Originally Posted by
pbass
I dunno--I'm always messing with this bike--it's a WIP. I have different bars and stems I keep swapping in and out. Sometimes I have some flat bars level w the saddle and I really enjoy it for bombing around in the dirt and whatnot. Then I'll go for a long road-ish ride on it and switch back to some alt bars with a backsweep and a higher stem. It's had drops before as well. Another spacer was just one thing I hadn't toyed with yet. Ultimately, I wish I had more steerer tube to work with. I've considered buying a new Cross Check fork for it but they don't make my color any more, so I'd have a black fork on a brown bike....might not be too bad I guess...
I had a Cross Check that had the same problem -- I found out too late that with CCs, you need to leave the steerer pretty tall to make up for the comically short head tube, so I experimented endlessly with bars and stems and riding positions, all in an effort to undo the fact that the steering tube was just too short.
I'd go ahead and just get a new fork. -- at $125, it costs less than a couple of stems and the latest alt bars. I think black goes with anything, but if the color of the replacement bugs you, get some
SprayBike and try to match the frame.