Folding Bikes - Strida - a folding bike that you might like

Until Pederson's great-grandson or daughter comes out with a 15 lb. folder, we must still consider the likes of a Strida. The newest 3a model looks like a winner with optional high-performance aluminum wheels and hub 'gear' sproket. I just spent about ten hours examining everything Strida had online (blueprints/manual/parts lists). The bike is indeed re-engineered into a potentially hot performer (well, at least durable).

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hope to test it soon.


Maybe you will have better insight(s) once you've actually ridden one.

Besides, someone has already created another umbrella-like folding bike: airframe (http://airframe.foldabikes.com/)

Note that the Airframe AF1 costs 3X what a Strida3 complete with the performance kit and optional metal wheels costs.

This bike doesn't really have a small folded size (45" x 20" x 20") and it's use of non-standard parts make it pretty much uncustomizable. Compare this with buying a Dahon or Brompton, building your own rear wheel and using whatever cassette arrangement you want. And still having something that can fit in an airline case. It may be cute and seem to be a novel design, but it's functional value seems very low in comparison to other bikes that aren't too far out of, or below, its price range.

I agree the Strida is different, (and not for folk who prefer traditional stuff) but just cos its different doesn't mean its necessarily cr*p .... have you actually tried one of the latest ? (not the early ones from the 80's).
Its 8" wide (not 20") with folding bars and pedals, so its long and thin, and fits in places where other more conventional folders just dont go. A key advantage is no carrying when folded - it just rolls on its wheels. As for performance, put it this way, its as fast as our other familly folder (a Brompton) on the commute and the speed of folding, 5sec, more than makes up for its lack of gears. At the price i'd say its value is brilliant !

OK just my opinion, but at least backed up by recent experience.

As for performance, put it this way, its as fast as our other familly folder (a Brompton) on the commute and the speed of folding, 5sec, more than makes up for its lack of gears. At the price i'd say its value is brilliant !

- Do you notice any creaking (from the aluminum) if you overload it at all - i.e. carry panniers, strap items to the rack, etc.?

- What size 16" tires are they anyway: ETRTO 349 or 305? (I'm assuming the size of the new metal wheels is the same as the nylon wheels.)

- What size are the crank arms?

- After having it a few more months now, how is it holding up - i.e. seat slippage, drive train belt slippage, handlebar robustness, etc.?

Thanks.

- Do you notice any creaking (from the aluminum) if you overload it at all - i.e. carry panniers, strap items to the rack, etc.?
Nope .... no creaking etc. - probably because there is no hinge joint -it folds at a 'ball' which is also the top 'headset' bearing - I tend to use an over shoulder bag so have taken off the rack (makes it more 'umbrella like')
- What size 16" tires are they anyway: ETRTO 349 or 305? (I'm assuming the size of the new metal wheels is the same as the nylon wheels.)
I've got the plastic wheels - didn't know about the metal ones. The tyres are 40-305 (16 x 1.50) 65psi.
- What size are the crank arms? Normal (170mm approx)
- After having it a few more months now, how is it holding up - i.e. seat slippage, drive train belt slippage, handlebar robustness, etc.? I didn't adjust anything on it for several months of fairly hard use. Then I checked it over and adjusted (about 1/2 turn each) the handle bar QR, and the belt adjuster because the belt slipped 1 tooth once in the wet (scary as it sounded like a loud structural bang!). I haven't touched either since. There is no seat slippage but the screws have to be tight to avoid side to side movement - in fact the seat adjustment is cr*p - there are 3 bolts; one has to be removed and the other 2 slackened - luckily I only have to do this occasionally when my wife uses it, because the seat doesn't move for folding. The handlebars are much stiffer than on the brompton (and I guess all the other folders with low frames and long handlebar mountings). Overall I'm very pleased with it. Its nice to have a Brompton too (its so naff to have matching his n hers stuff !). Hope this answers q's ....... Si

