recommend using a cutting guide to get a perfectly straight cut but its not essential.

[JimK]

Threadless headsets still seem new to me and a little crazy!

The goal when cutting the steerer is to cut it maybe 3 mm or so shorter than the top of the top spacer or the top of the stem, whatever is the top of the stack, right? That way the top cap bears down on the stack which will put a bit of compression on the bearings. I have seen some really skinny spacers - I expect that it wouldn't really work to have one of those at the top of the stack. Probably most folks have the stem at the top. I had my steerer cut a tad long, to allow for future rearrangement possibilities. So I have one 1 cm spacer above the stem.