Top Cap

[Russell]

Please excuse my ignorance.

I want to lower my stem and need to rearrange the spacers on my steering tube. What do I need to do to take off the top cap? There is no screw/bolt on the cap, just an opening that goes into the tube. Is the bolt down in the compression plug?

[dave thompson]

Please excuse my ignorance.

I want to lower my stem and need to rearrange the spacers on my steering tube. What do I need to do to take off the top cap? There is no screw/bolt on the cap, just an opening that goes into the tube. Is the bolt down in the compression plug?
If the 'opening' in the top cap is hex-shaped, insert the correct sized allen wrench in it (usually a 5MM) and remove the top cap. The you can remove the stem and spacers. When you lower your stem you will have to put enough of the spacers back on top of the stem so there will be about 1~2MM of spacer above the steer tube, so that the top cap can put pressure on when adjusting the headset.

[Ken Robb]

this is only half an answer but: you may have one of the problem-solver devices instead of a star washer. These have concentric allen bolts in two sizes. One loosens the adjustment as usual but the other provides expansion pressure to hold the nut inplace inside your steerer tube.

I won't tell you how dumb I felt before this was explained to me as I was unsuccessfully trying to tighten my headset after swapping around some spacers on a ride. I stuck an allen wrench in the hole and loosened the adjustment just fine but I couldn't put any tension on the stack afterward as I had loosened the clampernot the tension bolt.

If you can't picture how these work from my lame story I won't be surprised but I can't draw pictures either. :rolleyes:

[Russell]

If the 'opening' in the top cap is hex-shaped, insert the correct sized allen wrench in it (usually a 5MM) and remove the top cap. The you can remove the stem and spacers. When you lower your stem you will have to put enough of the spacers back on top of the stem so there will be about 1~2MM of spacer above the steer tube, so that the top cap can put pressure on when adjusting the headset.

Thanks. I went back and noticed it was hex-shaped. I thought I had to go into the steer tube, but did as you said and just removed the top cap.