Benefits of a Contortionist

This past weekend my husband and I went to Chicago with several missions. We visited quite a few of our friends, but I also had other reasons for going. The first was to find a folding bike.

Background: I have started riding our bus system almost daily. In fact there are few reasons that I don't ride any more. One is not waking up in time which isn't usually me being lazy, but rather because I'm sick. This doesn't happen often and all I can do to control it is prevention. Another cause is if my husband is sick or otherwise unable to take me to the bus stop. This also isn't me just being lazy, but instead a problem of our city's bus system. The closest bus stop to our house is only a 14 minute walk, but it only comes every hour and a half and the times don't work well with my schedule. The second closest option is 1.4 miles according to Google Maps so my husband drops me off on his way to work and this requires him to be a part of the plan which can cause problems for both of us.

Options: I can increase my riding rate by finding an alternate way of getting to the bus stop. One option would be for the large post office parking lot across from the stop to double as a park and ride, but that will take a lot of pushing and more people than just me to make that official, plus that would require me to drive and I don't like that option even if it is only 1.4 miles. I could walk, but maybe I am being lazy here or maybe thinking of the unshoveled sidewalks turns me off. This would also require me to get up earlier to allow time to walk and if I'm going to do that I might as well take the bus that comes closer.

Solution: Ride a bike. This is not a complete solution because our buses don't have bike racks and I wouldn't be allowed to bring a full size bike on the bus. The complete package is to ride a folding bike to the bus stop, fold it up and then hop on the bus. I started looking into this option several months ago and have been digging through the options since then. There are several companies that sell folding bikes and for the most part they are just like regular bikes with frames that allow the folding part. Of course these won't work for me. These "regular" folding bikes fold into a compact form I call a "bike ball" and they almost require a bag to be easily carried. I wanted something that folded into a form similar to an umbrella or cheap baby stroller. In all of my searching I could only find two options, the Strida and the A-Bike (see comparison video here). I preferred the A-Bike because it was the smaller, lighter, and more compact of the two even if Ryan thought it looked like a circus clown bike. The problem is that they are currently sold out and I sometimes have problems with patience. The other problem was that I could only get one from the UK as they have no US dealers and I like to try before I buy. This is how the Strida became the better option and I decided that I needed to go to Chicago (the closest dealer to me) and check one out. That brings me to today, well yesterday, when we arrived at Rapid Transit Cycle Shop. I talked with the sales rep for quite a while on their experience with the Strida, the positives, the potential negatives and I was very pleased with his helpfulness and honesty about the bike. He also showed me a Bike Friday folding bike which was the closest "regular" folding bike in weight that they sold and they highly recommended. I decided that the folded form would not work in my situation and went with the Strida especially after he told me they had a trial period and would be somewhat flexible with me since I lived so far away. The following is a series of pictures of me demoing how the Strida folds along with some tidbits that I discussed with the sales rep.

Me on the Strida. Both the Strida and A-Bike are called A Frame bikes so they are more upright than a normal bike. This one makes me sit almost straight up. The seat is adjustable for different heights so others may not be as upright as I am.














This is the Strida by itself. It also came with a rack that I had them take off at the shop. I still have it, but I plan on using my back pack to transport stuff and the rack just added extra weight and an extra thing to get in the way.






The pedals fold in to stay out of the way.



















The bottom part of the A frame attaches to the front with a pin clip. It slides right on and clicks into place, and to take it off you push on a tab to release and pull up. The sales rep mentioned that this was the part that I had to be the most careful with. The top point of the "A" is a pivot point that has a spring and a plastic cap. They experienced a problem with the plastic cap cracking when the front leg is allowed to go much further forward than it is when fully assembled. Strida did supply them with a replacement cap, but it's something to note.




Next, the front leg swivels to the side enough to get it past the pedals and lock into place with the rear wheel. Magnets on both wheel axles keep the wheels together. I noticed that the magnets are very strong and it is pretty hard for me to get them apart. While looking through the manual tonight I found a section that talked about changing the strength of the magnets. I may have to play with this if it continues to be too hard for me to pry apart.






The last fold of the frame is to bring the bottom bar up and snap it between the two other bars. This feels very secure and provides that umbrella form that I was looking for.






The last folding that is done is the handle bars. they pop out and fold down. There are also loops at the end to hold the brakes down and lock the wheels if you want to lean the bike against a wall.













And now you have a folded Strida ready to roll or hang out in a tight spot.












I haven't had a chance to put the Strida into action yet and we just received another dose of snow today so it may not happen right away. Some things that I will note that I don't like, yet still purchased to try out. The last picture shows how tall the bike is when folded. It is taller than I would like in a perfect world and that is one of the key reasons I preferred the idea of the A-Bike. The A-Bike has telescoping legs so it folds into a shorter package. Also, it is pretty heavy. It is listed at almost 20 lbs. which could get annoying if you had a long distance to carry or maneuver it. These two issues will be ones that I plan on analyzing to see if this solution works for me. I will be posting updates about my Strida experience as I give it a try.