I bought a 2004 Cannondale Cyclocross 2nd hand from a friend over the summer.

I'm generally the type of person who likes to get to know something well before tweaking it.

I've spent weeks making slight adjustments to the seat height, seat angle, handlebar angle, and cleat position.

The bike seems to be coming to me quite nicely and I've put about 2,000 miles on her since June.

I did notice 3 spacers on the headset.

Should I remove some spacers if for no other reason than to get the bike back more towards the way it came?

Will I need to cut the tube if I remove the spacers or can I leave some of the tube exposed above the stem?

Any thoughts or comments on this would be appreciated.

It probably came with the spacers. You can leave a little bit above the stem in fact it's usually better with a little bit above but if there's too much its kind of freaky having that thing sticking up there.

I would not remove the spacers. You can flip flop the order of them to lower or raise the handlebars.
Example: place them above the stem to lower or below to raise the bars. You can also flip the stem to lower or raise the handlebar.
Hopefully, we are talking about the same spacers.

You can try moving 1, 2 or all of the spacers above the stem. That way you can try all those combinations without cutting the steerer tube on the fork. I suppose if you like the cleanest look possible you might wish to cut the fork tube if and when you decide on an alternate stem height. But I've seen plenty of bikes cruising around with a spacer or two above the stem. At least that way you have the option of raising the stem in the future if you wish.

DanO

I have a 10mm spacer above my stem. Someday I will be an old man and may appreciate it. If not me, then the person who gets the bike.
Al

Good idea, I think I'll move the spacers up and handelbars down.

I'll try this one at a time until it feels right.

Some in the roadie forum believe that flipping the stem is easier. Personally, I did what you are about to do for the heck of it and it worked fine. I also rotated my handlebar a tad bit forward to drop the hoods a bit and bring the bottom of the drops a little closer. Now that is one small change the helped me quite a bit. YMMV

I have rotated the handelbar and still make minor adjustments on it every now and then. I'll make a small adjustment and ride it for a day or two to see if I like it.

Upon further reasearch, it does look like the bike comes stock with 3 spacers. Take a look at this pic and tell me what you think:

Are there three spacers under the stem?

Depeds what size spacers are used. 5mm, 10mm, 30mm. My bike came with 5mm and ~30mm spacers.
Al

No, that's a poor reason. Moving (or removing) spacers will change the height of your handlebars. Only do this if it meets your goals (balance of aero performance, comfort, looks). You don't have to mimic the original setup.

This thread was helpful. I just moved my handlebar down two spacers. Unfortunatlely, the headtube sticks out now, but I don't have the tools to chop it down, so it'll stay that way.

are these 5mm spacers or 20mm spacers? Either way, yeah, change the order of spacers and bars to see if you can get everything where you want it that way.

Are you more comfortable now? Or, better yet, were you uncomfortable before?