VegasJen

Well, I rode that bike again today. Only 20 miles but it's fast. Don't think it's quite as fast as my Shiv, but damn close. 19mph average on a mostly flat route. I still think I need to raise the bars, but it wasn't as aggrevating today as it was a few days ago. I'm thinking only 1-2" at most. I did order a riser stem off Amazon, 110mm at 35*. I think that will do the trick.

So what was different today? Well, first, I had several days to recover. When I rode it last week, I had just done a sprint tri a couple days before, then I put 34 miles on my Cheetah immediately before jumping on that Cervelo. I started the ride fatigued. And, of course, as is customary with my rides out here, I had to stop not once, but twice, on the Cheetah to replace punctured tubes.

But back to the Cervelo. I'm impressed with how quick it is. I think I'm going to stick to my original plan, the plan when I bought it in the first place. I'm going to set this bike up as my back up to the Shiv. I will keep shallower wheels with taller gears on it specifically for windy days or hilly routes. And the Cheetah has served me well the last couple years but I think it's time to serve someone else well next. It's still a fine bike and despite being almost 20 years old, it's still as fast or faster than a comparable new road bike, at least for a triathlon.

genejockey 

IF you have a bike that fits just right and IF you know how to measure what's important.

genejockey 

OH, and my opinion on riser stems is they spoil the aesthetic of any bike I'd want to ride*. Mind you, I'm also an Old, so I may have to eat my words in a few years.

*But I already don't want to ride a TT/Tri bike, so I don't have a dog in this fight! Do what fits and makes you happy!

rsbob 

Don’t know about popularity, or really care, but I use one and it really helped with shoulder, hand and neck issues. It is a pretty standard and quite a bit shorter than the stock stem. The only issue is not being able to get really low on descents - but I grab the drops anyway.

VegasJen

Well, the riser stem I ordered came in. I tried it out but discovered if I do that, I have to replace all my cables. Not quite ready to do that just yet.

But more importantly, after looking at the steerer tube, I am pretty much convinced the original tube has been cut down. There are obvious linear scratch marks all the way across, just like what would be left if cut with a hack saw. Additionally, the nut thing inside the tube (that nut that you tighten down to take up all the slack) is almost right at the top of the tube on the inside. Every other steerer tube I've seen that's still original, that nut thing is at least 1/2" down inside the tube.

I bet this originally came with a much more standard length steerer tube but a previous owner really wanted that slammed look, hence the stem is slammed all the way down on the tube.

The stem I just bought is a 35* angle and 110mm long. That does put the bullhorns at almost identical reach, but a good inch higher. That would probably be just about perfect but since I just put new shift cables on, I really don't want to toss those already. Instead, I made 1" aluminum risers for my elbow pads. I'm going to give those a try first since I'll be spending the majority of my time down on the aero bars anyway. If I'm still not happy, I'll put that riser stem back on and I will just have to bite the bullet and put another set of new cables on it.

Smaug1

Random thought: When people post: "What is the popular opinion on ...?" or "What is the consensus on ...?" they should add a poll.
Otherwise, they will manually be figuring out what the consensus is.
Always add a poll option for 'other', which people like to check and then explain. Often I've found consensus in 'Other' that I didn't anticipate but for which I was grateful.

daywood 

I love them, but I regularly reconfigure vintage mountain bikes, hybrids, and ATBs that have low stack heights. So, for instance, until Top Shelf bars came along, a quill adapter and a riser stem were the best way in those cases to get a drop bar up to a reasonable height (level with the seat) for a geezer like me. And there is another thread about the fun of making too-small frames work for you. Riser stems have a featured role in that.

VegasJen

I considered making a poll, but whenever I post anything like this, I end up reading all the replies anyway.

georges1

It helped me to make of sligtly small sized frame a comfy rideable and well adjusted to my size one, I also added a hi rise bar

easyupbug 

I was were you are a few years ago and I hope not but you may have to as shown below. Age and arthritis is winning and I am now going to sell my Italians and customs like this one (with the Nitto Technomic lowered) rather than add more freaky bars or letting them gather dust.

Maelochs

I like a story with a happy ending

pedal onward!