Overuse?

I purchased my first Strida in 2008, and after going through many free wheels, was able to ride it without issue – until March 2014 when it broke. Strida replaced the bike, since it included a lifetime warranty at time of purchase.

Beginning in November 2014, after seven months of riding, my bike began to experience belt twisting. Eventually I had two belts break, sent the bike back to the new U.S. distributor for repairs (twice), and continue to experience belt twisting.

Strida now says the bike has been overused and they will not cover this under their warranty. Perhaps Strida should specifically state in the owner’s manual how many miles the Strida can be ridden before the distance is considered excessive.

Belts should not twist - there must be something quite wrong with your bike -
really loose belt ?
really tight belt ?
Something bent/broken ?

or … are you 110+Kg and super fit :slight_smile:

I would carefully investigate, and also contact Ming (assuming its not a SLO :smiley: ) or local distributor ??

Nothing visibly wrong with the bike. The rear hinge was upgraded with bigger washers after sending it in a second time for repairs.

I’m 44, 174cm tall, and 78kg.I’m also vision impaired, and don’t ride like a maniac. I am seated when riding at all times.

I recall Strida was eager to show a rider taking a stock Strida across western Africa a few years ago, developed the EVO, but now believe my bike has been overused since last March. I"ve made some YouTube videos under user impaired00visions, in case anyone is interested.

My daughter rode her bike an average of two days every two months for no more than 5 miles each ride. I guess this represents proper usage.

I think the wheels should mount like car wheels, with a large axle and many bolts, to distribute rider weight better.

Dear Sir,

you’re speaking of overuse and told us how many miles your daughter rode -
could you please tell us more about your own mileage?
It’ll be also interesting to know something about Wyoming’s roads, do you often ride in rain?
How many times (or in which intervals) did you check the crucial bolt connections?

You got a Russian manual (bad luck for sure - but there is a plausible explanation, I believe…) and you really couldn’t find the English version?
At Ming cycle’s main page there’s a download button, “Strida manual” can be found via Google, the manual is mentioned many times here at the forum…http://www.stridaforum.com/forum/search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&keywords=strida+manual+pdf :neutral_face:

Unfortunately I’m not speaking your mother’s tongue; in combination with the partially loud music I do have actually trouble to understand your voice at the video. I’m writing this also as an apology in advance - it is possible that I misunderstood some details.

One thing I’d like to ask you about the video “The twisted tale continues” from ~ 0:10 to 0:16

Is that correct?
(Could you please verify especially the bold part?)

Yes I can confirm the additional parts were from information provided, which I forwarded to the US distributor to help address the loose rear wheel. The wheel does not wobble, and the rear hinge is tight. I never experienced this with my first bike during six years of riding, and have found no evidence elsewhere of anyone else experiencing this.

Yes I ride in the rain. I’ve also ridden in winter on cleared roads. I averaged 20 miles riding each day from April-September, and afterward 5-10 miles through early December. At least once each week or so, I would ride 50 miles. Belt twisting began in November and continued as I experimented with varying belt tension. The frame and rear wheel, along with all bolts, were checked and required no attention.

When the bike was examined by the US distributor the first time, they indicated some parts were missing in the rear wheel assembly, and they also found substituted parts. This led me to suspect the bike was improperly assembled, and I asked for a replacement, fearing the frame may have been damaged from riding.

I even asked for a new bicycle to be equipped with upgraded parts so that I could document any issues, but Strida declined.

The Strida is marketed as a zero maintenance bicycle. Some years ago Strida showcased a rider using a stock bicycle to cross western Africa. Later, they developed the three speed EVO for riders to travel longer distances. My bicycle develops issues within months of riding, and Strida indicates it has been overused. The bike is fun and comfortable to ride, but I experience more frustration than enjoyment at this point. And if Strida is willing to treat me this way, they’re also willing to treat everyone this way.

I’ve provided many demo rides to interested people over the years, and have later met people who purchased a Strida after I told them how pleased I was with mine. Now I feel very frustrated. I had higher expectations of Strida.

