Strida bikes – practical option or just for posing??

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

I'm a total Brompton fan,but if a quick fold is not necessary the moulton is a strong competitor.

£1440 buys you a Brompton S1E-X which weigh less than 9.5 kg, which is a bike you could in theory have for life.

 

[Blue Hills]

Depends what you mean by cycle paths.

Small-wheeled bikes are not brilliant on hard pack or cinder tracks.

Running lower tyre pressures - slightly increasing the risk of punctures - helps traction.

The Dahon has 20" wheels, much better on tracks than the Brompton's 16".

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I'd respectfully dispute this. I've ridden my Brompton on some fairly rough hard-packed tracks/roads in Sardinia. And outrun dogs on it. Bromptons and their wheels are built like tanks in my experience - old fashioned Brit engineering. I also have a Dahon Speed Pro - I wouldn't take it on even a smoothish hard-pack for any distance. Far too delicate.

 

[Brommyboy]

The only constraint to small wheels is soft stuff: hard packed is no different from tarmac. The Dahon does not have 20" wheels unless fat tyres (2+") are fitted - road tyres measure to about 18", so very little difference compared with 16". H bars are the same as M, but higher and ideal if using an extended seatpost; S bars are lower and further forward than M; P are fine for taller riders, but the controls are on the top and awkward to reach in a hurry if riding on the lower grips.

 

[seadragonpisces]

Thanks, after much research I gave up on the Strida, just not practical enough (for my needs)

I have gone with a Brompton and will be getting my 2013 spec one sometime next month.

I am sure it wont take me long to adapt, my last 2 smaller bikes were a Dahon and a Pacific Reach Racing, both with 20'' wheels.

 

[ufkacbln]

Way back there was a Folding Bike Conference in Weymouth and there was a competition involving cycling, folding and unfolding and getting over or through obstacles........the Strida won hands down

 

[Little My]

I just looked it up as I used to live in Weymouth up till a few years ago. Shame they haven't done it again
Lol the conference was in 1996 and it seems 'the competition' involved faffing around the Pavilion not riding - more about fun then practicality or presenting the bike as a viable transport option. A great shame, as hardly anybody cycles in Weymouth, the town centre is stupidly congested even out of season so being able to ride around safely would be the perfect alternative.

 

[JC4LAB]

The problem I see might be weight bearabilty and tolerance of some folding bikes...and I think the strida might not cope with the larger heavier rider..Interested to hear from any of large build who has one and finds theres no problem as I would like to a have a Strider very much..

 

[T4tomo]

Brompton is far more relaible and better made than a dahon, you get what you pay for. My friend has a dahon and curses that he didn't get a Brompton. if you think you can cope with 3 gears rather tha 6 I'd also strongly recommend that. the deraileur bit of teh 6 gears doesn't have the best reputation for being trouble free.
Try the diferent bars and see what you think. I much preferred the S bars to the M bars as it gives a riding position more like my other bikes, the M was too upright for me - but some prefer it that way.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Brompton is far more relaible and better made than a dahon, you get what you pay for.

I can't say that I have had any issues at all with my Dahon in what way do you believe they are less reliable than a Brompton or do you have evidence supporting this statement.

 

[T4tomo]

Flimsy/cheaper components, derailleur gears which are less reliable / need more maintaining than hub, laughable folding capability.

As i said above my friend has one which is newer than my Brommie and needs regular attention. I've changed a gear cable, chain and sprocket, plus a couple of tyres and brake pads in 8 years.

I'm not saying the Dahons are bad, just the Bromptons are better.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

IMHO that's a bit like saying bikes fitted with mechanical gears are less reliable than Di2 equipped bikes because the components are flimsy/cheaper and require maintenance... the fact that I have not adjusted my Di2 since setting it up is not evidence that mechanical shifting is unreliable. If you do the required maintenance mechanical shifting is fine.
I grant you that a brommie is of a higher quality, better build and has a far superior fold than the Dahon however the higher cost equally means they are looked after more IMHO.. you see a lot more abused Dahons than you do brommies, but to state they are far more reliable is not correct.
I treat my Dahon the same way as all the other bikes in my house and its been as reliable for me as the brommie which was purchased at the same time.

 

[StuAff]

IMHO that's a bit like saying bikes fitted with mechanical gears are less reliable than Di2 equipped bikes because the components are flimsy/cheaper and require maintenance... the fact that I have not adjusted my Di2 since setting it up is not evidence that mechanical shifting is unreliable. If you do the required maintenance mechanical shifting is fine.
I grant you that a brommie is of a higher quality, better build and has a far superior fold than the Dahon however the higher cost equally means they are looked after more IMHO.. you see a lot more abused Dahons than you do brommies, but to state they are far more reliable is not correct.
I treat my Dahon the same way as all the other bikes in my house and its been as reliable for me as the brommie which was purchased at the same time.

+1. Dahon, before the Tern split at least, was making something like 250,000 bikes a year, many at much lower price points than Brompton. Hence more likely to end up as someone's beater/pub bike.

 

[seadragonpisces]

Well I ordered a Brompton in the end but it was nice to get some views. Am getting in a couple of weeks, so cant wait. I wanted a good fold mainly as I had a Dahon before and liked it but wasnt too impressed with the fold. I do like Dahons, I just wish you can buy the bikes you see on their Global site, not the lesser offerings you see here in the UK (for the most part, some here in the UK are nice). Their 30th Anniversary bike is nice, I just cant justify spending £3500 on it, I would rather get a top spec Brompton for over a £1000 less than that Dahon

 

[Salis]

Ultimately you can't go wrong with a Brompton - I'm on my second and they hold their value much better than any other machine.

To go back to the Strida idea - Nooooo! I rode a really early model recently and it was the most ridiculous thing I've ever been on. My knees whacked into my hands on each pedal revolution, so I was zig-zagging dangerously from side to side the whole time! The only good thing I can say about the Strida is that it was so very ridiculous that I was laughing my head off the whole time - so perhaps good as a cure for depression

 

[Rumtea]

I guess Strida is a perfect fit for small person like me. I love my Strida. It feel very comfortable and easy to control. Fold and unfold in less than 10 second. So clean and require almost no maintenance. It fit easily in the corner of my closet and in my office cube.
Maybe that's the reason Strida sold very well in Asia?