[Sandwich]

I have a bike with a 23.5" eTT and a 90mm stem, and I think it fits really really well. I've been offered a frame with a 24.4" eTT in trade. I'm thinking I can swap my 90mm stem for a 65mm stem (~1" of difference) and have a similar cockpit length to the bike I have now. What other handling traits can I expect, and is this a good or horrible idea?

I usually prefer a 23.5" eTT, with a 90mm stem for XC and a 50mm for DH. This will be an XC bike. I've had one bike before (a C'dale prophet) with a 24.5" top tube and it ended up being too long, but it had a 120mm stem which I couldn't find a suitable replacement for.

 

[I.van]

IMO its a good Idea. I run my Trail/XC bike with a long TT and 65mm stem.

Improved steering will be a benefit, but a possible negative will be increased wheelbase.

 

[Sandwich]

Hmm, cool. I don't like my current bike because the chainstays are super long and the HA is super steep and I feel like it handles like a truck. The other bike has an inch shorter CS, and ~1" longer TT. I'm hoping shortening up the back end will bring some life into it, although I do worry a bit about the wheelbase still being long. I think I might go for it...

 

[jonKranked]

do you have the full geometries of both bikes to compare? you should be OK since the cs is getting shorter while the tt is getting longer. what about seat angle?

 

[Sandwich]

Sure:
NEW OLD
HTA 69.5 72
eTT 24.4 23.5
CS 17.3 18.3
WB 44.4
ST 16.5 13.5
STA 72.5 74
BBD -2.4 13.3"
HTL 120mm 110mm

Scott Scale: http://dfp2hfrf3mn0u.cloudfront.net/188/18880_original_1.jpg
The other is my Voodoo.

I don't know how to calculate or measure BB drop on the canzo, but the BB height is listed. No wheelbase measurement is given, but it should be similar aside from the HTA since there's an inch in both the TT and CS. I test rode the Scott and it felt too long with the 90mm stem, but I'm thinking a 60mm would bring the bars back to where I'm comfortable, and shifting my weight back while keeping the same wheelbase might make the bike handle a bit less like a truck, especially with the slacker HT and shorter stem.