Hi - I'm currently riding my road bike with what I believe is a 7 degree rise. I was diagnosed with diverticulitis and I have noticed some pain to my abdomen/intestine areas during road rides. Interestingly, this does not happen on my mountain bike and I believe this is because I am sitting more upward on the mountain bike than the road bike. I think I need to go to a stem with a greater rise and perhaps shorter than the 90mm I'm running now. Has anyone had any experience with getting their ride position more upward on a road bike? How much of a rise should I consider? Suggestions? I really enjoy the road bike and don't want to give it up. Feedback is appreciated!

pictures? what is the bike as is? Stem: quill or threadless?

Diverticulitis is treatable and highly manageable, unless it's gotten way out of hand. I assume you've been to a gastroenterologist???

The bike is a 2006 Giant OCR C2 and i believe its threadless...

You're right except that my "moderate" case got out of hand recently and landed me in the hospital for a few days. I've seen a gastroenterologist. It seems that I aggravate something when I'm on the road bike and I want to work at alleviating that. I've gone months with no issues and then I will go on a road ride and I experience lower left area pain and it's either during the ride or soon after that it occurs. I want to try adjusting my riding position to see if that works......

Here's a nice looking one : https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/humpert-h...amp-prod27380/

It runs in my family. I get screened yearly, I have family members that have polyps removed as needed based upon the screenings, etc.. The surgery becomes an inevitability if the condition goes unmanaged, it can lead to worse as well. If you haven't considered surgery in the proactive sense it may be something to look into before it impacts your lifestyle significantly. Best of luck.

The good news is that stems are cheap and easy to swap, so while you probably won't find anything shorter than 80mm, you can start with a +17° stem, try it, and get a lower one as preferred.

You should check out an adjustable stem rise stem like the one in this link https://www.jensonusa.com/Kalloy-Road...able-Rise-Stem. That way you play with the angle to find the one that works for you. The shortest length it comes in is 90mm, but as you increase the rise the bars come closer to you so you are reducing your reach to the bars.

Thanks! So far the docs don't think its so severe that surgery is needed. I appreciate your comments.

I was thinking along those lines. Thanks for the suggestion.

Yeah, that looks like a decent starting point. Thanks!

Cool, I wasn't trying to be rude, it hits close to home...

No worries. Thanks for the perspective!