Have I 'forked' this up? Fork fitting query.

[Ashaman42]

Whilst working on my bike today I decided to pop the forks out quickly as have had a creaking from the front end and wanted to check the steerer tube didn't have any cracks developing. As it is it has a couple scratches but no cracks so I think it's ok.

However I'm not sure if I've managed to get the forks back in far enough (took a fair few whacks with a block of wood to get the forks to drop out) and I can't remember how much gap there was between the top of the steerer and the top of the top spacer when I took it apart.

At the moment it looks like this:

The gap between the fork crown and the bottom of the head tube is 1.9mm and the top of the steerer tube is 2.8mm below the top or the spacer. Are these distances too much?

I could try cranking down of the top cap (with the stem bolts loosened off) to pull the fork up but don't want to over do it.

Cheers in advance for any help.

 

[Globalti]

From picture 1 it looks as if you haven't got the bottom bearing seat pushed up into the bearing. It might be quite a snug fit; just wiggle it until it goes in. This will reduce that gap at the top by a couple of mm, although the gap isn't really a problem the way it is.

Actually re-reading your post I note that it was a tight enough fit that you needed to use some force, so try tightening that cap and watching to see if it has any effect.

 

[bikepete]

If any bearings or spacers came off when you removed the forks, double check that they have gone back the right way up. Often such parts are almost but not quite symmetrical top to bottom.

Otherwise do as Globalti suggests.