One bike to work, one less car on the street ..

One small step on the pedal is one giant leap to healthy life.. 

10 km with strida and the new foldable butterfly handle bar !

Strida with Butterfly Handlebar #2

Testing the new handlebar on Strida for few days shows me that i use the top(further) position more. The lack of folding mechanism on the bar (due to short brake line) is another negative part i want to improve.

Therefore last two days i got my self two 150cm new brake lines, and managed to replace te old ones. It ia quite easy installation, i remove the inner cable from both old and new brake lines, and i tape (yes, tape) the new line on the bottom section of the old one. The tape must be strong but thin enough avoiding stuck inside the frame. So i pull the old one from the top, and at the same time i push the new one from the bottom. New brake line move smoothly guided by the old line. The front one need to bend sharp near to handle clamp, but the guide line help it done nicely. The rear brake line need no help, it goes to the center linkage hole, and then i install the spring protector, and passed to the front area. 

I make holes on each side of the handle bar (put a mark on the locking notch before you make the hole, it is inline with the hole for the twisting mechanism), puch a 3mm brass bar, cut it enough, and trim the handle bar end little bit to allow rotation inside the handle clamp. Now it can fold nicely!

So another ride to the same spot, with my Strida and the same butterfly handlebar, new handle brakes position, and bigger smile on my face !

Testing the butterfly handlebar on my Strida

This is awesome...!!!

Strida with Butterfly Handlebar

In my search to improve my Strida handling, i cut a butterfly handle bar and mount on it. It is quite difficult to find good position for the brake handles. as what best for the hand position may not suite for the brake handles, instalation plus i don't want to mess around with new brake cables (in case i need longer ones).

So what you see in the pictures is the final result after several trials and errors. It improves the riding quality as it improve the ergonomics by providing several hand positions. The shortest hand position improve stability on launch (less wobble/wiggle), and the longest position improve the stability on cruising as body mass spread further to the front.

I didn't put any hole to the bar as in this position it can't be folded properly flushed, therefore i loose the folding capability in exchange for benefits above. Not a big deal, in fact it adds eye catching effect (which already too much from the bike it self). Let's  have a ride...