Strida Folding Bicycle, Design History and Background

Posted by Steve on Jul 7th, 2010 | no comments

It’s amazing to explore the early stages of an industry changing idea. Mark Sanders, the designer of the Strida Folding Bicycle has posted his Master’s Thesis on the Strida’s design, and his Business Plan.  Thanks to Treehugger.com for posting, The Fascinating History of the Strida Bike

Belt-Drive pioneered by STRiDA goes mainstream

Posted by Steve on Oct 2nd, 2009 | 2 comments

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

Posted by Steve on Sep 28th, 2009 | one comment

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.

Sport Duos: Second Impression

Posted by Steve on Aug 27th, 2009 | 12 comments

The STRiDA 2-speed SportDuos are here. It’s my 2nd impression since I tried one about 1 1/2 years ago in a parking lot for all of 45 seconds.
For those who would either like a little more top-end speed from their STRiDA, or even better hill climbing ability, the Sport Duo is amazing.
The gears are changed with a tap of the heel. At first, I needed to look down, think about where, when and how I would tap. During the first day though this became much more natural with little need to look down to see what your feet are up to.
1st gear at 47 gear inches ( vs. 52 on the single speed bike) is a terrific hill-climber. For acceleration from a standing start, you’ll find yourself shifting to 2nd before getting to the other side of the intersection. 2nd gear gives you much more speed at a reasonable cadence.
If you add 18″ wheels to your Sport Duo, 1st gear becomes the same as the single speed at 52 gear inches and 2nd is almost too tall, but amazing for speed (see gear chart below).

I really enjoy what happens when, on occasion, a cyclist who may take themselves fairly seriously assume that because my STRiDA is a nice small folder that they will need to crowd in front of me at a stoplight; then I out-accelerate them, click into 2nd and they never catch up.

Gadget show tests STRiDA 3.0

Posted by Steve on Sep 17th, 2008 | one comment

Watch the STRiDA 3.0 (STRiDAs are now version 5.0) go up against the A-Bike on Britain’s Gadget show.

A little old, but fun to watch