Cycling news & info with a special focus
on notable bike tours, bike trails, bikeways,
lanes and bicycle routes as well as innovative
bicycling products like space saving & easy
to transport folding bikes.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Folding Bike Video - A-Bike VS. Strida
Lots of YouTube videos tend to be grainy and unprofessional; however, here is a great one from Britain (scroll below the video for more text).
The video is from "The Gadget Show, a television series in the UK that profiles various types of gadgets. The subject for this segment is a comparison between two highly unconventional folding bikes - Sir Clive Sinclair's infamous A-Bike and the Strida. With a telescopic frame, 9" wheels and weighing in at just 12 lbs, the A-Bike wins in the portability test; however, the Strida beats the A-Bike on riding comfort and speed. Have a look.
Ever since I first read about the A-Bike sometime ago, I have been skeptical about the practicality of this folding bike. After watching a YouTube video today showing the A-Bike in action, I can see where some users would benefit by having a bike this light (just 12 lbs) and quick to fold, especially if they commute partly by bike and partly by mass transit bus or subway train.
What concerns me most about the A-Bike are its teeny tiny wheels (hitting a pothole, road debris or crossing a drainage grate could lead to a dangerous spill). Without a doubt, this bike was designed for cycling on smooth pavement but that can be hard to find in many congested, urban areas. With a max load capacity of 187 lbs, many Americans would be too heavy to ride it. Also, the bike is designed to cruise at a max of about 15 mph so I'd be leery of riding this single speed bike in traffic in Manhattan or downtown Chicago; tooling around Central Park on it would be fun though.
Regardless, the A-Bike was conceived by the famous inventor Sir Clive Sinclair and someone thought enough of this bike to provide the financial backing needed to mass produce it so I'll withhold my verdict on the smallest of folding bikes until I get to ride one. In the meantime, here's the video I saw as well as a promo video from Sinclair Research. Watch them and judge for yourself. I'd love to read what you think too.
Note: If all you see is an empty box where the movies should be, you probably don't have Flash on your computer. Flash is free and can be downloaded from Adobe.com.
