threadless fork steerer length

William Evans said:

When looking for a threadless fork how much extra steerer length Do I need
besides the head tube length to account for headset height & stem clamp? Is
this entirely dependent on the headset & stem I choose?

Yes, it depends of the headset stack height and somewhat on the length
of the stem clamp, but also how many spacers you need/want to achive
the height desired.

-Nate

On Wed, 12 Oct 2005 21:12:36 -0500, "William Evans" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

When looking for a threadless fork how much extra steerer length Do I need
besides the head tube length to account for headset height & stem clamp? Is
this entirely dependent on the headset & stem I choose?

Head tube length plus headset stack height (*really* variable this) plus
stem clamp height (not so very different most of the time, 4-5 cm usually)
plus the amount of spacers needed to get you at the right height.

Jasper

William Evans said:

When looking for a threadless fork how much extra steerer length Do I need
besides the head tube length to account for headset height & stem clamp? Is
this entirely dependent on the headset & stem I choose?

My rule of thumb: add 150mm to the head tube length, and that's the
safe minimum length for a steerer tube when setting up a new bike.
This will usually be enough to allow for both the stack height and a
reasonable amount of fiddling with spacers to get the bar height to
the rider's preferred point. The tube can alsways be shortened later
if the extra length is truly not needed, but if the tube's too short,
it can be a pain in the neck to cope with.

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Werehatrack said:

William Evans said:

When looking for a threadless fork how much extra steerer length Do I need
besides the head tube length to account for headset height & stem clamp? Is
this entirely dependent on the headset & stem I choose?

My rule of thumb: add 150mm to the head tube length, and that's the
safe minimum length for a steerer tube when setting up a new bike.
This will usually be enough to allow for both the stack height and a
reasonable amount of fiddling with spacers to get the bar height to
the rider's preferred point.

That sounds like quite a bit to me, depending on the fork, of course.

Most threadless headsets have stack heights in the range of the low
30's, and most stems are in the 40's. So that would leave 70-80mm for
spacers, which is considerably more than most forks are rated for
(many carbon fiber steer tubes can only have 20-30mm of spacers
installed without exceeding the manufacturer's spec).

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame