product: strida

classification: folding bicycle

availability: www.strida.com

comments: looking for a bit of simplicity to balance your digital lifestyle? need a new way to protest automobiles? one too many duis? yes-yes-yes? then you should consider saving up your pennies for the strida folding bike.

firstly, i know that some of you will be scared off by the unapologetically anti-technological nature of this beast. it does not plug in. it does not have batteries. it is a very, very simple innovation. yet, at the same time, such a decidedly simple design is only possible because of some pretty complex technical advances.

odds are that you have seen folding bikes before. you probably remember them because they were awkward, ugly, and surprisingly heavy. strida works against these problems directly and successfully. at 22 pounds with a transformation time of 10 seconds, strida is an excellent little commuter. it is extremely cool looking, too.

how does it work? well, there are several differences between strida and your average two-wheeler. most of these differences reduce weight and possible malfunctions. most noticeably, strida is a single gear bike. this means that those granny gears you use on hills are sorely missing. for most areas this is fine, especially since strida is not meant to be a fun machine; it is a utilitarian innovation. san franciscans might want to be careful, though.

you will also notice that strida lacks a chain. while bikes have traditionally been chain driven, and bike chains make excellent weapons in a jam, strida uses a greaseless kevlar belt. kevlar is tough as nails and a great alternative to metal. the belt is allegedly good for 50,000 miles of travel.

the tiny 16-inch wheels are rustproof and theftproof - as much as anything can be theftproof. they are theftproof because they needn't be removed to change a tire. both the fork and the rear swing arm are single-sided, so nothing blocks the path of the tube or tire being replaced. ingenious!

the thing weighs nothing - and is rustproof, to boot - thanks to its aluminium construction. aluminium is light, strong, and nicely shock absorbent. 22 pounds is not much to carry upstairs, especially when it folds to such a manageable size. the weight includes the luggage rack.

finally, look at the thing. the design totally rocks @ss.

the only thing that will make you think twice is the price. $395.00 is nothing to take lightly. it is, however, worth every penny. it's made in england, after all.

mike hopes to go to england, where even the hooligans have good vocabularies.