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Not really, a longer headtube would have the same impact on handling, obviously the higher you go the shorter the effective tt becomes (due to headtube angle). It's not like your putting extreme forces through the headset bearings, the limiting factor is the steerer material, you wouldn't want Surly fitting full carbon forks and then bung a shitload of spacers on there.
jontea-
Well no and no.
You build up tension between your 2 headset bearings to counter flexing at the crown race. Longer head tubes have better leverage on the "pivot" of your crown race. (Sorry my English is not up to scratch for these explanations).
And if we're talking about a 40mm stack of spacers your toptube will shorten by 0,6658mm.....
If we're not going for looks, just get out your positive 35 degree stem.
Jaap
I have always wondered about that. I'm not saying a load of spacers is always bad, but a stack of £0,05 aluminium spacers must have an effect on ride quality. There is a reason why the headset bearings aren't in the middle of your headtube..