8BitKid: Living Bit by Bit

I came home from out of town yesterday to a rather distressing sight: where my bike usually is locked up there was no bike. Someone stole my bike (and it seems some others in my building) from out of our garage while I was up in NorCal. They just cut the lock cable and took the u-lock and all, so there wasn’t a trace of my baby left behind. I had just gotten the bike several weeks ago as a birthday present, and was really enjoying taking my beach cruiser out around Venice.

Obviously, this made me a little angry and a little sad. I filed a report with the Santa Monica Police, but I’m not holding my breath. Instead, I’m figuring out how to get a bike that can better live without the fear of behind snatched from my possession. I am looking into getting a lightweight, folding bicycle that I can stash in my apartment. I have spent a fair bit of time scouring the web reading up on the market segment. There are some definite trade-offs, but I think I found the right bicycle that mixes, practicality, nerdiness, and portability: the Strida 5.

It features a remarkably awesome folding design and weighs under 20 lbs. I’m hoping to find some time this weekend to find a dealer in LA and take it for a spin. If anyone else has a suggestion on which path I should go down, please comment away.