tcs

I read that the Strida is the number 1 folding bike in South Korea and there are ~25,000 folks on the South Korea Strida forum.



Like they say, if you read it on the internet, it must be true!

These cats are in Hong Kong.

And here are some of our friends from Singapore:



Strangely, nobody but nobody seems to want a Strida in the USA these days.

tcs

This is not the first post to allude that the only reason to own a folder is commuting. Is that really true? Hmph.

Yep, although 316,000,000 individual Americans don't live in average places, they live in particular places. I know folks living in 24 square meter apartments.

Yeah, Birdies are cool.

merry2

again, because it's very niche. and the u.s. is not korea or hk.

Dahon.Steve

Holy Cow! I did not know Bert was killed in a paragliding accident! How sad. He sold me my Brompton years ago. Nice guy.

Dahon.Steve

It's not a bad bicycle. I've test rode the Strida and it's very much a serious folder. With the 3 speed version, you can take this bike anywhere a Brompton can go. It's actually a better folder for taking inside the cabin of a bus. The only bad thing is they were not able to keep of the 3 speed down.

marxmini

the Birdy is still available in the USA from Home

marxmini

i agree.

bfold in new york carries the following folding bikes: brompton, pacific cyles (reach, carry me, if mode, if move), tartaruga, bike friday, xootr swift, moulton (seperable frame), dahon, strida, birdy, tern, catrike (recumbent).

nycewheels carries tern, dahon, and brompton from what i know.

CliffordK

Add to your list of manufactures, DiBlasi who also makes one of the most advanced folding trikes.

I thinik about 90% of the folding bikes don't fold well, and don't ride well, especially the older models from the 60's to 80's.

The 10% that are good are quite expensive, but to some extent rival the non folding bikes in ride quality, or so they say.

I think you've hit it on the nose. Space is one of the issues for folders, home, work, or in vehicles. If one can adequately store the bike, then there is no need for a folder. Perhaps it is more than just space as many Americans will happily store their bikes in their living rooms whereas people in other cultures may not choose to do so. Theft from bike racks?

I rarely ride less than 10 miles each way, 20 miles RT on my bike. I NEED a comfortable bike. I wonder if some of the Asians using folding bikes ride them for less than 1 or 2 miles (walking distance)????

jimboach

Folders are definitely a niche market in the US until there are greater incentives to owning a folding bike. I live in a very expensive city in a small apartment and do not own a car so owning a $1,000 bike that folds and looks weird to the average person isn't such a big deal but many people think that's crazy money and way too much to spend on something that doesn't look like their perceived normal bike. To most people, anything more than $300 is a lot to spend on ANY bike.

Azreal911

Those people that think $1000 for a good folder is expensive should look into how much money they spend a year on transit alone! most don't think of the bigger picture and how you don't need to take the bus or subway anymore if you are riding to work.

tcs

Actually, b_fold, Citizen, Dahon, dibar, Downtube, Dynamic, Giant, Hasa, KHS, Melon, Mobic, Montecci, Novara, Origami, Origin-8, Oyama, retrospec, Schwinn, Tern, Ubike and maybe others all sell folders in the USA. They just all fold the same way. I find this lack of diversity odd.

tcs

Do you find it odd that this market doesn't exist in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston...?

tcs

Yep. Hong Kong has a population of ~7 million (roughly equal to the populations of Los Angeles and Chicago combined), the USA in total ~316 million (amazingly enough not all of whom have homogeneous living arrangements or lifestyles). One would think they could move a few Stridas in America, but apparently, no.

CliffordK

The single fold in the middle is old technology, and would be well beyond any patents.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the bikes showing up are made by the same factory with different logos. Nonetheless, the required engineering would be minimal.

The single fold in the middle is also quick and easy to do. What is the additional space savings of bikes that fold around the bottom bracket, and incorporate several folds?

One of the limitations of folding bicycles is dealing with the chain and driveline. One can't simply fold the chain. So, either one rotates the rear triangle around the bottom bracket, or folds the bike in front of the bottom bracket.

One can't shorten the chain stays too much. I bought a cheap Citta folding bike, and have a lot of troubles keeping the front wheel on the ground when riding up my driveway due to awkward weight distribution. I have to do some rebuilding before the bike is truly usable.

Consumers obviously like lots of options and cheap bikes, but I'm glad that some of the bikes like Bike Friday, Birdy, or Brompton can buck the trends and make quality unique bikes. Bike Friday is still manufactured here in the USA.

Azreal911

I really wish I can answer that for you but I cannot. The ONLY thing i know of that's different is New York is tightly packed and you can get anywhere you want quickly. also there's been quite a bit of effort getting bike lanes in throughout the city.

Los Angeles is mostly urban sprawl and everything is pretty spread out. there is no cycling infrastructure from what I've seen while driving around the city 5 years ago but things change over time if you have the right people working for the city.

Chicago, there's a nice bike lane right along the bay and passes through Navy Pier which is a gorgeous route to take before you head off into the city streets. I've seen a downtube while walking to work downtown once, and Chicago does have a market: Folding Bikes ? Rapid Transit Cycleshop

Washington DC: no clue I just know in the summer it's very muggy and hot also i wasn't aware any bike lanes downtown but this was years ago and cycling on the mall looks fun but it's gravel.

