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I meant by moving the saddle around you change your weight distribution a little, and that will affect the steering a bit. You’d notice a longer wheelbase more if the rear triangle was lengthened rather than the front end, because of the way the bike pivots around the front it increases the steering moment. Extreme example - Mike Burrows’ 8Freight cargo bikes have the loading bay behind the rider instead of the more usual front loaders, because it makes it far more stable.
I wouldn’t like to try riding any Brompton hands free, short or long. All I was saying was that 30mm is a small amount and in the real world you’re not going to notice the difference. This doesn’t just apply to Bromptons of course, I used to ride ridiculously short time trial bikes back in the 80’s only because it was the done thing. It wasn’t until I started looking into bike design I realised that most of it came from folklore and it had always been done that way, and nobody challenged it. Same with crank lengths too, but that’s another story.
Btw, I’m not trying to undermine your knowledge of Brommies, you’re far more knowledgable about them than me!
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jj72
sbbohr
another not, yes, you could move your saddle, but that doesnt change the wheel base of the bike and therefore the handling / stability ... try no hander a swb, then a lwb, its completely different