radityajoko

hello,

first of all sorry to bring up old thread. however just to provide information for those who is considering between strida or brompton, i have some short review to compare both.

1st bike is Strida 5.2 which i converted to 18" wheels and stripped down as much as i can. and the saddle is brompton original saddle which i remove from the brompton.
2nd bike is Brompton M6R Bone stock except for brooks team pro copper.

my current apartment is in 3rd floor so both bike gets same amount of lifting and hauling up and downstairs. this functionality strida wins a lot. while brompton might be compact, but to fold it while still moving forward towards the stairs is something you can only do with strida (or tikit, but i dont have that). plus strida is like a lot less weight compared to brompton with the rack and the bags. one point for the strida.

hauling cargo is where strida sucks. basically the stock rack is useless. you can bring 6 cans of coke (or beer) in that rack but thats it. brompton with the carrier block basically carries anything you can throw inside the bag/basket and plus you have a rack with strap so any excess can be strapped there. so the brompton gets the duty to bring back groceries from the market or some parts for the other bikes

my daily commute is quite short, however since i lived in a port city it comes with healthy amount of short but steep climbs. even guys with hardtails MTB prefer to push their bike in these climbs, because it is significantly faster and easier than pushing a granny. so even though the strida is single speed, the commute is not so painful with it. and since the belt is nice and smooth it is actually quite nice spinning the strida. the brompton has six ratio at your disposal, and it helps a lot in the last stretch before getting into the office where there is a long climbs before the gate. so for the commute parts, both bike seems working just fine.

traveling in Seoul, i sometimes carry a bike from my city with express train. the brompton wins hard with the express train, since the luggage storage is perfect for the folded size and the overhead storage is too stressful for you to put a strida in it. arriving in the city is the opposite story, hauling brompton into a subway makes me want to pack the strida instead, since you can hug the bike or stuff it in the corner of the train without much trouble to other passenger. oh, did i say the strida is way lighter?

air travel.
both bike travels well in their soft cases. i prefer soft cases since it is possible for you to fold it into manageable pack and carry it with you while riding out of the airport. if you plan to have hardcase, pick the brompton. strida with a hardcase probably equivalent to hauling a cello inside a its case.
luggage handlers also cannot harm the brompton much because when it folded you practically have nothing for them to destroy. except maybe some fenders.

locking outside
Brompton has more rigid frame therefore locking it outside probably manageable with some good locks. strida however, you need to fold before to lock it, and the frame is open on one end so a cable lock can be useless if you did not lock it correctly.

from these points, i prefer strida for my daily and relaxed commute to office and to nearby convenience store to buy some snacks. brompton is more like my folded SUV, to go to grocery or to take it for some weekend short touring. strida can be used for quite a distance, but you cannot bring anything with you, it doesn't even have a bottle cage mounts on it (although you can use some monkii cage).

so both bike can be useful and wonderful, depends on your taste. if you dont mind carrying all your stuff on your backpack you might get along very well with strida. if you are more like a businessman type who cant leave your laptop at home, i suggest you to get a brompton and the bag.

i hope this can help to decide between both.