44mm head tube versus 1 1/8.

[XXtwindad]

I realize there might have been a thread on this before, so apologies for any redundancies. Contemplating the build for the last bike I'll every buy (for myself) It will most likely be a very light steel bike. Columbus Spirit, probably.

Does a bigger (44mm) head tube negate the weight savings of a lighter steel bike? I've heard that several times. I'm also aware that the conventional thinking is that is makes the bike much stiffer on the front end.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.