I have a Cannondale MS2000 setup up with the Profile Threadless Adaptor on my fork (as it has the old CarbonAero threaded fork that basically every tri bike pre-2002 came with) and the Vision aluminum basebar. Right now I am running a Vision SizeMore stem (100mm) in the negative rise position (negative 10 degrees I believe). The stem is as low as it can be on the steerer tube (or the adaptor I should say) and there are no spacer or anything under my arm rest pads.
So looking to try to get a litte lower in the front, what are my stem options?
profile-design has a stem model with a big negative drop. Other options to consider are thomson elite stems which go down to -17* i think, and the Deda Pista stem but it is expensive.
Honestly since your bike is already so heavy, you might as well just get a 3T/Ritchey/Oval Concepts adjustable stem. Give you lots of flexibilty, is cheaper than a Thomson stem, and the weight penalty is pretty insignificant. They all use the same angle adjustment mechanism (probably a rebadge job) so find the one that’s cheapest.
Nashbar sells “comfort” stems in their mtb section that go as far down as 40 degree rise/drop. I just bought a 40 degree 130mm stem that I flipped down to use on a borrowed P2C. It cost $12. I also have the adjustable stem mentioned above, but I had to “modify” it with a file to get the drop low enough. It is sitting about negative 60 degrees on my Yaqui. The handling is not so great though, because the adjustable stem is effectively about 65mm in length.
When you are buying a stem for the purpose of dropping the front end, I would buy it longer than the stem you replace it with to keep your extension similar.
Chad
Some one mentioned the Profile… Their H2O model comes in a +/- 25 degree version, both oversize and regular clamp diameter.
The Dimension is a possibility as well. If you link into QBP through the Harris Cyclery website, you’ll get a pretty good list of options. Worth checking out anyway.