Steerer too long?

bowdy1987

Hi all,

Just changed my stem to a shorter stem on my bike.. Put it all back together and the steerer now rattles and has play..

When I took the old stem off the steerer dropped out and the bearings fell on the floor, I'm presuming I have put everything back as it should go but the new stem is narrower than the old one so is the rattling down to the steerer being too long now and it just needs a shim or is it possible I've inserted the bearings upside down.

I'm a bit cack handed when it comes to things like this, I supposed I could have tried the old stem to see if that is the case but it is now pouring down and I'm covered in grease

Monty Dog

As far as the bearings go, the inner chamfer faces down on the bottom and up on the top - you may have refitted a bearing upside down? Maybe the new stem had lower height and therefore the inability to take-up the play in the headset bearings?

Suggest you consult Parktool.com on headset assembly and adjustment advise.

bowdy1987

Yes I did that with the chamfers, so if it's because of the stem height is it just a matter of shortening the steerer or putting a shim on there? Thanks for the reply

Matthewfalle

Sorry - just trying to follow the post.

If the stem has the same internal diameter (ie for example 1 1/8) over the steerer it'll fit nice and snug. This shouldn't cause any rattling. Naturally if its too small it won't fit over the steerer, too big and it'll be obvious because even when its done up tight it'll just spin round.

Once you have done the stem and compression bolt (top one) up properly (ie compression bolt then stem bolts) there should be no play - leave the stem bolts loose, tighten up the compression bolt until its finger tight. Then do it up half a turn a go until there is no play but the bars still swing full lock left to right with a slight fingers touch. Then do up stem bolts to manufacturers stated torques.

Double check the heights of the stem and if necessary trim/add spacer - I can't see this being more than a mil or so though.

Re bearings - this again should be fairly obvious, however I'd follow Monty's sound advice re placement and referral websites

Hope that helps - any problems post again and we'll see what we can come up with. Maybe piccies to assist?

lapavoni10

after you have clamped the stem, remove the top cap and have a look. The steerer should be below the top of the stem, and bear in mind the steerer also needs to be below the top cap if its recessed.
Unclamp the stem and see if it can be pushed down further on the steerer.
You may just need a small spacer either above or below the stem.

nicklouse

bowdy1987 wrote:

Yes I did that with the chamfers, so if it's because of the stem height is it just a matter of shortening the steerer or putting a shim on there? Thanks for the reply

Correct.

bowdy1987

Thanks for the replies.. I will cut the steerer later today