Thanks for the input so far. My post was a little random. I'm digging my new frame but I haven't sorted out the stem and bar situation yet, hence the frustration.

The way I understand it, a threaded stem gives me more options for height, but less for horizontal length, etc. It's unclear to me how complicated it would be to go back to threaded since I'm running threadless now (like, do I need a new headset?). With my current threadless setup I have to do a bit of guessing as to which stem will suit me best since the LBS hasn't been much help.

What about an adjustable stem? This one is pretty cheap which makes me wonder:
http://www.ebikestop.com/kalloy_adju...tem-SM4015.php

I'd be interested to see some links for the IRO stems. I haven't found much in my searches.

Thanks! Just trying to sort this out. Maybe I'll try posting a photo to show what I'm up against.