San Fran: hills like hell! not sure if anyone wants to bike there unless their bike has a 25 gear inch setting! but going down those hills can be white knuckle.

These are places that I've personally been to and walked around I can't say anything about the rest cause there's not first hand experience from me.

Joe Remi

San Francisco has an huge cycling culture, but doesn't seem to have found a reason to focus it on folders as of yet. As you say, the hills are pretty gnarly, and most people (aside from the insane fixie/messenger people) are tackling them on very-low-geared mountain and city bikes, then hopping onto BART or CalTrain. You would think the average apartment size there would draw these riders to folders, but I haven't seen a significant exodus towards them as of yet.

invisiblehand

There are all sorts of folks and places. But if you want to know why the US is different, then it's best to start with some simple metrics.



They do move a few in the US.

washuai

I've seen a strida in San Francisco with owner, and two others for sale (folding boutique LBS). That's just it, people are more likely to know about Brompton and it has more cargo options, than Strida, even if the weight limits are similar. Those with less money, probably have been buying various Dahons, (or I see some shorter old ladies with small big box girl bikes) even if it was larger than they find convenient.


I get we're discussion market, as being small it is to blame for the lack of diversity in options. No where in the US has the population density of NYC. What is the size of the NYC folder market? In New York, folders are out numbered by regular & bike share, aren't they? How does that differ from San Francisco, where if I'm looking, especially during commute, I can see folders everyday. There's a folding dedicated bike shop in San Francisco, Warm Planet Bikes. Not to mention Bay Area Bikes in Oakland. Two dedicated stores suggest some kind of market. Plus, there's a Bike Friday dealer in Marin.
I've been to NYC, just I noticed cabs and pedestrians and didn't see any folding bikes and noticed few bikes in general.


There is plenty of leisure and commuter action that can be had without going over the hills in SF. In addition to the hills, they have to conquer the chill, rain and drivers. I think people lack education &/or come up with far more excuses not to, than do research and learn about what cycling can do for them.

dynaryder

Lolz @ The Mall;you know people besides tourists live here?

DC is very hilly;all my friends who were into fixies have since gone back to gears now that they're getting older. My 3spd Hooli is purely a toy,my old 3spd Otis was just a run around on bike as well.

Most of the bike commuters I see around here ride around or into/out of the city. There are some folks who multi-mode between the Metro(subway) and biking,but they're pretty rare as it's a PITA to take even folding bikes on the trains during rush hour. Looking at suburb stations like Falls Church,people seem to prefer biking to Metro and then taking the train in. Many downtown stations are only a couple blocks from where they work(Metro was specifically designed to move govt workers in/out of the city),so they don't need to ride for that last leg.

Azreal911

Guilty, I was for a week on a conference and living 50 meters from the mall. I'm as tourist as you can get.

antimonysarah

Well, but a lot of the point of a folder is that you can go multi-modal with it. I still pay ungodly amounts for transit, I just also get to ride rather than take the bus at either end of my rail trip. If I were entirely bike-commuting for the entire round-trip, I'd use a full-size bike.

There are a lot of folders in Boston -- it seems like I see more of them go past every day. Though I still get a ton of comments on it when folding/unfolding at the bus stop. And I walked into a local high-end shop that had previously been pretty much exclusively a roadie place to see a giant display of Bromptons. But I don't know what all brands are available in the area -- there might not be much other than Brompton and Dahon.

KlibanQat

I would like to try a Strida. I do not have a problem with riding something that is not bike-shaped. But I HAVE to try it first. I am 5'1/2" petite. Strida says it starts at 5'4" and there is no putting an even shorter seat post on it.
That is the weirdest mixing of offerings I ever heard of. If the idea was to get word of mouth advertising going, it worked on me. What kind of clothing was the shop selling?

dynaryder

There's a men's clothing shop there right now,not sure if it's the same one or not. Can't remember the name,it's some national suit type chain. They didn't have the bikes there for too long;never saw any being ridden,so guessing they didn't sell well.

invisiblehand

Spokes carried STRIDAs for a while. But I'm guessing that they are long gone from their stock.

There are two height settings for the saddle. I'd let you try my bike but lowering the saddle is somewhat time consuming to do at work ... I work downtown by the White House. My wife who is a few inches taller than you (5'4") fits the bike well when I lower the saddle. I suppose that one could change the saddle to effectively lower one self a bit ... the stock saddle is relatively "puffy". FWIW, I'm not sure you could fit the bike without physically trying it.

There is a STRIDA Mini. But I don't recall seeing one for sale in years.

Bill Wilby

A person 4'9" to 6'2" can ride a Strida comfortably. I have witnessed young people less than 4'9" being able to ride the Strida. The standard seat mount found on the Lt model adjusts by removing the rack and saddle and loosening the botls. There is a high range defined by a pin in the frame tube that has a high and low position.
The Q/R seat mount adjusts without doing the above removal. The Q/R seat mount is standard on the SX and the 3 speed EVO Srida bikes. Also I have just posted a review on my site of a rider 6'4" who finds the Strida comfortable.

cheers Bill

Disclaimer, I am the Canadian distributor of Strida bikes