Can I remove the spacer on a 1" threaded headset to get at more thread on the steerer?

S

Sam

New member
Just picked up a used 2000 Schwinn Super Sport GL yesterday, and I'm noticing some headset looseness. No big deal, right? Well, I loosened up the locknut to take a look (obviously it was already pretty loose), and there was very little thread left on the fork where the locknut threads down.

There is a spacer between the locknut and the threaded race, maybe 1/16" thick. My question is, is it a terrible no no to remove that spacer to give the locknut some more thread to hold onto? Obviously it will be a little harder to dial in the headset with the race and locknut in direct contact, but with two wrenches it shouldn't be much of a problem. Any thoughts?
 
ding-ding-ding,,,,,,Bob said it right! Don't go removing spacers until you've got the headset bearing properly adjusted. The fork didn't shrink, and the headset didn't lengthen. So if it worked correctly this way at some earlier point in time, it's only reasonable that it should still work.

FWIW, you are right, you CAN properly tighten the locknut when the headset design allows you to use two wrenches on it. And if something still wasn't just right, you can purchase 0.5mm and 1mm spacers to dial it in. Just make sure you can get enough of the fork threads secured on the locknut (3 min).
 
Have you tightened the threaded race down to where the headset is not loose. That should give you more threads for the lock nut.
 
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