@jaco_flans’ frames have the bearing caps sitting flat on the frame when tight (or almost so by a mm). I do not know his secret recipe here, but if he can do it, it should be reasonable to add to chain manufacturing. However, the added cost vs benefit is always looming and possibly the current imperfect-but-good-enough-and-add-a-thin-washer-if-you-are-unlucky may be a reasonable trade off if we are talking more than a few $$ on the final price.
What comes out of this discussion is that it would be worth making a wiki page to illustrate different situations and help visualize quickly (even if we don’t shy away from typing 1000 words, we all still have a thing for pics ).
Curious. This to me would indicate another problem - perhaps already damaged bearings, or bearing caps that have not been manufactured correctly.
I’ve never heard creaking from bearing caps that were too tight. Slowing of the wheel and a slight whisper yes (depending on the age of the bearings), or a clunking from some super tight stamped housings.
I recently acquired a used Pashley Muni frame with lollipops from the early 2000’s. Changing bearings on that thing is no joke. The machined lollipop housings are so tight that it’s a bear to both remove a bearing, as well as press fit a new one into the housing.
It puts enough pressure on the outer race of the bearing, that there’s a noticeable difference in how freely a new bearing will turn once installed. You can definitely feel the resistance once installed.
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