Originally Posted by
rjones28
Specialized recommends against permanent use of spacers above the stem. I currently have a 12° with the -4° shim installed. I can always switch to a high rise stem or buy a trike, when I get too decrepit for the current set up.
The spacer above the stem goes a long way to avoiding a CF steerer tube cracking if you wrench down on the stem clamp too hard (yeah, yeah, you should have a torque wrench).