I assume they arrived at this headtube length based on what they thought would best fit the majority of riders in that frame size. If it puts the bars at the right height for you, it's great. If you can't get the bars low enough for you, it's awkward.
Seems crazy tall when people are often up-sizing to get a roomier fit, forks are getting longer and wheels are getting bigger. That alone would probably put me off buying one, I hated the tall head tube on my old Turner.
Lots of tall folks really struggle with a short stack on large sizes---and they end up with lots of spacers or a riser bar-----if you are long limbed you may like this but if your limbs are shorter it is an issue. It is 10-15 mm more than most large bikes.
While it's taller than similar bikes, you can still run no spacers on the stem, flip the stem, run flat bars etc. Makes sense on a large. I doubt many would find they ran out of options to make it fit.
I've been wondering about the tall stack on the 2018 spectral as well; it is taller than a lot of other trail bikes, but I had similar ideas as One Pivot. As long as I can get enough weight over the front wheel in steep climbs to prevent wheelies, I am not too concerned, but ideally I could test ride one, or another bike with a stack like that.
The other odd bit of the geo is the long wheelbase. At 6'3", I'd get an XL, but I wonder what it will be like on switchbacks.
I just measured my stache, and with spacers we are looking at a total height of 120mm.
If you wearen't happy with the height, I guess a negative rise stem would be the answer?
I've got a short torso but long legs. I love a tall stack. I'm running a Large Stache with a conical 23mm stack headset preload cap, 9mm of spacer, 10deg Thomson stem, and 38mm rise bars. When I was running lower rise stem and bars, I was running 47mm of spacer under my stem.
My old setup:
It's never made sense to me that sizes of people vary from around a foot to a foot-&-a-half and head tubes only vary in mm. Sometimes (SeeDBR Mason and a few others) all head tubes are the same length... Stack is the same for a 5'5" person as a 6'3" person. Why would a taller person want the same stack as an Umpalumpa?
Then there's crank length. Sammy Short Legs has an inseam of 28". Johnny long legs had an inseam of 35". The average difference in crank length is a mere 5mm? Seriously?
I'm 6'1.5" and run 180mm crank arms because my measured inseam is 34.5.
The Canyon head tube lengths make a great deal of sense to me.
I like short head tubes on all sizes because it gives us the freedom to choose the frame size based on desired handling rather than fit.
I like scaled up head tubes because it forces us to set the frame up to be at its best when we use common popular parts.
I've been around the block a few times, mostly ride frames i built, and i still can't look at a FS bike/frame and totally know what size to get or how it will ride without a test ride, and then riding it a few times to separate suspension behavior and frame geometry. To think otherwise is vanity or a testament to how good manufacturer size charts are.
I think that's where it'll really become an issue, when people try and "upsize". This trend might die off with newer models as manufacturers have started to lengthen their TTs generally and people start getting back onto the frame size designed for their height.
Of course it's not going to make it impossible to climb steeper trails, there's ways around anything if you're a skilled rider. That doesn't change what I said though, the stack height of the Canyon would rule it out for me. Been there done that, I know what works for me and what doesn't.
Others will have different preferences, that's cool too.
Gosh I hope it is a trend, seems like tall head tube was always a main component in a bike fit for me personally. Always have to mess with spacers, stems, bars, and steer tube length to get my fit. In fact, I look for ht length and I think "stack" as well. I am old though, like it comfortable, not CC like...
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