Just got one from FedEx this afternoon and did one ride up and down the block in the dark, as I had to get back to work. My tenant also took a short spin- I value his judgement as a daily cyclist and bioengineering MA (artificial elbows). We both thought it was potentially very fast- too fast for the gearing, I think. The aluminum alloy wheels came with the same tire size and PSI rating-65. I think they're Kendas but it was too dark to read that small stuff. I dug up my digital caliper and read the tube diameters- the bottom tube is slightly more than 1.5", the others =>1.25". The folding handlebars did not cooperate fully at first out-of-the-box attempt. They seemed to stick and not push in all the way without resistance I consider unacceptable. This is just an engineering technicality- perhaps lubrication or I did not do some procedure- I guess I'll read the instructions this weekend.
As for construction, the framing fit very well, with a nice solid lock with the top ball-socket and lower thrust bearing on the steering element.
The seat support did it job, but could easily be replaced with an articulated "A" mount which would quick-release during portage to pull down and flatten the seat against the frame. This would bring it in another six inches perhaps, cutting the cubic specs even more.
There is also potential for moving the bottom crank and pully assembly forward or backward maybe six inches. This would give either a competitive forward posture or a laid-back semi-recumbant "comfort" position like the Workman or Giant comfort recliners. You'd probably need a back-brace on the seat.
Another mod would be to have a good welder extend the bottom frame-tube about six inches which will give maybe ten inches to the wheel footprint if you want to try a less maneuverable but more stable and lower wind profile road posture. If Stida can't come up with some gearing options, probably a good machine/engineering shop will find something to replace that front pulley sprocket. Maybe a Maaxis? rear tire similar to one I have for a 20" bike and which is very thick and larger diameter and 120psi (I think) will help a little.
I even thought that this Strida 3a could mimic Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion car in part by flipping the seat to the steering tube, locking up the freewheel (in the front sprocket) and treating the machine like a track bike fixedgear with front-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering. Who said no modifications???

Enjoy Jimber and good luck with the mods !! (you are a braver man than I !!) ... I guess at the price you could have a 'project bike' and an untouched one. My handle bars were a bit tight to start with, but did free up when used a few times and anyway can be adjusted (screw on QR).

Where is Whiteway? It is a small town (imagine in 1900!) about 10km from Gloucester, where Pedersen had his bicycle manufacturing facility. By roads, it was perhaps 20km, and who knows what surfaces were extant at the time.
There is an excellent website on Pedersen and his designs- he was very clever, though not as clever perhaps as Leonardo da Vinci in bicycle design. The difference is in the metallurgical technology and craftmanship. Da Vinci did not take time to construct and test his numerous inventions, which included a self-propelled spring-driven carriage. If he did, we might be at the doorstep of the twenty-third century by now. I wonder what bike design will be favored at that time- if humanity should be so lucky to survive its' vices.

www.dursley-pedersen.netThanks for the info Regarding Whiteway. That spring driven carriage might be really hard to wind up though.

The Strida may not be great, but I dig the fact that someone is thinking about new geometries for achieving some degree of ridigity in HPVs. Some thought definitly went into its structure.

Update:
I have tried my newish Strida 3a several times now in practical situations. I took it with me from Valparaiso to the South Shore Line railroad on lower lake Michigan back to Chicago. It fit into an older folding bike bag conveniently, with just the handlebar ends sticking out the top about 8". I bungied the bag in the middle to keep it from being too baggie. It looked like I was carrying a guitar over my shoulder when carrying it. It fit nicely on the 15" x 15" approximately overhead rack storage space. (The railroad website said all bikes should be bagged so I didn't want any trouble with the conductor). The bag was a convenient adjunct for carrying stuff, and it also crushed into a standard backpack. I did order the standard Strida bag for possible airplane use, since it is padded and completely encloses the bike. I also ordered some nylon/urethane black heavyduty fabric from www.AHH.biz, two yards for about $25 plus postage. It is strong but light and will be convenient for quick velcro covering the bike, like a wrap-around skirt, where required for transport, and folds to the size of a 10 x12x1 mailer (in which it came). Where this bike stands out is in downtown cities. The 16" wheels accelerate like a rocket since they lack inertia. This could contribute to instability at 20mph but at a realistic maximum crusing speed of 10 or 12 mph it is so graceful that I just had to laugh at the absurd manueverability in a traffic crunch- the best bike for urban warfare I have ever ridden- including my four junky or clunky older folders. The prior folder purchase was a 20" solid driveshaft job that I thought might be good for trains because there is no grease exposed, but the driveshaft ate up a lot of power- it looked good but did not accelerate or ride very well, was not very compact and weighed a ton!
Back to the wheels, if I ordered another I'd likely go with the nylon because you just can't go fast enough to benefit from hi-pressure tires useable with the aluminum option wheels. You also have a 1/2 lb. extra weight penalty with aluminum (big deal). The one upside of aluminum might be that the hub is machined aluminum including the belt cog drive, so some early complaints about long-term wear with the nylon cogs would not apply much to the harder aluminum metal. Strida told me that they have never had a structural failure of any nylon wheel so reliablility is apparentlly not an issue.
I took the bike on a Critical Mass ride in Chicago, often pressed on each side (all four) by cyclists trying to squeeze through intersections. With literally hundreds of cyclists moving down the street, I had no problem keeping control of the Strida in extremely close quarters. I imagined I was in Bejing or Paris during rush hour, but a Friday night in downtown Chicago might actually be worse when you factor in the Eagle Flying factor, and associated unwinding effect of happy motorists. My earlier complaint about the folding handlebars was my ignorance of the clamp-lock- it was in lock position when I tried to insert the handlebars just after delivery and in the dark. They work just fine, and are as solid as need be. They could be easily replaced with a cut-in-two riser bar if one is too tall and bumps knees agains the bars. That seems to be the main problem with riders over 6' tall- my tenant is maybe 6'4" and had to be careful on the Strida for that reason.
My next project might be to put on a seat suspension to take the sting out of longer rides and potholes- Brooks has a nice spring/leather seat that should bolt right on but I have a cane-creek thudbuster which I might try to install on the seat bracket. I really like this Strida and keep it in the hallway by the door ready to pop in a car or train as required. www.strida.com

