Several readers have noted that we neglected to mention the Strida folding bike in our folding bike round-up. The Strida is a unique bike designed to take a commuter a few miles to the train or bus. It has an extremely quick folding action: it takes about seven seconds to fold one up. Here’s a video of the folding action:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRmfMszDbWo[/youtube]
There are two models of Strida. The original 3.2 Strida weighs 22 pounds and features many maintenance-free components: drum brakes, grease-free belt drive, plastic wheels, plastic hubs and plastic bottom bracket. This means you can carry the Strida without worrying about getting grease on your clothes.
The next version of the Strida, the 5.0, improved the quality and reduced weight to 19.4 lbs with disc brakes, anodized alloy wheels, somewhat better cranks and chainring, and alloy hubs and bottom bracket. Both models are single speed.
A Strida owner, Bruce Hartleben says:
Unlike the Brompton, the Strida is a single gear with (dry) belt drive, which means no shifter or greasy chain, no tension adjustments and no caught pant legs. Even though there is only one speed, I can still climb reasonable hills. The tires are mini fat tubes, so you can jump curbs and hit potholes without any problems. The bike has a very, very tight turning radius, and while riding, your posture is quite upright – like a boulevard bike, not humped over like a road bike – so you can see traffic while riding in a suit and tie.
Small wheeled bikes like the Strida can take some getting used to — some riders find it easy to topple over on them.
There’s a detailed review of the Strida on Bike Design.
The Strida was developed by Mark Sanders, a British bike designer (who is now working on bringing his IF bike to market).
The Strida 5.0 bike is available from Amazon for $800.
So, it’s a bicycle, but what makes it more efficient than other bikes? If we’re talking about efficiency here, why not post about recumbents?
Great review !
I’m pleased you included Strida – I have tried many folding bikes and Strida is unique and now one of my favourite possessions… I just love it !!
What makes it special is its amazing combination of features – all designed for ease of use when riding AND when not riding eg trains / cars /malls / – comfy upright riding position, really lightweight, clean belt, it rolls.
I was sceptical at first as it probably breaks ‘all the rules’ of traditional bikes, But in fact it feels so easy to ride, and ‘just right’ – there is a fun factor – a sort of feelgood factor.