Forks, Stems and Headsets

General Help
1

Trying to get my head around this!

Just purchased a new frame of the bay. Im trying to source some forks off the net but im having some trouble with sizings…

I have had a look at Sheldon Brown and still cant seem to get my head around it…

I want to use a quil stem, so I know I need a treaded headset/forks. Im pretty sure I need a 1" Threaded headset which is no dramas. My main issue is the forks/stem.

How do I determine steerer length? If I have a 1inch headset do I require a 1 inch fork?

The next issue is, does the stem need to be a certain length? Or is it a case of the longer the stem and higher the handle bars??

Any advice will be greatly appreciated… lamens terms will also help!!

Thanks in advance!

Ash

2

Steerer length is the length of the straight section of tube on the top of the fork. If you buy a new fork, they will be oversized so you don’t need to worry about the length as you’ll cut it yourself. However if you buy a secondhand fork you’ll need to determine whether the steerer is long enough for the frame you are putting it in.

steerer length=headtube length+ headset upper stack height+ lower stack height-2 mm

If you have a 1 inch fork, you’ll need a 1 inch headset

Stem length is determined by your seating postion/frame size/personal preference

Remember you can use an ahead adapter and run a modern ahead stem rather than quill.

And of course if you are buying a new fork, you could always just get a threadless fork which makes life easier.

3

Too easy, thanks mate!

4

you do need to make sure you’re frame has a 1" head tube. If its 1 1/8th then your headset and anything else 1" wont work. Will also mean you cant run a quill stem.