Your complaints are all similar to ones I had when I first made the transition from Blur Classic to LT2.cgnreno said:
Like you, both of my Blurs are larges.
I'm 5'11". I'm more of a long torso.
I too, felt to cramped and upright.
Bike setups
>>>Classic, L, straight post, 110mm, 5degree stem, 5mm of spacers. Talas fork set at 112mm travel. This was typical XC. When I purchased the bike in 2003, I never felt like I needed to change my riding style. It fit everything I'd been doing for the previous 11 years.
>>>LT2, L, straight post at first, now running setback post, 90mm, 0degree stem, 20mm of spacers. PIKE fork set at 130mm at first, now running 140mm. I loved the bike from the start, but like you felt quite cramped and upright. I had to switch from straight post to setback to get room, as I wanted to maintain the shorter stem. I've never felt like my weight was too far back, though.
With my new bike, much of what I knew had to be tossed out, or relearned. The LT2 is not informed by traditional XC geometry, as the classic (and XC) model was. It's new school, and I've learned to love it. I got it in July 2008, but it was only a month ago that I felt comfortable moving the travel up to 140mm permanently. (I'm glad my Pike is adjustable travel, it allowed me to gradually move towards where the bike was trying to take me.) On singletrack I've had to relearn how to ride tight corners with a longer travel bike. Now that I have, I love it.
All I can say is, give it some time. Our situations are not exactly the same, but they are close. Try the setback post for room, but move your weight more to the front end on descents and corners.
...Now that I think of it, like you, I do remember feeling like I was getting too far behind the bike when I first got it. All of a sudden I'd be in a sketchy section and feel like I had no weight on the front end. I was grasping the handlebars just to hold on; I wasn't driving it. What was happening was I was trying to ride this bike like an xc bike...with my weight back in sketchy stuff. We XC riders are so used to "getting back" when the going gets tough. The LT2 demands that you get up front, engage the sketchy stuff head on, more like a downhiller. I find myself lightly feathering the front brake on high speed corners, just to help get the weight forward and help the front tire bite the trail. It is quite fun!
As travel gets longer, stems shorter (the LT2 MUST HAVE a shorter stem than a classic, IMHO.) and geometry more relaxed, riders must compensate by getting up front. The LT2 is a different bike than the classic, a different paradigm. It takes some getting used to, but it's worth it. It makes one a better rider I think. (I've since transferred this riding style to my hardtail singlespeed, going with a shorter stem and stretching the travel out a bit more.)
I did a ride on my old Blur classic last week, just for kicks. I used to LOVE this bike; I had a neural connection with it. Now it feels weird. The geometry is way too steep for my newfound taste. It still handles singletrack fine, but no better than the LT2. I also notice the increased chain growth, having ridden the LT2 for a while. All in all, I find the LT2 does everything the classic did well, but is much better in the sketchy stuff. It is faster. It is more forgiving. It does not squeak.
Good luck with the transition. Stick with it. You'll eventually get it, just like clipless pedals.