Looks like my belt woes may have been caused by 338. This puzzles me because Cycle Force replaced 338, along with all the washers and spacers, in March. So riding a few miles around town for the past two months caused this part to fail? The following video shows a new 338 alongside my broken one.

youtu.be/RohSOwdYlv4

Dear Sir,

would you please correct your untrue statement at youtube that these parts are from me?

True is that you (respectively your dealer) received detailed information about my “crackling noise repair kit”- but neither you nor your dealer got my original parts!

Fact is furthermore that the parts used by your dealer are not identical to that of my kit.
(That’s very easy to verify optically - just look at the pics.)

Your dealer was obviously not able to understand the intention of the kit, moreover that also not able to recreate it properly.
That’s of course leading to the suspect that the dealer also did not use the correct lubrication component, which is very important.
My kit was composed of very special parts and their interaction, on top of that manual fine tuning - shown parts are standard, I bet.
For a detailed parts specification please refer also to below mentioned thread.

And most of all - the kit is named “crackling noise repair kit” - and definitely not “worn out bottom tube repair kit”.

The purpose of the kit is not to “increase the surface area” - it is a proposal to eliminate seizing (or galling) between the frame, the cup spring 363 (367, 367-3) and the washer 364 above, and again; the crucial part of the kit is the anti-seizing compound Never-Seez Nickel special.
http://www.neverseezproducts.com/purenickel.htm
Using this kit for a wobbly wheel doesn’t make any sense - it was developed only to repair the creaking/crackling noise issue!

Well, perhaps my information was incomplete or faulty, please judge yourself.
I’ve removed the password from the regarding images album and opened a new thread with the complete information; also supplied the untouched, old document version and resized pics to fit the forum: crackling noise repair kit instructions

Coming back to your personal issue I’d like to mention first that - considering above - I can’t take the statements of your dealer seriously; all these things regarding missing or substituted parts, the use or not-use of Loctite and the ongoing belt issue doesn’t speak for reliability, sorry for that.

But let me try to explain what is wrong with your bike,
I’m indeed sorry that I have no idea why (exactly your bike is showing that much wear in a short time). :confused:

At your video “A bit more bad luck”, when you’re showing the wobbly rear wheel, it’s very easy to notice that even the belt tension varies dramatically by moving the wheel. This belt behaviour is telling us without any doubt that the distance between the rear axle and the bottom bracket axle is floating - and the only plausible reason for that again is a (dramatically) worn out hole of the bottom tube!
Tube and insert 100-07 had to be replaced…
In fact, due to the using of some thicker washers, your dealer just squeezed the bottom and the seat tube together - the joint is now stiff (it seems) but under higher load (=while riding) it is still moveable (and still leads to belt twisting).

I think it’s easy to explain the malfunction of part 338 under above mentioned angle of sight:
You will surely agree that a force which can cause a warped disc must have been high.
The force’s direction was more or less parallel to the rear axle.
One could say also that the belt moved the whole wheel to the left side (or say it tried to push the wheel off the axle).
If you imagine part 338 now as a tube (fixed by the wheel bolt) with a washer attached in the middle (the cut-off flange), I don’t wonder that the flange was simply punched outside - next to it (seen from inside) is the much harder inner bearing ring!
:neutral_face:

That’s very logical. The current U.S. distributor is very new, and my bike was the first one they had made a repair to. It’s quite possible they missed a few things, but the rear wheel wasn’t wobbly until I got it back from the initial repair. I returned the bike and after getting it back, the wobbly wheel issue was resolved.

I proposed that it was a “lemon,” and asked for a new one, but Ming didn’t seem interested. A dealer proposed that Ming use me as a test rider, and that I could document my experience to share with their engineers, but again Ming wasn’t interested. Time will tell how the belt issue develops.

You mentioned about experimenting on belt tension.

I encountered belt twisting when the belt tension was LOOSE.

The bolt holding the bottom bracket and kickstand was loose at that time so the belt tension got slacked and in the middle of the intersection where I was making a left turn got stuck pedaling.

I have a pretty worn out 1st generation plastic freewheel and I don’t encounter belt popping and twisting yet.