Why you do not want to ride a bicycle?

[Old Boy]

I love to cycle and have a few bikes. Used to cycle quite frequently ,now giving up. Main reason not wanting to cycle "ON ROAD", some S'pore drivers are really very inconsiderate and you can lose your life and the risk is high. They seemed to think that bicycles have no right to be on the road, probably thinking cyclists don't pay road tax and too slow. Somehow I think cyclists make better drivers. Well if only the driving test centers make it a pre-requisite to conduct practical cycling test on road before you even go for driving test, we might have alot more courteous and considerate drivers. For now, just dream on....:bsmilie: Off road is great for time being or just cycle along East Coast cycling path.

 

[leej0038]

You find my mishap hilarious? :dunno:

lemme rephrase, the way you described it was hilarious..

but i do agree with everyone that cyclists are not wanted on the road by drivers and not wanted on the pavement by pedestrians. i'm watching with interest to see how the 'trial' in tampines turns out.

 

[aryanto]

Hi hi for those who are going to buy bicycle I would suggest you spend like 10 minutes test-riding the bicycle before buying, especially foldable bicycle.
Go to real shop and buy from them rather than buying from internet as real shop give you after sales service, ebay etc does not. Of course they are more expensive sometimes, why? Cos they have to stock up parts and that cost money. Try and decide what you like and then rank them on price.

 

[aryanto]

i see that you both are EX-Strida owners, and would have used the bike for sometime.

I would really really be very happy, and appreciated if you both could share with me your experiences as a rider and user of Strida, and if you are free and have additional time to type a while longer, probably you can talk about what you would do to the bike for improvement if you are given the ability to remodel one.

I am NOT EX-Strida owner liao! read carefully. I am STILL an OWNER, two some more :bsmilie:
OK, so that should say how much I :lovegrin: strida design.

I am pretty much a purist, not wanting to modify much. Strida is not a very configurable bike anyway, as it has no gear. May be the only thing you can modify is the seat (I do change mine), put sticker here and there (hehehe), add lights, blinking lights, add bag etc, velcro, straps, bicycle locks, mirror, change the handlebar grip, add bells and dingdongs, but that is all I can think off.

There is a guy who is crazy enough to mod and add a hub internal gearing mechanism but that is nuts! You need to be quite a mechanic to do that and I am not about to gut my bicycle for that. Another try to install an electric motor and somewhat successful but he is only experimenting, and having problem with the battery capacity as Strida could not carry too heavy battery pack behind (the rack can carry up to 5 kg, the rear rack can be replace from plastic to metal allow and that increase the carry capacity to 10 kg but that is the highest).

Like I said before, Strida is a different beast. You ride upright, sit straight. It is not for chiong-ing but good enough speed (comfortable speed). It can handle hills surprisingly well (I tried rivervalley, chinatown - tanjong pagar, holland village, going into sentosa by cycling, fort canning hill). Basically it is the "motor" - ie YOU.

So give it a trial run.

You can visit their shop at Lavender Street, between Jalan Besar and Serangoon, at the same side at the HIVE (that yellow colour backpacker hotel). The shop is not far away from the shop selling traditional cakes for prayers. It is next to a nightclub. By the way they also carry many other brand like tikit, brompton, carryme, carryall, birdy, reach, etc.

 

[adamadam]

How fast can you cycle? Even if I cycled at a constant 50km/h, it will still take me more than 2 hours to get to work. It already takes me more than 1.5 hours driving.

Let's say if I cycle at 30km/h (more realistic?), it will take over 3.5 hours to get to work, then another 3.5 hours home. If I must be at work for 8 hours, and have a total of 7 hours riding time, and 8 hours of sleep, that leaves me 1 hour to play clubsnap kopitiam... not enough I will not sacrifice clubsnap kopitiam to ride a bicycle for 7 hours a day.

 

[glennyong]

I am NOT EX-Strida owner liao! read carefully. I am STILL an OWNER, two some more :bsmilie:
OK, so that should say how much I :lovegrin: strida design.

I am pretty much a purist, not wanting to modify much. Strida is not a very configurable bike anyway, as it has no gear. May be the only thing you can modify is the seat (I do change mine), put sticker here and there (hehehe), add lights, blinking lights, add bag etc, velcro, straps, bicycle locks, mirror, change the handlebar grip, add bells and dingdongs, but that is all I can think off.

There is a guy who is crazy enough to mod and add a hub internal gearing mechanism but that is nuts! You need to be quite a mechanic to do that and I am not about to gut my bicycle for that. Another try to install an electric motor and somewhat successful but he is only experimenting, and having problem with the battery capacity as Strida could not carry too heavy battery pack behind (the rack can carry up to 5 kg, the rear rack can be replace from plastic to metal allow and that increase the carry capacity to 10 kg but that is the highest).

Like I said before, Strida is a different beast. You ride upright, sit straight. It is not for chiong-ing but good enough speed (comfortable speed). It can handle hills surprisingly well (I tried rivervalley, chinatown - tanjong pagar, holland village, going into sentosa by cycling, fort canning hill). Basically it is the "motor" - ie YOU.

So give it a trial run.

You can visit their shop at Lavender Street, between Jalan Besar and Serangoon, at the same side at the HIVE (that yellow colour backpacker hotel). The shop is not far away from the shop selling traditional cakes for prayers. It is next to a nightclub. By the way they also carry many other brand like tikit, brompton, carryme, carryall, birdy, reach, etc.

well i cant say much about what i do, else i lose my paper rice bowl...
:bsmilie:

what i am looking at would be a totally new foldable bike design, some how inspired from the strida since it would be for the same coy.

hahahaa.... brompton is a killer bike... 3-4k plus... siao man...

i like the concept of birdy.... but quite impossible to have those kind of features of a bike thats going to be sub $1.2k. :sweat:

 

[aryanto]

photobum's bicycle mishap was really hilarious. :bsmilie:
aryanto : how much did you pay for the strida?

