I was looking at the 2010 Giant Faith but have had to rule it out because of the tapered headtube (I have a 1.5in Totem I want to use).

Baffles me why manufacturers would limit the fork options like that, especially on what is quite a hardcore bike.

What are the advantages of tapered headtubes then? All I can think is marginal weight saving and being less likely to bang your knee on the stem.

In the main it seems to be a way of making the front end stiffer and allowing a larger weld contact area. In theory at least it should be stronger but there are plenty of strong normal tubes about.

Oh and of course it looks nice!

the majority of the force is taken by the lower part of the steerer and the lower bearings, there is little need for a 1.5" bearing/tube at the top so tapering it saves weight.

Also, doesn't a conical steerer resist torque better han a cylindrical one?

Bikes have got so good that manufacturers need to invent something new every year to plant that seed of 'want/need/desire' for next years bike.

Show me the independent science that proves the oversize bearings make a shred of difference.

It'll soon peter out like 29" and singlespeed as a pointless exercise.

people said the same about external BBs

and they are GREAT* in comparison to square taper

*this is sarcasm

they did try the 1.25" evolution headset once but it died out after a couple of years. Had that on my Funk and a number of Manitou frames.

Bikes have got so good that manufacturers need to invent something new every year to plant that seed of 'want/need/desire' for next years bike.

But nobody can be looking at a tapered steerer tube and fretting that their old fork is now obsolete, can they?

The weight difference must be miniscule on the actual fork. Perhaps a shade more on the frame and stem (compared to 1.5in).

In the main it seems to be a way of making the front end stiffer and allowing a larger weld contact area.

I was meaning by comparison to 1.5in rather than 1 1/8in, or did you mean tapered is supposed to be stronger than 1.5 too?

Bikes like the new Faith and Trek Scratch seem to me to have ruled out a lot of potential customers using these.

the majority of the force is taken by the lower part of the steerer and the lower bearings, there is little need for a 1.5" bearing/tube at the top so tapering it saves weight.

Yes, this makes sense, but I just suppose I'd rather have the flexibility of a 1.5in HT.

You get the stiffness of 1.5" and can use 1 1/8" stems (which you can get shorter too)

Though for a freeride bike I agree it would be better to have a 1.5" headtube, and have a 1.5" cup at the bottom and a 1.5" to 1 1/8" stepdown cup on the top if they want to use a tapered fork and still alow people to use 1.5" forks

Has there actually been any independant test done to prove that a tapered steerer is "stiffer" than a normal non tapered one?

you don't need independent tests, its simple science

Tapered headtubes. Hmmmm looks like the mountain bike scene is catching up with the roadies.

It gives you the strength/durability in the lower race of a 1.5" with the stem choice of a 1" 1/8. But really all they did it for was to add another new standard.

New standards drive the industry and spawn product churn, simple marketing.

on carbon steerers, the taper gets rid of a stress riser at the corner

chakaping is there not a sleeve you can buy to fit over
your old forks and insert into head tube?