Why isn't my rear wheel turning?

I removed my rear wheel in order to replace a spoke and to replace the plastic freewheel with a new alloy one.

Now I am trying to remount the wheel. However, I am experiencing a mysterious problem. As soon as I tighten the bolt (the one that goes through the magnet adjustment ring) the wheel no longer turns! But if i loosen it up – which I assume is not recommended for riding – it turns again.

It doesn’t seem to be due to the new freewheel. I tried tightening the nut without the magnet adjustment ring assembly, and the wheel turned without resistance, even when the nut was fully tightened. This problem only seems to happen when the magnet adjustment ring and washers are also installed.

I am wondering if I somehow managed to mislay some vital part. I have the following configuration at the moment (from outside to inside):

metal washer + plastic washer + magnet adjustment ring + plastic washer + plastic washer + wheel

Any suggestions and especially photos greatly appreciated!

Not sure if this is related to your problem, but make sure to remove the washer between the freewheel and the brake disc. It’s not needed for the alloy freewheel.

Hmm… very interesting! You are talking about the large metal ring that sits flush against the disc, right? Why isn’t it needed? Does it do any harm if left installed?

You are right though, I don’t think this is related to my problem. I determined that I somehow lost a spacer when I removed the wheel :blush: and contacted Strida Europe, who are very kindly sending me a new one for free! :smiley:

Glad you sorted it out. My alloy freewheel is taller than the plastic one hence the need to remove the washer. In another post ansugon confirmed this as well. However, there seems to be several different versions of freewheel out there, yours may be different.

It turns out that I did not need the spacer part! I have come to the conclusion that this is because my Strida never had this part in the first place. This is interesting because the diagram in the manual clearly shows that this part (338) is there. I suspect that this is a key difference between the 5.0 (manual) and the 5.2 (my bike). Am I right?

When I tried to install the part as shown in the explosion diagram, it did not fit correctly. It fit through the magnet (part 336), but it did not fit into the axle. The axle on my Strida has a tapered extension that is approximately the same diameter and length as the spacer part. Also, it does not seem to have part 449. So, when I tried screwing the magnet back into the axle with the spacer in place, the spacer hit against the axle, and the screw could not go far enough into the axle. Therefore, there was a large gap (ca. 2 cm) between the magnet and the wheel, and the wheel was not securely mounted – it could slide along the axle.

So, what was the cause of my problem? You gave me the important clue. You said that with the new alloy freewheel, the spacer (340-06) between the brake disc and the freewheel was not necessary. I thought this meant that the freewheel spacer was optional, but in fact you must remove it. I removed this spacer and discovered that my wheel fit properly again!

(Another important difference to the 5.0 is that my 5.2 has 3 washers, 1 plastic and 2 metal, on the outside of the magnet.)

Anyway, hope this information will help others who are installing the alloy freewheel!

Though this discussion is more than 7 years old, fwd-bwd, you saved my day today. I replaced the freewheel of my Strida 5 today, but after reassembly, the rear wheel stopped turning. Then I read this discussion, and noticed that the new alloy freewheel was touching the bike frame because of the extra thick protrusion towards the brake disc. After removing the washer between the brake disc and the freewheel, the rear wheel started turning very very smoothly.

I just wanted to leave this comment to thank fwd-bwd and just in case someone else experiences the same problem.