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Jut been giving the headset of my 29er a spring clean - noticed that I only seem to have about 2/3 of the star nut in the fork steerer!! I have no idea how this has happened. Whether it's perished or was just installed like that back in the day, and it's taken until now to notice.
How unsafe would this be to ride? and, assuming the answer to that is "very", how easy is it to remove and install a new one?
thanks
There's no real force applied to the starnut once your stem is tightened up. It's job is mainly to help you get your headset snug.
If in doubt, you can try and drill it out, or just take a hammer to it and knock it a couple of inches further into you steerer (then fit a new one).
Saw same in mates bike few weeks ago, not a spec is it?
Or if you just want to fit it further down just refit the stem cap and bolt but don't tighten the bolt fully and tap it down with a mallet.
This does depend on the length of the bolt of course.
I'd recommend a mallet rather than a hammer as it'll do less damage to the bolt & cap.
Perished?
Yeah- rusted. Or something.
Either way. There's a bit missing