Hello,
I have a Vintage Electric Cafe. I’d like to raise the handlebars by maybe 1.5-2 inches to get in a bit more of an upright position and decrease the reach. I already have the seat forward as far as it will go and the seat is positioned correctly in terms of height (I have long-ish legs and short-ish arms for my overall height of 5’9”).
I am a complete newbie to bike maintenance/upgrades, but I figured out how to raise the handlebars by unscrewing the locking nut on top of the stem. The issue is that that leaves a gap between the bottom of the stem and the top of the tube. That gap strikes me as problematic because it’s unsightly; it will admit water; and it seems potentially dangerous, in that the handlebars might slam down to close that gap.
Both my local bike shop and Vintage said I should get a new stem that’s longer (like this one:
But aren’t there also rings/washers/spacers that could be used on the existing stem to raise it? If so, wouldn’t that be a simpler solution? And how do I find which ones would fit?
Or am I missing something and I really do need to replace the entire stem in order to raise the handlebars?
Thanks for any insights!