I've got a taller stem on order for my Surly. Bad neck, so even though the bars are already up at saddle-level I still want them higher.

I'm getting a Dimension (threadless) that should raise me up another couple inches for $27.

My other bike has a quill stem and I ordered a taller one by Nitto for $40. Quills are nice, cuz you can adjust them all over the place. One of the benefits of having an older bike...

As far as weight on my Surly, I'd guess I've carried about 20 pounds at the most so far. Next time I buy a bag of dogfood I'll pay more attention to how it goes.