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strida 3.2 versus strida 5.0

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strida 3.2 versus strida 5.0

Old 08-06-08, 03:52 PM
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strida 3.2 versus strida 5.0

Anyone out there familiar with the differences between the 3.2 and 5.0 versions? The addition of disc brakes on a single speed folder seems like a waste of money in my opinion.

I also noticed that the knock-off is nowhere to be found ... at least by a simple websearch.
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Old 08-06-08, 04:07 PM
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I have a 5 now, and used to have a 3.

The differences are subtle, but significant. Let me try to recount some of them:

1) Bottom bracket - metal instead of plastic on the 3. Big difference when you have to pedal harder, like on inclines. I'm sure they'll last longer too.

2) Wheels - the 5 has metal alloy wheels instead of plastic ones on the 3. Again, inspires confidence and longevity.

3) Disc brakes - sure they're overkill, but dang, they look maaahvelous! If you brake hard with only the front disc brakes, you can flip over the 'bars.

There are other small things that affect usability. Hard to describe, but they all add up to a nice package. The Strida5's are unreasonably expensive at the $799 list price. I got mine for $600. I would not have paid list.

The clones are pretty darn close in quality to the original. Subjectively, I'd say 85% of the real thing. I would say the difference is very comparable to the Merc vs Brompton.

Are you being tempted by one?
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Old 08-06-08, 04:21 PM
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You had a 3 a bikes now you have a 5, soon it will be a 10 and you will need a bigga room u crazy man!

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Old 08-06-08, 04:43 PM
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From the man himself:
Originally Posted by Mark Sanders
The Strida 5 has the freewheel at the back, but any savings due to the belt not turning when freewheeling are offset by the 1:3 ratio turning the front freewheel - lost when it is at the back. This change was more due to being able to use the now more available disc brakes (cf drums), and a conventional crank. All this was made possible by the neat wheel hubs Ming developed for the Strida 5, and light spoked wheels. Unlike me, they never appreciated the 'bomb-proof' plastic wheels and drums. (The Strida 5 will need more protection when using on airlines).

Overall the Strida 5 gives slightly more performance due to metal rims and high pressure tyres - the wheels, disc brakes are awesome, and look cool (bling?), but the drums are OK too. I've got all Stridas and my personal bike is a 3 for its abuse resistance !

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Old 08-06-08, 04:43 PM
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Originally Posted by SesameCrunch
I have a 5 now, and used to have a 3.

The differences are subtle, but significant. Let me try to recount some of them:

1) Bottom bracket - metal instead of plastic on the 3. Big difference when you have to pedal harder, like on inclines. I'm sure they'll last longer too.

2) Wheels - the 5 has metal alloy wheels instead of plastic ones on the 3. Again, inspires confidence and longevity.

3) Disc brakes - sure they're overkill, but dang, they look maaahvelous! If you brake hard with only the front disc brakes, you can flip over the 'bars.

There are other small things that affect usability. Hard to describe, but they all add up to a nice package. The Strida5's are unreasonably expensive at the $799 list price. I got mine for $600. I would not have paid list.

The clones are pretty darn close in quality to the original. Subjectively, I'd say 85% of the real thing. I would say the difference is very comparable to the Merc vs Brompton.

Are you being tempted by one?
Yep. The boss and I are looking for "dinky" single speeds to get to and from the Metro which is less than 1 mile away. Neither of us have much of a walk once we get to DC but we do things that require diddling around the district. Strida or Strda might fit the bill.

EDIT: And yes ... $800 is way too much for them.
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Old 08-06-08, 04:46 PM
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Originally Posted by makeinu
From the man himself:
Thanks.
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Old 08-06-08, 05:02 PM
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Originally Posted by invisiblehand
Yep. The boss and I are looking for "dinky" single speeds to get to and from the Metro which is less than 1 mile away. Neither of us have much of a walk once we get to DC but we do things that require diddling around the district. Strida or Strda might fit the bill.

EDIT: And yes ... $800 is way too much for them.
Not to sound like a broken record (or threadjacker), but if you're not too tall there are single speed Carrymes on sale for $400 plus shipping (w/ free carry bag included) here:
https://www.alternativevehicles.com/s...t.php?browse=1
and they've got a two speed Carryme over at College Park Bikes that you could take for a test ride.