Bought from shop, one of their very first few customer. bought strida 3.3 some 2 yrs ago for $650 promo price. Now that version sold for $850 if not wrong - aluminium price goes up and factory from Taiwan increase price.
I bought Strida Mini recently when the shop is having promo for their old customers. Good right? They only bring 10 piece of this baby to test market, so I quickly go grab one. Strida Mini retail price is $850.

If you want to buy go buy quickly - next batch probably price increase again cos metal price are still up plus SG$ exchange rate going down. :cry:
from above you see that good bicycle price will not go down, if material goes up - it goes up too. Resale price of these bikes are quite good too. But I am not selling mine, they are keepers!

 

[reachme2003]

what's yr weight? too heavy or not for the strida?

Mentioning about folding bikes, I get furious. :angry:

I used to own one of those Strida folding bikes (as shown above). I rode on it for 3 weeks and the welding broke. The supporting bar gave way and almost kenna my family jewels. Lucky, I jump off the bike fast enough and 'siam' being bang in the nuts. Phew.... :sweat:

Now, I refuse to ride any bike; be it folding or non-folding.

 

[forward]

I agree with you 1,000 times..... :thumbsup:

See my posting #20.

It does not matter if you are only a 15 minutes rider - riding a couple of times per week
to do your errands or to the MRT station.

You get it only after very prolong period of having the penile artery being blocked off
blood flow, such as sitting endlessly on the saddle for hours.

 

[forward]

I measured today.
Distance to and fro work is 215km...

Let us have more details regarding the route.

The distance from home to office is about 107.5km which is quite a distance.

On regular cycling trips round the island it takes between 130 to 165km only.
But your one way trip is 107.5km. You must be working off island in Bukom or
Senoko. That distance covered must be on an automobile travelling on the highway!

:bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie:

 

[bhybhy]

Last time when police still wear shorts... My parents they cycle to/fro hougang to jurong for work. Those where the days... never go count KM one... they just know need to get to work and get home for dinner. everyday also like that.

 

[photobum]

what's yr weight? too heavy or not for the strida?

I weight 121 kg bare naked.

That's the problem. When my wife bought the Strida, she did not know that the bike has a maximum weight limit of only 90 kg. The bike was 31 kg overweight when I rode on it. That's why I did not launch a complain to the shop after my mishap, knowing that it was due to my negligence.

 

[adamadam]

Let us have more details regarding the route.

The distance from home to office is about 107.5km which is quite a distance.

On regular cycling trips round the island it takes between 130 to 165km only.
But your one way trip is 107.5km. You must be working off island in Bukom or
Senoko. That distance covered must be on an automobile travelling on the highway!

:bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie:

You're right I live in Perth but work in Pinjarra

 

[adamadam]

I weight 121 kg bare naked. That's the problem. The Strida has a weight limit of 90 kg only.

YOU RIDE NAKED?

npnt

 

[photobum]

YOU RIDE NAKED?

npnt

Nope. I ride with clothing, shoes and a backpack on. Total weight probably >130 kg.

 

[shojibake]

Damn, i thought the strida would be a nice choice of portability. But the pricing cmi. I too think that the prevalence of theft around here for bikes is too much. Everytime i see a bangla or prc riding a bike, sometimes they're the superbly spray painted kind. There was even one prc with a trek. :what:

how come liddat. bah !!

 

[leej0038]

bicycle theft is quite rampant in beijing i heard, thats why the bikes there look so crappy.. buying a nice bike attracts theft.. :sweat:

 

[aryanto]

Damn, i thought the strida would be a nice choice of portability. But the pricing cmi.

It is a nice choice of portability, well depend on your size and weight also lah.
All folding bicycle has weight limit. The joints (for it to be foldabile) and that has strength limit, which translate to weight limit.
The extra price you pay is for quality and portability.
I see a lot of cheap foldables made in china but they are locked and stored just like normal bike. Why? Because the quality of the joints are very low, the design is cumbersome so it is a hassle to fold / unfold. They are then treated just like normal bicycle.

Compare that with 7 seconds fold / unfold of Strida. A joy to do every time. :lovegrin:

I too think that the prevalence of theft around here for bikes is too much. Everytime i see a bangla or prc riding a bike, sometimes they're the superbly spray painted kind. There was even one prc with a trek. :what:

how come liddat. bah !!

Oh well, ... I put mine safely in office, locked under my desk.
There is once I cycle in jurong next to chinese garden lake and a china construction guy ask me the price and where to buy, then want to borrow my strida... no way man, no freaking way. :sticktong Not after I told you the price.

 

[sammy888]

Damn, i thought the strida would be a nice choice of portability. But the pricing cmi. I too think that the prevalence of theft around here for bikes is too much. Everytime i see a bangla or prc riding a bike, sometimes they're the superbly spray painted kind. There was even one prc with a trek. :what:

how come liddat. bah !!

It is not uncommon to find bikes sprayed nicely or badly not so much to draw away or grab your attention but to hide the fact it could be a stolen one. When I was still doing my Police NS stint, there were a number of cases of theft by foreign workers at construction yards...but now it is extending beyond those workers. Value your bike? Lock then indoor. Even the cheapest bike is not immune to this.

 

[aryanto]

Even when it is locked securely I see some bicycle are stripped-off, the gear is gone (shimano?), the nice seat and pole (may be titanium?) is gone, handlebar gone only left front wheel and frame, pedals are gone ...
The bike is chained at the HDB void deck.