I think you can leave a message to Pacific Cycles, Inc. and ask for more information about the distribution of CarryMe in Europe. pacific-cycles.com/contact.a … brandbtn=1
Thanks for comparing them. I think it is obvious that the taller one are the more problem with hitting the handle bar on the Carryme with the knee and that is a security risk. Strida being bigger and the A frame makes the knees to be places beyond the handlebars. The handle bars almost close to stomach for us very long if we rise the seat post as Mark Sandler reccomend in a comment he made.
So me being 194cmtrs or 6’5" could be too tall for the Carryme. My knee would make steering difficult.
I have an old Microbike (discontinued Swedish folding bike) now and that one has the handlebar much higher than the Carryme. As high as Strida.
I have to find out if I could modify the Carryme to allow the handlebar to be higher?
I have read more reviews about Strida and some reviewers does admit it take time to get to used to ride it.
There are quite alot of reviews and tests of Strida on the internet (I think it has just been re-launched in the USA). Search blogs , youtube and US google.
I was once put off by old reviews of Strida (eg strida 1 & 2) - but these are 10- 20 years OLD ! The reccent versions (strida3 & 5) are completely different. My strida3 handles great - I can ride it hands off which is not possible on some other small wheeled bikes… I does feel different … but not worse … actually very good fun.
Thanks, yes I agree. It is very subjective and we are all different in size and weight and how experienced we are at adjusting to things one are not used to.
Here is one rather recent review “Tim Pestridge’s test for A to B magazine” - April 2004
he writes “You won’t be dissapointed!” but he also writes to us who maybe are not good at mastering balance on unusual bikes.
"I unpacked, unfolded, fitted the seat, and rode. And nearly fell off. But although your first ten seconds on a Strida are bewildering, your brain reacts and reprograms your senses after another ten. "
Others describe it in their unique ways. Normal bikes don’t have such comments. I will test this the coming Sunday as planned and I try to give info on my experience here that day.
Here is a recent review too. for the Strida III as the one above was.
"From the Guardian ‘The Gear’ Section
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."
Sorry but I didn’t love it. But that should not discourage other to try it.
Here is my very personal experience. remember your milage may vary.
Jan 20 2008 Weakling test ride a Strida 3.2 indoors.
Strida are very different compared to all other bikes me have tested.
I dearly hope that Carryme bike doesn’t behave like Strida does.
The problem is how to describe how the Strida behaves.
First. I am sure it has to be very individual. Whom the rider are. But I manage well on ordinary bikes and I ride very well on the Microbike which are an unusual bike in many ways.
So that makes we wonder if it is all about my inability to keep balance.
It should have to do with the way they built the Strida too.
I’m surprised nobody have mention it before. Could people be too embarrassed about their failure so they keep silent about it?
I tried for some two minutes to get balance and failed. If I was a Police or Traffic Officer looking out for people who look to be drunk driving or riding that me would have spotted me instantly. I tried desperately to keep a straight decent pace but I failed to do it. I never fell but I was way out of course and would have died if me was in real traffic and not inside a building with no cars around me.
I think there are three kinds of bicycle people.
The ones Strida write about on their homepage. They master the Strida within 10 to 15 seconds and at most it takes two to three minutes for the worst performers. They knew of none that failed.
None of these riders mention they had difficulty learning to ride it. They don’t admit this to be the case. I wish they did so others are warned.
People who do learn how to master the Strida and who tell others that they had problem at first but that it only took them some 10 to 15 seconds to get the hang on how to. None of these failed and they gladly tell others that this bike behave differently compared to other bikes. One have to learn how to ride it. It is not an ordinary bike.
People like me who either never learn to or have to practice a lot to learn how to keep a straight path on it. I tried for two minutes and my
body told me that it didn’t feel confident it could learn it in 5 or 10 minutes and the Shop owner didn’t want to me ride for that long cause I could bump into other visitors there. I wiggled around a lot and could easily get to to crash into people on my not so straight path.
I think me have some kind of neurological deficit a kind of lagging behind. I am slow at such things like responses and to keep balance on a Strida one need to have very fast responses to compensate the way it wants to go on its own.
I hope the Carryme behave like an ordinary bike. If you have tested a Carryme please tell me how it behave.
I would not decide based on a short indoor ride … it is just not enough to get used to a bike. I found strida ‘faster steering’, but now I like it that way … I find it fun and more manoeuverable in traffic. Going back to other bikes after riding strida … their steering always feels sluggish by comparision.
I doublt that you have any balance problems and once you get a bike you will soon familiarise yourself with it … whatever bike it is. I suggest that if you do take longer to get used to the feel of a bike, that you choose the bike you like and then stick to it … you WILL get used to it that way. Moving from bike to bike is only recommended for those with good balance… my partner is the same with cars !!!
Strida is totally different from any other bike … a triangle, with an upright riding position (like dutch town bike) … most bikes are more sporty with a longer laid down reach, which is faster (aerodynamics), but not so good in town. Strida’s gives better visibility, and less neck and back ache.
If at the end of the day you just dont like Strida … no need to appologise… we are lucky we live in an age where there is so much choice. If we all liked and chose the same thing … that WOULD be unnatural
Maybe you’ll have less problem with the CarryMe on balance, I think.
However, due to your height (I remember you’ve told me that you’re about 195cm tall) your knee may hit the handle bar easily when you are turning. Therefore, you have to use the “leaning technique” to overcome the abovementioned problem.
I used to ride my Strida on the corridor outside my apartment when I’ve just unpacked it from the box. I encountered the same problem on steering. However, when I took the bike outside and cycled it around, I found I got used to it very quickly (just few seconds).
My neighbor, Burningwood tried my Strida when I met him. He also got used to it very quickly and told me that riding a Strida is more comfortable and relex than his expectation.
But a good solution for you maybe the new Pacific Carry-me trike …
I am sure one of the asian dealers (eg Strida singapore, or Taiwan) will be able to fedex one to you. The only worry would be if you are too big or too heavy for it … carry me is much smaller than bikes used in the west and I thing have a weight limit (maybe designed for asian people who are generally smaller).
The 16-inch wheels on the Strida are as small as I care have on a bike that I ever plan on riding. With all due respect to the developers of the A-bike and CarryMe, I can’t envision much broad adoption for such tiny-wheeled transportation despite the gearing compensation involved. Yes, there are some who will love it, and I’m fine that they are satisfied, but neither of these models remotely appeals to me. As it was, it took a while for me to view 16-inch wheels as serious transportation. For folders, I had drawn the minimum line at 20 inches before the Strida and Tikit became known to me. The design and engineering in both those products were ingenious enough to lower the bar on wheel size in my expectations of performance. The A-bike and CarryMe are not in that group.