I recently picked up a Kastan Kex project (pro-s I think) of frame/2 piece powerbend bars and uniblade fork with hub.

The fork steer tube seems far too short for use with the frame but definately doesn't look cut down at all. The steer tube length is aprox. 116mm long from where the bottom headset ring sits to threaded end. Threaded section is aprox. 29mm long and the fork is chrome with no gussets/caps.

There was a uniblade section for sale on US ebay not long ago that someone had cut down with what seemed similar dimensions (same overall length but more threads).

I would like to know what size frame this fork fits or is there certain a particular headset that I could use to make it work. If not could this be modified for a reasonable price and lastly is anyone interested in a trade for a regular 20" uniblade?

Hal,

Welcome to the site. Please shoot some pics of what you got. It always helps and since 95% are in America the only thing we measure in metric is our cranks

To my knowledge Kastan never made a strut with a shorter headtube. Threaded especially in mid school was all for the common sized headtube which I believe is 4". I just compared my elf, tnt, and my kastan. All are the same size. I did ride for Kastan on the national team in 91-92 before cracking my frame and quitting the team but there are people on here that are more knowledgeable than me on Kastan stuff on this page.

That makes me think yours is cut down. I don't know how much is sticking out the top but you can run a Gt epoch headset without the top nut. Get one with the plastic top cover and just have that part on the stem shaft. Its not perfect but it would probably get the job done.

That one on ebay I am sure was just a cracked strut that someone hacked off the bottom and tried to sell the remains

Nbl 49a

double post-

They did make a shorter version for the mini framesets, which had a smaller headtube. Actually over the years I've seen more mini struts pop up for sale than pro sized. I have both sittiing here, mini has about a 5" steerer compared to a 5 1/2" (approx) on a standard.

I know some people have had luck getting the top headset nut to grab using lower profile headsets, like a Tange MX-3. OK for show, I wouldn't recommend riding it though. You could also probably get it lengthened for 75-100, again, good for show, I wouldn't ride it though.

plainsbikesouth is right, on the two mini Kastan frame sets that I have both the steer tubes are shorter than the Pro size. That happened to me on my first strut purchase, I bought a mini thinking it was a Pro and found out real quick that it wouldn't fit my Pro frame. It seems that you have a Kastan Mini Strut on your hands. Other things that you can look for on it are which generation it is. First generations struts had no gusset in the bottom of the steer tube, second generation struts had a gusset, and third generation struts had a gusset and were capped off with Kastan stamp in it. PM me you e-mail address and I can e-mail you some pictures.

plainsbikesouth is right, on the two mini Kastan frame sets that I have both the steer tubes are shorter than the Pro size. That happened to me on my first strut purchase, I bought a mini thinking it was a Pro and found out real quick that it wouldn't fit my Pro frame. It seems that you have a Kastan Mini Strut on your hands. Other things that you can look for on it are which generation it is. First generations struts had no gusset in the bottom of the steer tube, second generation struts had a gusset, and third generation struts had a gusset and were capped off with Kastan stamp in it. PM me you e-mail address and I can e-mail you some pictures. You can check your frame to be a Pro or Pro-S by the length of the top tube. Pro is 19.5" and a Pro-S is 20.5". Good luck on your project.

Thanks for chiming in guys. I thought of the mini possibility an hour later but with no experience with mini's in my life I figured I was not a good source.

Nbl 49a

Thanks for all the help and info guys, confirmed my mini suspicions.
Uniblades make sense on a weight sensitive mini I guess.

Simple idea with the epoch headset but I don't think theres even enough thread for that.

I'll put this project aside for now, but if I don't find a pro uni for this frame I just might look into having it converted, the frame could use a couple of repairs anyway.
Would just be a shame as this fork has great chrome and threads.

Also wanted to mention that I have spoken to the seller of the uni "piece" from ebay and he also assumed it was a mini fork, he claims to have cut the bottom section off and adapted it to a Profile cruiser.

Thanks

Jason

I know this is an old post, but I'd like to add something. I have a Kastan Expert frame and a junior strut. The strut was too short to reach like in this post. I made the two work together, although not very easily. I started with a Tange Levin CVS headset which has a 33.4mm stack height. I should have started with a Tange Passage @ 30.3mm. But, the end result I think is the same.

I milled the bottom nut, (the one with the race) down a few mm. You don't want to go much because this is the main load bearing portion of the steer tube attachment. There is a raised lip that takes up unnecessary space. I milled it to the threads. This chips the chrome some, so expect a few chips.

Then, I milled the frame down a few more mm. This alters the frame from original, but isn't noticeable. Don't go too much here either because there are reinforcement rings that help keep the pressed in cup and race in without distorting the frame. The scary part of milling the frame is that you have to keep it at a true 90o. It took a lot of time for me to get this right, and a few times pressing and removing the cups to make sure there were no tight spots. This will not be easy to do, trust me. You may be able to get the LBS to do it using the Park facing tool. I would recommend doing one side at a time so that they have a baseline to locate the tool. Mine ended up truer than the Kastan original install, although I may have got lucky. The strut turns better than it did when I started with just the bottom nut.

I didn't use the flat washer with the internal tab to reduce height more.

I got about 2 1/2 turns out of the unmodified top nut. Just enough to snug the locknut down and not have to worry about failure.

I don't know if these mods will work on a Pro sized Kastan Kex. I don't have one for measurement of the front tube. The expert is 3 1/2" long. Measure a Pro to see if they are the same.