So I installed the -2 degree angle headset during the week (changing from the -1 degree I already had installed) taking the bike to a ~64 degree head angle. While it's not a great pic - it really doesn't look that slack surprisingly:
I was expecting the slacker head angle to be better in rock gardens, but may make the bike/me more prone to losing the front end in flatter or loose corners.
Sorry for the mega-gush to follow - but damn I was wrong! Went for a ride yesterday arvo after work, and this thing absolutely hauls round corners now! I really wasn't expecting much difference to be honest and in fact thought it could likely have been a case of overcooking the head-angle change. But now it feels very,
very different - and to my tastes - much improved. It's now much less "steer the bike" and just "lean the bike" and it'll follow the corner for you - which I friggen love. It just turns the way you lean it and you barely need to conciously steer with the bars unless riding through a switchback or something. Berms are mental especially - I normally feel somewhat rearward weight-biased when riding, and especially so in berms - but with this setup I could just lay the bike
way over under me, completely trust the front, and while braking hard get the back so light I could flick it around a little with my feet. I have never been able to do this before and it just makes the bike feel so playful. Oversteer is defintely more fun than understeer!
Just to give a little context for how I like my bike setup - when I'm descending I basically never sit down. Just slam the dropper and stand for the whole descent (descents at the local trails are only a few minutes at best) - I see some people sit a lot while descending, and I think if you like seated cornering you'd likely struggle to weight the front tyre enough with this head angle and probably end up losing the front.
Fortunately this bike pedals so damn well, standing and pedalling really doesn't lose efficiency to pedal-bob so there's really no disadvantage there. It does still move slightly but just feels like a hovercraft, and still feels like you're still outputting all your energy into turning the wheel rather than loosing a percentage into having the suspension wallow around.
For general trail riding with a bit of seated cornering/attack position descents - probably half a degree steeper in the head angle would be better as you'd get a better all-around riding bike (better seated cornering grip, and would still charge descents), but this thing just feels so good on pure descents right now I don't know if I'll be able to bring myself to steepen it up again.
It did make the front feel a little more floppy on seated climbs, but unusually doesn't actually feel less efficient, it just wanders if the speed drops. Standing climbing is probably slightly improved, as you can lean on the front more easily, and the angle-of-attack of the fork makes it very willing to help absorb lumps and bumps. Track-standing is a little more fiddly though, as the shorter fork-offset (longer trail measurement) and slacker head-angle give the wheel more leverage over the bars.
To me this bike now just feels safe and comfortable, and the faster you go the more alive it becomes - It's a very addictive ride!