Velobuild 177: Gap between fork and headtube?

[mynameiswilson]

Hello all - finally building my VeloBuild VB-R-177.

Dry-fitting the fork into the headtube, I'm seeing a 4-5mm gap between the fork and the head tube, which I am not seeing in other build photos.

I've installed and fully seated the lower compression ring and the lower bearing is fully seated. What am I doing wrong?

See pics, and thanks in advance!

[patliean1]

You do not need the metal crown race, as it's already built into the fork during the mold process. There might be some contention as to whether or not to use it, but it's obvious from the photo it doesn't fit.

For what it's worth...my Winspace T1500, Dengfu R12, and VB 177 all did not need the crown race. I even double checked with my local bike shop just to be certain before making any steer tube cuts.

However, my Yeoleo G21 did need the extra crown race and I was able to close the gap to the headtube.

[Nickk2000]

While the bikes may not “need” the crown race, some are integrated in the molding process and i never checked the difference on the r12.

The space left is due to it not being cut, the compression cap where you sandwich the cap into the stem joins everything together. My dengfu fm098 had a similar gap issue when it was cut and its because i needed a microspacer on the top.

[mynameiswilson]

Thanks for the confirmation.

I’ve had carbon forks before but all had steel races that needed to be set. I assume that Velobuild included it because it’s in the headset kit and mates with the bearing.

Back to building!

UPDATE: A bit more research indicates that this is the norm for many carbon forks now. Noted!