Originally Posted by
trailangel
5'9" with long legs on a 54cm?
I think you are going in the wrong direction.
Put the saddle all the way back.
According to the physical therapist the problem lies in the bend of my spine when I have to look up on the Gravelbike to see what's in front of me - I don't have the problem at all on my trekking bike with an upright position. Appearently I lack some core stability in the neck/shoulder region so that my muscles can't quite support the aggressive position, yet. Meaning I have to get the spine in the neck region as straight as possible - which means, shorteen the reach and raising the handlebar. And, of course, doing some more core strength training for neck and shoulders. According to him, it's more about the position rather than weight distribution. However I will try a lower Handlebar position with a longer reach if the current position doesn't improve things. Can't hurt - at least not that much more than it already does.