Friday, February 29, 2008

Photo Gallery for Folding Bikes

We hear that a new gallery has been set up for photos of folding bikes - see http://www.bikesTHATfold.com for more information (no connection with The Folding Society).

"All change at Strida UK"

We hear from Mark Sanders that there have been major changes in the way that the Strida will be distributed in the UK - one result being that the latest Strida 5 will now be available here. The main points from the press release that Mark sent are:
"From February 28th 2008 Strida BV will be the new distributor for the redesigned Strida folding bike in the UK. All existing business affairs of Strida Ltd will officially end at this date. Strida BV, the Dutch company that successfully imported the original English folding bikes in The Netherlands and Belgium over the past five years, will be responsible for all Sales and Distribution activities in Europe.
In the UK this change of strategy will have considerable effect. The selling of Strida folding bikes used to be exclusively through the Internet, but starting from February 28th a selected group of dealers will also be responsible for Sales and Service of Strida bikes to UK customers. One of the benefits of creating these new outlets is the opportunity for customers to test-ride their Strida folding bike before purchasing it. Next to this, Strida BV plans to appoint flagship-stores that sell the complete Strida product line, including all models, accessories and novelties. Strida BV’s corporate headquarters in the Netherlands will definitely continue the existing service and shipping terms. 'The level of service and ease of doing business will be upgraded to a much higher level', says Ties Carlier, co-owner of Strida BV.
For further information, please contact:
Strida BV.
Marjoleine van den Ende,
Wibautstraat 125,
1091 GL Amsterdam
T: +31 (0) 20 3307401
F: +31 (0) 20 3305132
info@strida.co.uk
www.strida.com
www.strida.nl
rik@strida.nl"

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Origami Ride - March 8th - Solihull

Our March 8th 2008 Origami ride is from Solihull, West Midlands - more details are here. All welcome to join us on a friendly leisure ride.

Monday, February 18, 2008

"Smart Move" - a brief review of the book

Just before Christmas we reported on the Austrian Embacher Collection of bicycles. In that report we referred to the fact that a book of the collection is available, and subsequently we were sent a copy of the book (many thanks for that).
The book is in A4 landscape format, and is beatifully produced. The photographs are of a very high standard, all showing the individual machines against a paper white background, with no undesirable shadows, colour casts or reflections. For most of the machines there is a single side view, plus several more detailed shots. The machines covered are naturally limited to some of those in the Embacher Collection. As far as folders and small-wheelers are concerened, there are quite a number included, though not really a representative collection. There are two Moultons (an F-frame Speedsix and spaceframe Speed S), and a Bickerton and Mk I Strida, plus some more unusual folders such as the Skoot.
There is not much information provided about any of the machines - typically a single paragraph of descriptive text plus a date and weight; all the text is in both German and English.
I think folder enthusiasts will class this as a "coffee table book" - very attractive photographs, but not many facts, and covering only machines in the collection. It is nevertheless a superb production, and just looking at the pictures gives great pleasure. Please see the web site at http://www.smart-move.at for more information about the book.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Cyclefeast 2008

2008 is a Cyclefeast year. As mentioned a few weeks ago, this year's event at Berwick-upon-Tweed takes place from 4 to 11 July, and is aimed specifically at recumbent tricycles and their owners. Arrangements have now been completed to allow those who want to attend, but don't own a tricumbent, to hire a suitable machine for the event. The hire arrangements cover Greenspeed, KMX and Kettweisel. For more information about the event, and how you can arrange to hire one of these machines, please see the Cyclefeast web site.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Brompton maintenance

Life cycle UK is a cycling promotion charity based in Bristol. They run occasional short introductory ('bite size') Brompton bike maintenance courses - details can be found on their website. The next of these courses is on 27th February - more information on this particular evening course is at http://www.lifecycleuk.org.uk/events.php?id=207.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Sheldon Brown

Several cycling websites are reporting the death of SHELDON BROWN. His web site was a unique source of service information for many cyclists, and his gear calculator was invaluable to many of us, especially as it included a factor to account of crank length. He will be greatly missed by all.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Bicycle Ballerina

The Times Online has a feature on dancer Sylvie Guillem with her Brompton mentioned prominently.