Interesting write up on your Strida3, Jimber, especially comments about the metal wheels - they were not available when i ordered, but sounds like they have pros (high pressure tyres) and cons (weight). I haven't got a bag either, but have been meaning to try one of those cheap traveling golf bags - the sort you see on airlines, with little wheels on the bottom. I experimented with the seat height and found higher is better, as knees then dont bend as much so avoid the bars. It does feel different, but I now really like the riding position - especially in traffic; straight back and good view.

How are you getting on with the stares and questions ? ;-)

Just joined the forum and thought I'd share about the 2 Strida 2's I own. I found both of them at a yard sale. Both were brand new and unridden. They had been gifts to the young couple who had them and did not want them. I think that they also did not know what they had, their value, etc... Anyway I (57 y/o, 200#) kept one and gave one to my daughter (21 y/o 110#) and we both love them. They are a joy to ride, are great for dual-mode commuting, handle amazing in crowded pedestrian situations, and are GREAT conversation starters. I keep mine in the trunk of my car all the time and take it out whenever I need it. I am stopped constantly by people wanting to know what it is and asking to try it. It's really a trip when guys on $1000 + road bikes get on it--they're amazed. Riding a Strida is not about speed, distance, touring, etc... it's about fun and efficient commuting. The geometry is different and takes some getting used to. After that, it's all fun. A Strida will not replace your road or mountain bike, but it does what it is intended for quite well. Also, re: airline travel. I was planning to take mine on a trip w me and went to the airport in advance to ask re whether it could be checked for free as one of my pieces of luggage. The agent said no--there was a charge forshipping any tyope of bicycle. I went to the airline web page, printed out the page with the regulations re checked baggage measurments, went back to the airport w my Strida in it's bag and a tape measure and had a discussion with a supervisor. The Strida flew free!! They had no idea that a "bike" could collapse that small!!

OK, I took the plunge today and ordered a Strida3, with the performance kit and travel bag. I'm letting them do the assembly, since it ships free if you buy a bike+performance kit+assembly (in other words, assembly ends up costing just $5 over the shipping fee without assembly). My intent is for me and the wife to test the bike, and if it works for us, to order a second one before we leave for a European vacation later this year. Ordering was really easy, and I am impressed with their owner's manual, which is very specific (torque values for individual bolts, etc.) and a whole lot better than the generic manuals that come with most bikes these days. I'll report back when I've got the bike and have had a chance to try it.

I'm looking for a few Strida owners to answer the questions on the ' Hitchikers guide to the folding bicycle' thread on this board. I'm trying to get a well rounded set of various brand owners to give the reasoning behind the hows/whys of ending up at their current bike choice. I think this will make great critical reading for newbies planning on purchasing a folding bike purchase.

Thanks,
DG1

I got my Strida on Saturday. I am very impressed! Factory assembly was good, with the exception of the belt tension being a bit tight, which I backed off a bit. I've been riding it between raindrops all weekend, and brought it downtown on my commute today. The steering takes a little getting used to, but it rolls really nice, has a nice upright riding position and is rather impressive climbing moderate hills despite the single speed. Very lightweight, too. I'm 6' 2" and I don't find the bike too small, although someone a couple inches taller than me might hit their knees on the handlebars while pedaling. Unfolding it is a bit tricky, in particular, the magnetic catch that holds the wheels together when folded takes some effort to release - any tips from other owners? Also, the freewheel, which is in the chainring/crank assembly rather than the rear hub, seems a bit squeaky, it might need to be lubed up some. Now the big question is whether I can get the wife interested...

I found the same with my magnet catch - try the tiny adjustment screw which alters the tension. Also a neat trick is to release and hold the crank tube, then release the wheels by tapping the LH handlebar forward - easier than bending down to prize the wheels apart - but you have to have the magnet set just right. I use motorbike spray on chain lube on all my other bike's, goes in thin then thikens up inside and keeps the water out, might be good for freewheels.

As for your wife ... well, if she's like mine your bike will soon be hi-jacked.

we have one of those at my shop. last i heard, it was broken and we were trying to get a part for it...last time i put it together, it looked fine, but i haven't ridden it yet. maybe i'll take it out for a spin tomorrow on my lunch.

they fold up like a transformer, which is why i think it's cool. More than meets the eye.