Product Feature : Strida Folding Bicycle

"Ring! Ring!"  An 18-speed bicycle whizzes by the German engineered driving machine wheezing at the lights. The air conditioning unit is trying hard to draw power from an idling engine. "Ring! Ring!" The young professional continues to dart through the gridlock of cars on his bicycle, catching the attention of a high pony-tailed babe swaggering across the light. Her gaze turns to the athlete on the bike, rather than the hunky boy behind the wheel of a pearl white ultimate driving machine.

Summertime is here and it is time to get your groove on. Stylin' with the right bike is more than just fashionable but an extension of a lifestyle. We are not talking about Wal-Mart specials, where a little will buy all kinds of functions but no expression. What we are talking about is the rusted antique bike at a garage sale brought back to life, or a low rider crossing the street with more BLING than an Escalade sitting on twenty fours.

Take a stroll into Kensington Market and there will be a girl in a floral dress riding her retro bicycle with fresh bagels in the basket. Late Sunday afternoon, a crew of freestyle BMX can be found bouncing off the eclectic architecture in the financial district, as if gravity was only mind over matter.
Down by the Lakeshore, a mountain bike will attempt to climb the rocks. With full suspension and disc brakes, it is a mountain goat scaling the rock faces.

Groovy groovy, funky funky, jazzy jazzy……like the song Cantaloop, there’s no other way to describe the Strida bike. With an innovative design, this bike not only looks snazzy but folds up to fit into the most impossible spaces. The A-frame is the key to its structural strength and its ability to compact to the size of a baby stroller (if not smaller). Once folded up, you can push it along or carry it up a flight of stairs with just one hand. It is light @ 10kg. The collapsible pedals surprisingly do make the difference between it fitting or not fitting into a trunk of a small car. Tried, tested and proven, the designer must have owned a Roadster and used it to engineer the Strida for size.

There is great attention to detail:  the painted brake calipers and varying rim styles equips this bike with cool options. There are currently six different models to choose from. There is a bigger wheel version which increases speed by 15%, a smaller wheel version for space saving. There are two speed versions, one sport-trimmed and the other more luxury-trimmed with wire rims and a carrier rack. It is like buying a car, you get to "pick and choose" the accessories you want.

The Strida bike is a city bike used for commuting, moving on and off transit, and easily stuffed in the corner of an office or a condo. The steering is touchy due to its short wheelbase. The ride position is upright and comfortable. Overall, it is one jazzy bike -- the fact that it folds up, just adds to its cool factor.

Words + Photos : Tobin Cheung