Steel rider has hit the nail on the head. Compact or slope top tube frames are a
great boon for manufacturers and bike shop owners because they reduce the number
of frame sizes that have to be made and stocked. Best case, tossing out people
under 60" tall or over 75" as customers you can get by with 4 frame sizes. Much nicer
than 2cm increments from 50 to 61cm. From the LBS point of view, it is hard to sell
a bike that is 3d away in a warehouse and if you get it shipped in and the customer
goes elsewhere you are stuck for awhile any way. A couple of round trips like that
will chew up a big chunk of profit. The slope top tube is derived from the hard tail
ATB frame and solves a lot of problems. Steve