Originally Posted by
sekaijin
Maybe this is obvious, but you can also reduce the reach by moving the saddle forward.
Moving the saddle forward can introduce some other problems with your pelvic region, since you are changing the reletive angle of your hips to the pedals.
Changing to a shorter stem does change the weight distribution toward the rear slightly, and it also gives you slightly less leverage to turn the bars. I have three bikes set up that way and I have never had a problem. I will take the twitchier handling over the pain in the back from the too long stem. The old thumb rule was if you couldn't see your hub because it was blocked by the handlebar, you were good for stem length.