Carbon steerer too small for crown race . . .

[Imlach]

If they can’t size the race area properly….. what else is wrong?

This.

There's too many things off. I buy a lot of Chinese stuff and I love Alibaba/aliexpress. But I also get a lot of duds. Usually we can be happy knowing that what we are buying less for is inferior finish, usually not as long lasting, usually slightly rougher finish but structurally it's usually sound. This is a bit too fishy. But I know that many have had long lasting Toseek parts, but this is a testament to how varied results can be.

 

[novocaine]

The steerer and the fork are made by two separate work areas with staged qc on both. They are bonded in a third area where the only qc is go no go on the join. There should then be a final qc check of the entire fork where various measurements are taken. A single failure like this does not indicate a failure anywhere else. It is out of tolerance though so should have failed final qc and not been passed through.

 

[moonlite]

OK so shelved the crown race issue for now but, ever optimistic, went about cutting the steerer to the right length. After all, if I can fit the fork up, maybe the right answer for the crown race will become clearer.

Cutting went fine, but the next challenge to arise was that the walls of the steerer are pretty thick -- making the aperture too small for the planned Hope Head Doctor to fit. A normal alu steerer would have an internal diameter of 25.4mm (1 inch). This is 23.0mm -- quite a difference.

Am now ruminating about how to deal with that little hurdle.

 

[moonlite]

. . . And having posted all that, it turns out that you can get a plug to solve this problem from, er . . . Problemsolvers.

Problem Solvers Carbon Fork Compression Plug (1-1/8")

The Problem Solvers Carbon Fork Compression Plug for 1 1/8" forks and is used in place of a star nut on carbon fiber steerer tubes so as to not damage... HD9911

www.performancebike.com

 

[synchronicity]

I see your steerer tube is at least symmetrical.

Well, my fork arrived today. And I'm not particularly impressed, so it's going back to China!



And just in case you think the above is all due to foreshortening, here it is almost straight on.



Don't get me wrong, the surface finish on the lower legs is alright, I suppose.
(albeit with fabric seams in all the most visible spots instead of on the inside of the fork legs)

But after mulling it over this evening, no, I won't be able to live with this.
I'll know it's there. My OCD won't let me forget it.

 

[Imlach]

I think someone made a point about stuff having mostly positive reviews. I find that quite often stuff that I'd no be happy with is sort of brushed over by buyers. I think there's a few sides to it. Like, some don't have a clue and just see the product in one piece and go: right on!

Then there's some people, who like me and many others, buy the Chinese tat but accept there's always a compromise to be made. Usually they skimp out when it comes to finish which I can live with and expect provided the product is structurally sound and the diameters ring somewhat true to the advertised numbers.

But yeah I think it's safe to assume that even with products that have hundreds of positive reviews, many folks just went: ah nice it's a fork.