It is a 9cm difference. I'd call this a lot, the more as I personally recognize already differnces of 1,5cm on the handlebars pretty massively.When you see them side by side like that, with the additional height of the front stem, the S Type are not actually that much lower.
You also can't buy an S-stem any more. It's one of the parts Brompton doesn't trust you to fit. You have to have a dealer order it and fit it for you.
That's true for the UK but not necessarily for other parts of the world. When they invented this policy a couple of years ago Brompton said (as to my memory) they wanted to get rid of the armada of malmechaniced Bromptons in the UK. Does this say something about British home bike mechanics?You also can't buy an S-stem any more. It's one of the parts Brompton doesn't trust you to fit. You have to have a dealer order it and fit it for you.
If you consider this a 5 minute job Brompton has a good reason not to sell these parts to a general audience. It starts with the right tools, continues with the correct cable lengths and does not end with the correct amount of torque. I have changed countless stems and bars on Bromptons - not a single one needed five minutes an most needed a surprisingly huge lot of time until everything worked totally flawlessly as it is supposed to.That’s crazy, it’s a 5 minute job to fit.
If you consider this a 5 minute job Brompton has a good reason not to sell these parts to a general audience. It starts with the right tools, continues with the correct cable lengths and does not end with the correct amount of torque. I have changed countless stems and bars on Bromptons - not a single one needed five minutes an most needed a surprisingly huge lot of time until everything worked totally flawlessly as it is supposed to.