The keyed washer is supposed to make it so that the act of tightening the locknut doesn't alter the tightness of the adjustment of the headset. In a perfect world, this would mean that you'd only need one wrench to do headset maintenance.
In the real world, the keyed washer isn't all that effective, and mangles the steerer threads more often than not. You're best off holding the adjustable cup with one wrench while you're tightening the locking nut.
The washer can be omitted, if you lose it, or if you find yourself needing a tad less stack height, or if you're trying to shave weight ;-) off the front end.
Scott Minneman San Francisco, CA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Kim Carney Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 8:37 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]headset keyed washers
Hi all,
Are keyed washers always used between the race and the locknut of both the upper and lower portion of the headset? What would happen if they were not used. Thanks for the comments.
Kim Carney
Davis, CA