Opinions on Strida 3?

"Diego Romoli" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Hi all,

I'm considering buying a folding bike for commuting and short weekend
rides. Searching the web on a tight budget, I came across the Strida 3
(http://www.strida.com/folding_bicycle.html) which you can get for £160
new or £120 reconditioned.

However, this is such an unconventional bike that I'm worried about its
usability, durability, etc.

In the website they advertise a 60 day trial period, during which they
would buy the bike back if you're not satisfied with it, but I don't
want to go through the hassle of ordering the bike and having to send it
back.

Any opinions will be appreciated.

Cheers,
Diego

================
Coincidentally I was looking at the same thing this morning. Have a look at:
atob.org.ukBuyers' Guide.htmlOpen ↗

It appears that the price has dropped from £345-00 to the present price.
Suggests that they're not selling very well or possibly they're very
different models

Cic.

Diego Romoli said:

Hi all,

I'm considering buying a folding bike for commuting and short weekend
rides. Searching the web on a tight budget, I came across the Strida 3
(http://www.strida.com/folding_bicycle.html) which you can get for £160
new or £120 reconditioned.

However, this is such an unconventional bike that I'm worried about its
usability, durability, etc.

In the website they advertise a 60 day trial period, during which they
would buy the bike back if you're not satisfied with it, but I don't
want to go through the hassle of ordering the bike and having to send it
back.

Any opinions will be appreciated.

Its only designed for and suitable for short journeys - two or three
miles at most. Its also not really suitable for anywhere with hills as
its only one speed and the rubber drive belt can slip if you try too hard.

For your budget have a look around for a second hand Dahon Boardwalk -
they sell for about £270 new.

Tony

"Diego Romoli" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Hi all,

I'm considering buying a folding bike for commuting and short weekend
rides. Searching the web on a tight budget, I came across the Strida 3
(http://www.strida.com/folding_bicycle.html) which you can get for £160
new or £120 reconditioned.
However, this is such an unconventional bike that I'm worried about its
usability, durability, etc.

I won one in a competition and it's really only any good for trips of one or
two miles. If you were on a boat and wanted to pop to the shops on a marina
it would be OK, but it's no good for commuting fair distances, the handling
is terrible and it's only got one gear.

--
Simon Mason
Anlaby
East Yorkshire.
53°44'N 0°26'W
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

Simon Mason said:

I won one in a competition and it's really only any good for trips of one or
two miles. If you were on a boat and wanted to pop to the shops on a marina
it would be OK, but it's no good for commuting fair distances, the handling
is terrible and it's only got one gear.

IIRC VeloVision's Peter Eland said he was grabbed by the designer at a
cycle show and practically forced to have a go at the mark 3 after being
rather rude about the previous ones. And apparently much improved, but
it still seems things like single speed are a major issue.

A pal picked up an earlier one on eBay as his Brompton was knackered
from a /lot/ of use, decided it was basically useless (Dundee is not
flat, btw, especially if you live on City Road as this man does...) and
spent Real Money on a replacement Brom instead.

Looks to me as if it may well be better on a flattish run to the station
and back, but it lacks the Real Bike utility of a Brompton, and
according to my pal a significant chunk of the comfort too!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Diego Romoli <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

I'm considering buying a folding bike for commuting and short weekend
rides. Searching the web on a tight budget, I came across the Strida 3
(http://www.strida.com/folding bicycle.html) which you can get for 160

new or 120 reconditioned.

However, this is such an unconventional bike that I'm worried about its
usability, durability, etc.

In the website they advertise a 60 day trial period, during which they
would buy the bike back if you're not satisfied with it, but I don't
want to go through the hassle of ordering the bike and having to send it
back.

Any opinions will be appreciated.

Cheers,
Diego

I have a Strida that I picked up a few years ago, second hand. It was
not reconditioned, and had just been sitting in a garage for a few
years.

I also have both mountain and road bikes, and have to say that while I
will never (I hope) sell the strida (its much too much fun to sell), I
have never gone anywhere on it. Never.

Mine is a conversation piece only, similar (IMO) to the full
suspension bike I have with 5 inch wheels, and my unicycle.

You may find people who love the handling, but my strida is
affectionately known as 'face-plant' in honour of most people's first
attempt at riding it...

HTH,
M.

On Sun, 29 Aug 2004 19:28:35 +0100, Diego Romoli <[email hidden]> wrote
(more or less):

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

I'm considering buying a folding bike for commuting and short weekend
rides. Searching the web on a tight budget, I came across the Strida 3
(http://www.strida.com/folding_bicycle.html) which you can get for £160
new or £120 reconditioned.

However, this is such an unconventional bike that I'm worried about its
usability, durability, etc.

In the website they advertise a 60 day trial period, during which they
would buy the bike back if you're not satisfied with it, but I don't
want to go through the hassle of ordering the bike and having to send it
back.

Any opinions will be appreciated.

Like you, I'm thinking of getting one. (I regularly have to go and
pick up/drop off hire cars, which is a couple of miles on the relative
flat).

What I've also noticed is the bike-in-a-bag at £180, which looks more
like a bike, without getting into the Actual Money that even a
bottem-of-the-range Brompton requires.

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

In article said:

What I've also noticed is the bike-in-a-bag at £180, which looks more
like a bike, without getting into the Actual Money that even a
bottem-of-the-range Brompton requires.

Yes, this one definitely looks more like a bike...

However, I ordered a reconditioned Strida on Monday, so I will soon post my
own experiences with it.

Cheers,
Diego

Gawnsoft said:

What I've also noticed is the bike-in-a-bag at £180, which looks more
like a bike, without getting into the Actual Money that even a
bottem-of-the-range Brompton requires.

The Pashley Micro comes in somewhere between the two. I think BikeTrax
had one in their sale, might still be there. The fold is compact and
not too long winded, and it can do duty as a Real Bike much better than
a Strida. A pal who subsequently graduated to a Brompton had one and
used it quite happily for a fair time. He did describe the handling as
"twitchier than my uncle Jock McTwitchy", but not to the point of
falling off or anything like that.

But back to spending more on a Brompton... if you don't have the extra
you don't, but having not needed a Brompton at all until I had one, I
now find it the most useful A to B machine I've got so don't see it as
just about going to the car hire and back.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/