We also need to take frame size into account (something I'm guilty of not mentioning enough).
Take a look at a small chameleon vs an xl
Small:
415 chainstay - 412 reach
~50/50 balance
The reach is actually shorter than the chainstay. That's almost a 50/50 balance (if we're rounding up)
XL short CS
415 chainstay - 487 reach
reach is 72mm longer than the chainstay. That will change your riding position a lot.
46% cs / 54% reach
XL long CS
430 chainstay - 487 reach
57mm longer reach
47% cs / 53% reach
I find it odd whenever the chainstay measurement is longer than the reach on a bike. this hardly happens for large frame sizes, but it definitely happens for small sizes. Imagine you're on a 440mm chainstay with a 410 reach. (52% of the wheelbase is in the rear center, with 48% on the reach). The rear end is longer than the front end. That makes manuals, bunny hops, corners, wheelies, jumps extremely difficult. However, climbs and straight-line stability will be huge! Think of dragsters or motorcycles built for hill-climbs. They don't need to turn, and they don't want to wheelie, so they extend the chainstays as much as possible.
Every year, a new model comes out that it's "longer" than last year. Is this a good thing? I'm not sure, and we'll eventually reach a tipping point where longer isn't better. For me, I don't need bikes any longer, but talking to my tall friends, they're definitely benefitting from the longer reach.
To me, having a bike with a shorter reach than rear center just doesn't work for my riding style. The leverage required to balance on a rear axle that's way behind you is too great. Increasing the reach is great for taller riders, but I have a feeling most people wouldn't want their chainstay to be longer than their reach measurement.
So for a large rider, increasing cs by 1" may not be a big deal, as the reach is still longer than the rear center. For shorter riders, it only upsets the balance even more. I wonder why more bike companies aren't talking about this. The relationship between reach and rear center is extremely important, and highlights why some small riders should be on 27.5 or even 26" wheels, since you can't make the chainstays shorter than 420mm on a 29er.
Sorry to take this so far off topic, but I think it relates to why I love the chameleon so much: It's the closest hardtail to a 50/50 fc/rc balance for a 415/420mm reach.