Lose ability to pedal

Hello! I have a strida LT and I’ve had him about 2 years now. Suddenly yesterday morning the rear gear started to ocassionally alip and I lose traction pedaling. The pedals just spin freely and then it will catch again and act normally. Has anyone had this problem? It’s like something needs to be tightened. I try to duplicate the problem but cant figure out why it happens…it just does - semmingly randomly.

I can’t seem to find anyone else that has had his problem on this forum so I hope ya’ll can help me solve this. Thank you!

Hello :smiley:
and welcome at Stridaforum!

Well…having it for two years - how many times so far did you adjust the tension of your belt?
Could you please take a pic of your freewheel’s teeth?
Or, compared to below, how do the teeth look?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/131753955@N04/16151958534/

Okay I hope I did that right (posting a photo). I haven’t adjusted the belt tension (I don’t know how…). I don’t really know as much about this bike as I should but I can follow instructions with the best of them.

Thank you!

It’s most likely just too big, but no problem:

Doesn’t even look that bad…however you should find out first whether your belt is under correct tension.

Should I just email you? Or how do I insert an image like you did?

Do what you like :smiley:

The thread I’ve meant above:
Expert advice on belt tension on alloy chainwheel

Thank you! I’ll try to rig something up when I get home to see where the belt sits.

I’m not sure the belt can slip with the snubber in place, and when it slips it should make a popping noise and you should feel it as well. In this case, you can spin freely.
I rather think the ratchet of the freewheel is not correctly functioning. That can be the case if the Strida is regularly ridden in the rain. Water and dirt tend then to penetrate inside and block the ratchet.

Check this topic: [url]My Strida doesn't like cold weather]

That sounds more that what I am experiencing. I don’t think the belt is slipping since the tension seems acceptable and there is no popping sound. I do ride in the rain. I bike to work rain or shine. So after reading that thread it sounds like I need to oil/grease something. Could you be more specific about where? I am not really familiar with what the parts and pieces are called.

Thank you both so much for your help…what a great community!

You don’t need to take anything apart for this operation. Put your strida on its left side, soak the freewheel with WD40 first, by spraying it between the moving and the non moving part:

Then put the Strida on its right side and let the WD 40 drip out. After 1 or 2 hours, you can now put some thin oil (or heated thick oil) back in the freewheel in the same way you applied the WD40.

An alternative treatment that has been suggested to me by the French Strida importer, is to take the freewheel off the bike, put it in very hot water to remove grease and dirt, let it dry and have it oiled again. I have not tried it and I am a bit doubtful about its effectiveness.

Note that these are temporary fixes, you will probably state that some radial play will appear in the freewheel because the bearings are wearing. In that case it is preferable to replace the freewheel by a new one.

Update -

I ordered a new freewheel from a Canadian Strida website. I have a bike shop close to where I live and they were able to replace it for me. Everything seems normal - I took it for a short spin - but I should know more after I ride it this week.

I want to clean my bike but I’m now worried about getting water into the freewheel and breaking it again. I’m sure riding in the rain, sand and winter road salt were the culprits of my problem. Am I okay to hose it down now and then? What kind of lubricant is recommended for the freewheel?

Thank you so much for your help! Much appreciated!

I would personally avoid hosing water on the freewheel itself. To clean it, use a rag and remove dirt on the outside.

Don’t lubricate the freewheel for now, only do it if it starts becoming noisy. The new freewheel might indeed be foreseen with a seal that will hopefully prevent dirt ingress.