Originally Posted by smashndash

Do you ride with a visor or cap? It could be that you’re craning your neck more than you need to. If you follow trends with eyewear, you’ll notice how high lenses have gotten. This is because people riding in a lower position are looking through their eyebrows. It could also be that you have a very short neck, which make sure it harder to sustain a certain neck angle.

Also, depending on your body and bike geometry, flipping the stem may not be as “nuclear” as you may think. Compared to some “racers” of your height and proportion (look at saddle height), what is your drop, and what is your reach?

For reference, most people I ride (race) with have somewhere between 2 and 5 inches of drop. Reach is harder to estimate but if you can get into your drops and keep your elbows bent for a significant period of time, then I think the reach is good.