Originally Posted by snowy
and if its so important why don't they do that when you purchase your bike??
Because if a first-time cyclist mounts the bike, 90% of the time it'll feel better with the stem up. Since they don't want to scare people away from the bike with an aggressive position, they leave the stem up. Also, they know that a more experienced cyclist will set up the stem and add/subtract spacers to suit his/her position, so they don't really need to worry about him.