OK. It has been a while since I talked about folding-bikes. I have had some good advice from experienced people and I appreciate the comments as always.  With the mild cash crunch going on, the decision to buy the bike has been postponed a bit. But that does not mean that we should stop the research yea.

One of the folding bikes that has been getting a lot of press is the strida. It is an interesting design and seems to be able to get people talking about bikes and riding. That is a good thing. The bike has some things going for it. It is a ‘unique’ design – I would us weird, but unique none the less. It has a very quick fold. Not as fast as the tikit but a nice trouble free fold. The best part is the ability to roll comfortably. That is really cool about this design.

However, I do not like how the bike looks. Note I am not only complaining the aesthetics I am also concerned about the triangle that is “oh, so close” to the crotch. The design also gets very cramped as you raise the seats and not very comfy if you are tall.  Finally, it seems to fail in the aspect of ‘rideability’. The bike is twitchy overall ( though common among folding bikes), the strida is a lot more twitchier.

I am sure there might be some people who might find some use for the bike but given the price, a mid-range Dahon might be a much better bet for overall ‘rideability’.

I was surprised to find a nice video comparing the Strida’s to the Brompton. I should say I agree with the observations made in the video.

There are standard techniques for drawing perspectives. I have formally studied them and was good at some point in time. But doing it free hand and through visualizing in the mind is a bit more trickier than drafting solids in perspective. Anyhow, as part of my the studies series, I am working out whatever I see. This time iI found my music player as a nice subject.

I initially wanted to work on the lights and shadows as it looks very complex, but once I started struggling with the geometry, I figured I will take the lessons one step at a time. So it is only a perspective study this time.