What's the popular opinion of riser stems?
Good, bad, indifferent?
Yesterday I picked up a 2012 Cervelo P2 for a steal. Well, not totally a steal. I did have to put a few hours into it to get it road ready. But I took it out today for a test ride. Rode 34 miles and honestly, by mile 15 I was almost ready to leave it by the side of the road. Everything about the bike is good, except for how aggressive the position is.
I ride tri bikes all the time, so I'm used to, and even prefer, the geometry of a typical tri bike. But this thing is so aggressive, it's literally painful. The steerer tube barely comes up to the lowest seat post height, which bends me over far more than I can hold for any length of time. But there's really no additional steerer tube to go up. All the stack is already used. And I can't go down any further on the seat post without hip angle issues.
So I need to go up about 2 inches, give or take, on my stack. I don't have any steerer tube left to go up, so my thinking is one of those jacked up stems at like 45*. I think that can get me another inch or so. Then I can take the elbow pads up with spacers to get me in a position I can hold for time. I certainly don't want one of those adjustable angle stems because they just look hinky to me. I'm not happy about it, but I think a fixed 45* stem could be a cheap solution to this problem.
Is there anything concerning about using a stem to get me up a little higher?