Hmmm. Lottsa spacers ain't ideal, but until can buy frames with LONG headtubes c.f. seat and top tubes not much alternative for those who from either preference or physical necessity require an upright riding position. Design has simply not kept pace with the fact that a significant proportion of those who spend big money on bikes are getting older. The assumption is that the older folk want only sit-up-and-beg bikes ("comfort"). It is very difficult to buy a LIGHT decent quality bike that doesn't presume head down and arse up positioning.
And quills are and were design bollox. Aheads one of the greatest yet simple innovations in bike "technology" - which is generally so out-dated as to be laughable - of the last 30 years.
I know that at my age I SHOULD have a rose tinted nostalgic view of the world - but I don't. Hey, I STILL think the Stones and (after the first album) the Beatles were also bollox.