Am experimenting with raising my bars – at the highest stem position, the steerer top is only about 1mm above the stem. It happily accepts a 5mm spacer and cap, and cinches down OK, based on a round-the-garden test, all feels OK. This is with 35mm of spacers below the stem, the stem is a 35mm, fairly low stack height.

Is that OK or should I really really drop the stem 5mm (I’ll have to use a 10mm spacer above then, a 5mm won’t clear it).

5mm spacer on top of the stem is fine.

it’ll be fine.

if you really wanted to you could take the stem cap and spacer off after you’ve tensioned it and tightened the stem bolts.

Sounds fine.

be fine if its not carbon, mine is subflush to the stem so I can just have a stem cap

No problem with your current set up (other that the obvious craziness of 35mm of spacers below 🙂 ) Its fine mechanically speaking. If it works out I’d be tempted to knock a few mm off the steerer so it doesn’t need a spacer but only for tidiness.

its fine. Unless its carbon it’ll also be fine if the stem is the last thing on the steer and the top being 2mm or so above the stem.

edit: i type slow

It’s fine. So long as there is anything at all for the top spacer to engage on, you’ve nothing to worry about IMHO.

thx all

As mentioned above, once the stem is tightened the top cap isn’t doing anything. I used to remove mine on my BMX as the one the forks came with was HUGE.

used to get some funny looks from confused people who didn’t realise the physics.

There was a German guy I saw and chatted to at the mega, he had about 25mm of steers out the top of his stem with no spacers.
He told me it had been like that for 6 months. I asked him how he tightened up the headset, he said with spacers then he tightened up the stem and removed the spacers.

He was still alive so I guess it doesn’t matter but rather him than me.

He was still alive so I guess it doesn’t matter but rather him than me.

you’d rely on the top cap to hold your forks on?

more like (I suspect) amazement he rode with 25mm of steerer sticking out without impalement or emasculation

more like (I suspect) amazement he rode with 25mm of steerer sticking out without impalement or emasculation

he had a top cap but as I as rather him than me. I didn’t ask him why don’t you just cut it.

I’ve got about an inch sticking out the top of my Pikes- it’s got spacers and a topcap on but I don’t really want to cut it shorter as I’m not sure they’re keepers. Not convinced it’s really much of a danger tbh.

As someone said above, the top cap is only there to pre-tension the headset, and also to cover the steerer tube hole, so don’t worry about it.

As someone who’s gone ‘out of the front door’ while testing a new pair of forks with a fully uncut steerer – I can safely recommend no more than 5mm spacer on top! I’m convinced one’s still smaller than the other 3 years later.. 😥

Your setup will be fine.

This is with 35mm of spacers below the stem, the stem is a 35mm, fairly low stack height.

35mm below the stem? <Raises eyebrows>

35mm below the stem? <Raises eyebrows>

am long of leg, short of body (for a mid-sized bloke)