Saturday, July 17, 2010

Strida - 25th Design Anniversary - Original Thesis and Business Plan published

We were contacted recently by Mark Sanders, designer of the Strida folding bike in connection with the publication of his original Imperial College/Royal College of Arts Masters Degree dissertation, which contains the original designs for what was to become the Strida. It is now 25 years since the first public showing of the dissertation. This will be of interest to both Strida fans and others with an interest in folding bike design as many other designs are discussed; it thus provides a snapshot of the folding bicycle world of 1985. He has also published a Business Plan written 6 months after the original release of the dissertation.
Strida is now 100% owned and controlled by Ming cycles (of Tiawan), who have distributors around the world. Mark reports that sales of the Strida are up year-on-year and doing particularly well in Asia. Mark tells us that he and his son both entered the recent Smithfield Nocturn folding bike race riding Stridas. Although he didn't make the final 5 others did, all riding belt-driven machines! You can see pictures of Stridas in the Nocturne here and here.