Also, not sure if this applies to Strida freewheels, but the front freewheel on my Carryme is basically silent compared to the loud racheting sound you get from the newer Carryme's (with rear freewheels).
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Old 08-07-08, 04:39 AM
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The Strida 3.2 cost me 299 EUR and the Strida 5 499 EUR.

Yes, the Strida 5 looks cool but as Mark Sanders wrote I've learned to value the points of the Strida 3.

Many people complain about the plastic noise but I have no complains, mine is silent. What I've seen is that the Strida 3 is no longer for sale on several countries, I just hope that there will be no problems to get plastic parts in the future.

About the brakes. There's no need for disc brakes because you'll never go too fast to need them, well, maybe if you try this...

https://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.p...93&postcount=9
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Old 08-07-08, 09:07 AM
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Originally Posted by makeinu
Not to sound like a broken record (or threadjacker), but if you're not too tall there are single speed Carrymes on sale for $400 plus shipping (w/ free carry bag included) here:
https://www.alternativevehicles.com/s...t.php?browse=1
and they've got a two speed Carryme over at College Park Bikes that you could take for a test ride.

Also, not sure if this applies to Strida freewheels, but the front freewheel on my Carryme is basically silent compared to the loud racheting sound you get from the newer Carryme's (with rear freewheels).
Actually, that is an excellent point. I thought that they were more expensive. Please continue to "skip" ...

Mak ... while folded, does it roll on a 8" wheel or those little roller wheels?
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Old 08-07-08, 09:25 AM
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Originally Posted by invisiblehand
Actually, that is an excellent point. I thought that they were more expensive. Please continue to "skip" ...

Mak ... while folded, does it roll on a 8" wheel or those little roller wheels?
Yeah, I think Makeinu makes a good point on the CarryMe here.
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Old 08-07-08, 11:51 AM
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Originally Posted by invisiblehand
Actually, that is an excellent point. I thought that they were more expensive. Please continue to "skip" ...

Mak ... while folded, does it roll on a 8" wheel or those little roller wheels?
Either or both. The roller wheels do a better job supporting the bike while the 8" wheel rolls more easily over rough ground. For walking speeds the easiest thing is to push it on all three so the bike supports itself 100%, but if you're walking fast/jogging and want to tilt the bike and pull it behind then you need to choose between the support of the roller wheels and the resilience of the 8" wheel because it's obviously not possible for all three to touch the ground at more than one orientation. One caveat is that since the 8" wheel only rolls in one direction you can't tilt the bike back and push it in front of you on the 8" wheel because you'd need to turn the bike around in order to keep the rollers off the ground. However, in practice I don't find this to be much of an issue because if I'm running with the bike over a rough surface it typically totals a short distance over stairs, grass, etc where the best thing to do in a rush is just carry the bike anyway. Perhaps the Strida would be better for bouncing down steps while running down long flights stairs to catch a train as in some parts of the NYC subway system, but in my opinion the way the Carryme rolls is better overall.
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Old 08-07-08, 02:26 PM
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From "an extraordinary guest" on stridaforum.com

https://www.stridaforum.com/forum/vie...5&t=52&start=7

Originally Posted by guest
I'm not 100% sure that the strida5 is better than Strida3 (OK IAM biased as a happy 3 owner ).... I take my strida on planes quite a bit, and it gets a hard life - I put it in the bag, with a bungee holding together and a padded envelope over the ball joint. That doesn't stop gorilla bag handlers droping, putting it under suitcases etc. but in about 5 or 6 round trips the bike has been fine - and Damn useful for getting around and getting to know new towns.

What helps are the plastic (nylon??) wheels - which just spring back, and the fully enclosed drum brakes. If I travelled with a Strida5 (or many other bikes with metal spoked wheels - i am sure they wouldn't stand this treatment - and would get bent. The discs would be particularly vunerable.

I go envey those with Strida5 - as they DO look very cool - but for now my good ol 3 suits me best.
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Old 08-07-08, 03:14 PM
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Another interesting little tidbit is that you can apparently roll the Strida while inside the carry bag. Essentially one leaves the bag unzipped by the wheels exposing them to the ground.
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