Does anybody have their stem flipped downward on their MTB?
I'm having trouble climbing hills because when I stand on the pedals and lean forward the bars get in the way (they're just pressed up to my chest and my elbows are all the way bent). If I sit down and pedal I lose traction on the front wheel because my weight is too far back. I tried lowering the stem to the bottom of the spacer stack (3/4" lower) and it helped slightly, but I'm thinking if I flip the stem so it angles downward I can climb a lot better since my weight will be more forward and I can also lean forward more. I guess the downside would be more danger of endoing on steep downhills because I am forced to lean forward more. Here's a pic of the bike (before I moved the stem under the spacers):
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/5303/mtbkz9.jpg
FYI, for street/XC riding, I have my saddle set high for maximum pedaling efficiency and that gives me a 2" drop from saddle to bars. How do other people set up their saddles and stems for XC?