Strida Folding Bike Circumnavigates the Polar Circle
As we mentioned in this post, the Strida bike has crossed the Sahara Desert. Now, Regis Fender has ridden from France to the Polar Circle and then circumnavigated the circle, all on his Strida; some 3500 kilometers.
As posted on RideThisBike.com
“Although a Strida folding bike may not seem like an ideal bicycle for long distance touring, Regis loves his. He has written that the belt drive and simple design makes the bike very reliable.”
You can take a look at Regis’ blog. There are some stunning images there.
There is also a posting at VivaLaBike.com where they write:
“The Strida that he rides is a folding, single gear, belt drive bike. It’s designer Mark Sanders, designed the bike for urban commuters with the intention that the bike would be used for short commutes. However, we’ve found, and Regis has proven, that the Strida is a more than capable bike for long commutes and can withstand the rigors of the road.”
Belt-Drive pioneered by STRiDA goes mainstream
The STRiDA folding bike successfully commercialized the use of a drive-belt over more than 20 years. Clean, maintenance free belt-drives have a lot of advantages over chains. As I mentioned in a previous post, they are now beginning to be adopted by some industry heavyweights and more than 50 other manufacturers and custom shops.
Here’s a more specific summary from Bike Radar.
Interbike 09 Trends observed
Interbike 2009 wrapped up in Las Vegas on Friday.
Amidst the thousands of bicycles and accessories, there were 3 major trends.
1. The emergence of the drive belt replacing the chain has become, well, more mainstream. STRiDA folding bikes have been successfully using the belt since 1985, and the reviews of the belt drive have all been positive. For 2010 bicycles from Specialized, Trek and others adopt the proven technology and reviews are positive as well. A drive belt lasts longer than a chain and does not need to be lubricated with oil. It therefore can be much more appropriate for the commute, keeping your clothes clean. The belt on the STRiDA folding bike has an expected service life of a minimum of 50,000 miles!
2. The rapid growth of the number of commuter and city bike models that we have seen recently has become massive – definitely the fastest growing segment of the Bicycle Industry. The industry is betting heavily that people in North America will continue to move to bike commuting in ever-larger numbers.
3. Speaking of growth in bike commuting, this is beginning to fuel a related trend that was evident at Interbike; business appropriate clothing that is at the same time, bicycle commuting appropriate. On display were more and more garments tailored to business/career and casual dress, made out of lightweight wicking fabrics and cut for cycling motion.
All positive confirmation of a positive trend away from fossil-fuel commuting.
