Originally Posted by
Andy_K
Well, I love my mass produced Ridley, "happy" stem and all.
Head tube angle changes more than just the top tube length, and by itself it doesn't change top tube length much at all. If I had a head tube long enough to put the bars where I want them without a sloping stem, I'd need more slope in the top tube just to be able to stand over the thing (regardless of top tube length), and that would be ugly too.
You're right, it generally stabilizes the ride especially in turn in, gives you more front center, and was generally the standard until the MTB revolution. Slacker head tubes and tire clearance are what are now called pave bikes.
There is a balance between slammed stems the requires a contortionist to get into the hooks and happy stem/80mm stem etc.