Just received my new strida 5.0 in Charlotte, NC last Friday.
Took the maiden voyage today; drove to the bus stop, took the folded strida on the bus; took the bus downtown (about twelve miles) and rode from the bus stop to the office. Plan to do the same thing tonight.
First impressions: 1) Everyone is correct about how much attention the Strida draws, as it is truly a beautiful piece of art!; 2) Strida handles relatively well for a small bike that is as portable as the Strida; 3) I was expecting hills to be a real challenge; I find that the Strida climbs moderate grades better than my single speed road bike because of the gear ratio; the only drawback is that you really can’t stand, but I don’t find that I need to.
I am certain this is the first Strida in the Charlotte area. In fact, there are no bike stores within thirty miles of this region that regularly stock folding bikes. Why not? I believe Strida truly has the potential to change the way we move. With the price of gas, the obesity problem, why isn’t everyone riding one??
If anyone has any ideas for marketing this bicycle for sale in a major metropolitan area, please share. That is my ultimate goal with the Strida.
Did you buy yours through Areaware, the U.S. distributor, or one its dealers? Marketing the Strida would be tough in the U.S. even in major metropolitan areas where it may enjoy the best chance of success. Maybe Areaware has a promotional campaign in mind but I’m not sure they have the focus of a bicycle company given that they specialize in marketing unique designer items to a narrow segment of consumers who are designer-oriented in their purchase choices. We’ll see if that proves successful to the marketing of Strida.
On a side note, I just received several Strida accessories I have been wanting but could not acquire in the U.S. (although they may be available sometime this fall through Areaware). These include a water bottle carrier, a saddle bag, head and tail lights, kickstand and frame protectors (those clear-plastic factory ones really take a beating and don’t last long). If anyone in the U.S. is interested I’ll post my review and/or photos of these items and how I purchased them.
I bought my Strida directly from Areaware. Yesterday afternoon I took my bike to visit my brother (who also works in an office building in downtown Charlotte). In the ten minutes or so he and I were standing outside his office, a small crowd gathered. At one time there must have been ten to fifteen people standing in a circle around us. Everyone wanted to know about the Strida. One lady said “with all the condos uptown, this bike would be a great seller.” another lady who worked for the City mentioned that the police department might be intereseted in Strida as a fold up to put in the back of a police cruiser.
I am not certain Strida should be marketed in a typical bike store. It seems most bike stores look down on folders. It seems it needs to be marketed to city dwellers, people who are short on space, want to use dual mode commuting, etc…
btw, I am trying to log in under my username, but every time I try to post a message using my username, I get an error message that says “user name already taken.” It is taken but by me. I don’t know how to bypass that. Can you give me a pointer or two? I am new to blogging.
This happens to some of us. I use Firefox with an Add on named NoScript
and I don’t know if that is the reason.
But it happens to me more often than not. thus me only log in to
take way spam or if I have a link to post. As now I prefer to not
log in cause to get thrown out is irritating. I guess it is something
about the software we have no control over. I’ve mention it to Garry
and as I remember there is nothing we can do.
One log in again and next time it works or third time.
One have to take it as it is. Kind of a quirky thing of life.
You’re probably right about bike stores not having real interest in folding bikes. None of the LBS in my area have any folders available with the exception of my local REI, which carries one Dahon model. I bought my Strida through the internet before it became available through Areaware. Strida accessories are apparently still limited to bags and mudguards (and maybe kickstands) at Areaware so I relied again on the internet to purchase the items I wanted. Hopefully the growing number of Areaware dealers will bump up interest in the Strida and change this situation. Did you know you have a local dealer? Maybe you can contact this guy for more information (unless you are this guy!):
Mark Gott 301 South McDowell St., Ste. 410 Charlotte NC 28204 (704) 277-1223
Yesterday I was asked about the Strida by three people who were waiting along with me to use an ATM. One took a short test ride in the bank parking lot. Both were intrigued by the design idea and said they would look it up on-line.
Phil Heung of G.U.M. helped me out. Upon my inquiry, he did prefer that I use the U.S. distributor (Areaware), which I would have done, but when I informed him Strida accessories in the U.S. were currently limited to the carry bag and mudguards, he obliged me by filling my order and shipping it quickly from Hong Kong. I had the items in three days. Great service, Phil!
I look forward to seeing Stridas and accessories from Areaware and their fledgling dealer network. I see they’re taking orders for the mini-Stridas but accessories will not be available until September.
