From the Guardian ‘The Gear’ Section

The Strida

Cycling enthusiast Steedman Bass started out distributing stridas in north America, before buying the patents from Roland Plastics in 2000. He worked extensively with MAS Design to further improve the bike: the result is the strida3.

The spiel “The strida3 is at the forefront of bicycle design. Its strong frame and patented technology make it one of the best bikes on the market. It is ultra-portable, weighs only 22lbs and folds in seconds. strida are on a mission to provide high-quality, hand-made stridas to those looking for clean transportation solutions.”

The ride When you first hop onto a strida, be prepared for the kind of wobble you experienced as your dad stood, stabilisers in hand, watching you weave into a hedgerow. The design puts the handlebars close to your midriff, which makes steering sensitive until you get used to it – which only takes about 15 seconds, trust us. It’s not a bike to be ridden at tremendous speed – its one gear is low and the design makes standing on the pedals a no-no. But don’t let that put you off. This is a relaxed ride that will take you from a to b without sweating gallons. It is also a low-maintenance number, with a Kevlar belt drive that won’t rust and lasts up to 50,000 miles, and drum brakes that actually improve over time. As long as you don’t plan to go from Land’s End to John O’Groats on it, this is a comfortable bike with a swanky look designed to attract attention.

Folding It’s easy to fold the strida – there’s a demonstration on their website (which has loads of info we can’t fit in here) and it genuinely only takes about 10 seconds (maybe not the first time). And because it folds into a long, thin contraption, rather than a Brompton-esque block, it can be wheeled along even when folded. It might not be ideal if you’re short on space, since it comes in at over a metre long when folded, but with folding handlebars it should be slim enough to stick in a corner somewhere.

Score 8.5/10 Maybe we’re suckers for design, but we love this bike.