IIRC, according to Brooks, the B17 always was supposed to be set at about the same height as the handlebars. I never understood that, because setting my seat height according the old ROTs would have required setting the stems above their minimum insertion points. Am I mistaken about the Brooks recommendation BITD?
Quill stems look a lot better to me than threadless. I've yet to see a threadless system I consider to be beautiful, but some quills look like works of art. OTOH, I wish someone made Technomics that allowed easy handlebar changes. I'd happily take the weight penalty of those bolts.
Alas, I'd be a guy waiting for an opportunity to buy such a stem 2nd hand. I wouldn't be the guy who commissioned the work in the 1st place.
In any case, I can foresee needing some sort of step-through. I just hope I'll find a reasonably priced A-D, Raleigh, high end French or English, or Soma mixte when I want one.
(signed) philbob, who has lost 50 lbs in the last 23 years and who is lots more flexible now than before losing the weight ... and who is less flexible in 2023 than he was in 2022, 2021, and so on....