Alt/cruiser bars to reduce overall reach – how will it affect steering?

I am 180 cm tall with \~84 cm inseam length, which makes me fall in between frame sizes M and L of the Bombtrack Beyond I'm riding. Back when I bought it, I didn't know much about bikes – let alone bike fit – and went for the larger frame, which was the only one available at the time. I came to notice that even with adjustments like a shorter and taller stem and a backswept drop bar, I tend to have too much pressure on my hands and a tense neck and shoulder area.

I have two possible solutions:

1) There is a second hand option of the exact same model one size smaller available in my area – I could get this, swap out components (I built mine up with a custom setup) and resell the larger frame with the stock kit. This would yield a predictable outcome, but at the cost of more effort and financial investment and risk.

2) I'm open to try out a cruiser/alt bar like the Velo Orange Crazy Bar, Jones H bar or sth like that. This would effectively reduce the overall reach of my bike enough to make me sit more upright, still with multiple hand positions available and the advantages of the larger frame (larger wheelbase, more space in the triangle and slightly less trail compared to the size M, which may be relevant for carrying weight in the front – which I do). However, this would also place my hands very close to or behind the steering axis. As I have read that this can result in more twitchy/nervous steering, and since I have a fairly moderate trail figure of 65 mm, I'm unsure about this solution – especially on descents and/or gravel roads, which make up \~40 % of my riding.

Does anyone have experience with cruiser bars on a shortish stem with front load on loose surfaces? How does it handle and would you recommend it?

Thanks in advance! 🙂