The 100+ cm 1h swords catch on the ground and teammates behind you too much on overheads, which should be one of your main attacks as a 1h. I prefer the Arming Sword, which is a slightly shorter/lighter Italian Sword (i.e. faster turn rate for lolstabs). I also really like the ~85 cm swords (Broad Short and Grosses Messer); this is the perfect length for most engagements on Siege (where I play exclusively).
On duel server, I've noticed even going from 100->101 speed allows you to land a lot more hits on skilled players. 103 speed (+3 Liuyedao) coupled with high wpf is borderline ridiculous, where even highly skilled players fall for your feints with regularity. 97-98 speed is just too slow (for 1h) to have a prayer in a 1v1 against a good blocker.
In this "endgame" cRPG that we are in now, like Penitent said, speed is everything. I haven't seen a German or Danish greatsword in months.
