In their news, Schlumpf report availability of a two-speed front hub gear specifically for Strida. http://www.schlumpf.ch/hp/schlumpf/news_engl.htm.
They say “available from your Strida retailer”. But my dealer (http://www.strida.nl/english/products.php) has no reference…?
For me, spending 400 Euros (or so) for 2 gears is too much for not enough, so I won’t be bothering. But it’s a useful link for anyone who wants to look further…? Please post here, if you go further?
It still baffles me. There’s a huge volume available on the Strida; that whole area of the drive cog, below the crossbar, times the width of the pedal axle? You could get a load of big gears (lower torque, higher efficiency?), and axles and springs and bearings in there?
If this was a Dyson product, gears would have been available years ago…
(2 other pet modifications I have in mind:
- Folding seat. If it hinged below the front of the saddle, close in to the frame, to lie alongside the back strut… The whole bike would eat sooo much less volume… The saddle would be mounted on a strut, which would be parallel to the ground when unfolded. This strut could be about 600 mm long… And used to hang luggage off… Which is much more efficient than a rack to stand luggage on?
- Wheeling the Strida folded? It’s twice the pain it needs to be, because you have to hold it upright in two dimensions. One simple fix might be to buy a pair of Strida wheel magnets, and fit them to either end of a short flat bit of plastic, and, when folding, instead of clipping the wheels together, click each wheel to an end of the strut, making a “very short wheelbase Strida”, that would be stable “front to back”, and would only need supporting left/right. Immediately, you stop carrying the weight when wheeling it folded…)