Ok, so a small report on my recent interrail trip with a strida evo as my workhorse in between trains. I really loved it!
Travelled from Oslo to Hamburg, from Hamburg to Lyon, and the same way back. My goal was a conference in Lyon where I stayed four days. Got my strida ready just the night before leaving, so this was my first time riding a strida ever…
In short: I loved it! It took some time getting used to riding on the strida. Especially starting and stopping was a challenge. But then I started to master it. Climbing steep hills was actually easier than I thought, as I had read that stridas can’t climb. It’s not a bike I would bring to the Alps, by any means. But for urban transport it worked great.
I installed the sprung leather seat from Strida straight away, and I am glad I did. My butt told me it absolutely needed that amount of “sitting space” given the upright position, and it did smooth out some bumps. After a while I actually found the bike fairly comortable to ride.
Is it a fast bike? No.
Is it comfortable and cosy? Absolutely.
More importantly, it was a very practical bike - both for taking with me on the train, and for walking around when folded. I loved the train/bike combination. If I had two hours to spend somewhere, I could do a nice bike ride instead of just sitting at the station. At the conference in Lyon it was great to be able to do short bike rides in the morning, and to do sightseeing by bike and that way really get to know the city.
Thanks for sharing your experience and good that you enjoyed the trip. I think riding Stida is just fun. How did you manage to take Strida with you on plane (did you use protected travel bag) ? And did you travel with Strida and a backpack only?
Wouldn’t renting public bikes/city bikes easier than carrying your own bike ?
In Finland, there are rack in trains where you can tie full sized bike to it. I don’t know if it is the same in other countries.
Thanks for the questions, and sorry for not replying earlier!
Briefly: I did not take any planes (I try to avoid flying for climate reasons). I took the train all the way from Oslo to Lyon and back, two days by train each way. Lots of time for reading and working and resting. Best way to travel IMO
Yes, strida and backpack only. One large backpack, but I put one small backpack into the big backpack. When biking around with the strida I strapped that small backpack to the luggage rack in order not to get sweaty on my back (it fit very nicely).
Concerning renting bikes: I don’t think it would have been easier, especially with this type of travel. Typical scenario: Arrive in Hamburg at 22.00 in the evening, next train leaves next day at 09.30. Having the strida with me made it possible to get up early and do a 1.5 hour sightseeing tour around the city, take a shower at the hotel and then jump on the train. Would have been much more difficult with a rental bike (would have to find a rental place the same morning, pay for the bike, give it back, etc - takes much more time!).
I also found it very handy to use the strida around town as a tourist, could just fold it and take it with me to cafes and shops, instead of locking it outside, being afraid it could get stolen, etc.
I agree, riding the strida is really fun! (now I just need to lose about 10 kg so climbing with the strida will get even easier… )
What kind of straps are you using ? Normal ones with hooks? Can you roll the bike with the backpack strapped to the rack?
I am planning to try it. Maybe not exactly the same route. I will experiment with LLM, it may help planing some interesting itennary. I need to search for some beautiful train routes. And which routes are more suitable for night/day trains.
Ya I think it is not convenient to get to know each biking rental system for each country , processes and location of return stations . It take time to get familiar with it + additional costs specially if not buying seasonal subscription.
Once I entered spacious chain pizza shop and the worker there instantly asked to leave the bike outside to the side of the entrance. Also some shops ask clearly to leave baby trolleys outside because they don’t have space. In such cases the alarm system could be handy so that no one can touch the bike.
I haven’t been able to figure out the quote function at this forum, so my replies get a bit cumbersome… is quoting done manually?
In any case, concerning the small backpack: Yes, just plain elastic luggage straps with small hooks. The backpack was just an old backpack I found at my parents house. It would be possible to roll the bike with it attached, but I always just took it off and put in on my back when doing that.
Interrailing/travelling by train from Finland is a bit more cumbersome from Finland than from Norway, of course, unless your destination is the Baltics or Poland. But I guess you could start with a ferry to Travemünde from Helsinki, interrail gets 50 percent off (or cheat a bit and do the first part by plane). I’m planning on visiting Finland by train quite soon!
On shopping: it happened to me just once that I was asked to leave the bike at the entrance, at a small independent bookshop. Otherwise people seemed to accept it. Wondering what they would say if I brought it to a fancy restaurant next time… (most fancy restaurants have a place to hang coats etc though, so could leave it there)
In mobile and desktop when you select text a pop up should appear with quote icon
I read that straps could cause eyes injuries .So I avoided them. I searched for some safer option but didn’t find good alternative
Thanks you for suggesting it is true Finland is not connected with other EU twins. There are lines to Russia.
Let me know if you need any help in Uusimaa area.
I didn’t try this yet also. As yours said many places accept it in. But sometimes it is more convenient to leave it out for example when shopping in a mall.
good idea! webbing with buckls are easy to use, fast to buckle and unbuckle and can be made from elastic material. If the length is selected properly there will be no extra webbing dangling. Maybe not as elastic as the one with hooks.
I imagine a very rare scenario (the black swan ) when the backpack fall from the bike without noticing it if it is not secured well. This is why i think it is important to have strong trustworthy mounting system in the back than in the front, specially if the laptop is also in the backpack. I once tied my light jacket to my backpack and lost it .
Unfortunately, no - was quite busy! But I’ll do a similar trip to Dublin in August, will take some photos then.
Absolutely, thanks for offering!
Never thought of that, but when you say it seems possible. So far I’ve found it easy though to remove them without anything happening if I do it carefully.
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Maybe not exactly the same route. I will experiment with LLM, it may help planing some interesting itennary. I need to search for some beautiful train routes. And which routes are more suitable for night/day trains.
) when the backpack fall from the bike without noticing it if it is not secured well. This is why i think it is important to have strong trustworthy mounting system in the back than in the front, specially if the laptop is also in the backpack. I once tied my light jacket to my backpack and lost it .
Awesome, looking forward to the photos of your Dublin trip!