Belt sometimes goes off under the rain

Yes it is a plastic one!
Isnt it this one : strida.fr/roues-pneus/1670-alloy-freewheel-.html ?
It is named “alloy freewheel” on the website…

About the belt : it is an optical illusion. It is symmetrical :slight_smile:

Yes, definitely the new plastic one.
I believe this is better suitable for rain than the Alloy one.
Here are the three generations on one pic:

Ok - thanks for checking the teeth…well, no more ideas at the moment…

I’m curious what you’ll find out tomorrow

Hello,

No rain during 4 days in France : no problem.
But today, rain was back… and the belt went off.

I analysed and I think I understand the problem.
The snubber seems not to be centered, and when it is rainy, some dirty elements from the road are sticking on the belt. Then the belt and these elements touch the snubber more firmly, and the belt goes to the space on the left.

What do you think about that ?

How can it be that the snubber isn’t centered?

Does the bearing itself have that much play or is the lever of the snubber bent?

Hi, is the snubber bearing centered on the freewheel?
It looks to me the belt is not centered on the freewheel. A quick check of the Stridas I have in stock most of them the belt is not centered with the belt running closer to the inside edge of the freewheel. It looks to me from your photos your belt is running closer to the outer edge of the freewheel.

Bill

Thank you for your answers.
No it is not centered on the freewheel. It is more close to the frame than to the wheel.

Seems the freewheel is not enough close to to frame… :question:

Here are photos of the snubber, nothink to notice, it seems OK.
BUT there was no washer… is it supposed to be a washer on the bolt ?

Yes it is; the washer sits ususally between bearing and frame - that’s the missing distance.

But I don’t think that the missing washer is the cause for your issue - there must be another failure, too…

Please don’t use a common (wider) washer, except you’re sure that it doesnt touch the ball cover.

Edit: Amazing that - at your third pic - it looks like the washer would be present :open_mouth:
Perhaps it’s still stuck on the frame ear?

Yes you are right. It is hardly stucked to the frame!
Did not notice. Very hard to remove :slight_smile:
Will try to remove it.

You may leave the washer at his place.
But due to that it can’t be the reason for the missing distance :unamused:

Well, I removed the wheel.
Here are some photos :

The axle seems to be OK.
But I noticed something : the freewheel makes some noise when moving it (I send you a Video by email), and there is some play…

I’d agree if we’d replace “some” with “massive” :open_mouth:

Diagnosing from the video only it’s not possible to verify the cause for the massive play,
but I’d think of the following two reasons:

  1. Could it be that the outer plastic shells became loose from the inner metal part?

  1. We were talking about the seal question already here:
    Re: 2014 plastic freewheel interior view

Assumed that there is in fact no seal I’d think that all those little steel balls - which are most likely very close to the gap - are still more or less intact, but their diameter is smaller than it should be.

Thank you for the explanations Chris.

I had to turn myself into a beast to loosen the freewheel.
But that’s done, I succeed.

Here are photos.

3 questions :

  1. On the freewheel, I notice there is a gap beetween the ring and the edge :

Maybe it explains that the belt is not centered as it should be.

  1. In the wheel itself, I noticed a part which is free to move. Is it normal ?

  1. Is it required to tighten the new freewheel as high as the previous one ?

I would say no. :slight_smile:

:laughing:
…good that you unleashed the beast :smiley:

  1. Maybe…but let’s see what’s the difference with a new one…

  2. Yes, absolutely Ok.
    (This part is intended to keep the correct distance between inner and outer bearing.
    As the hole in the center of the hub is not recessed the bearings might move together once there is force applied to the wheel bolt.)

  3. You’re right, tightening just by hand is also Ok.
    (Each time you pedal you’ll also tighten the freewheel harder - that’s why it’s so hard to get it off.)

Well, here is a photo of the result :

As you can see, the snubber is no more centered.
And the belt is running on the inner side of the freewheel.

But with this new belt, which is completely smooth, I hope I will not have the same behavior under the rain.

Btw, it would be more prudent to add an additionnal washer to center the snubber correctly :question:

I believe it’s not that important whether the snubber is centered or not.
As long as there isn’t much play the snubber’s exact position is not important, I think.

What about the noise, is it gone now?

You may try to add a washer, but please be sure

  • to add the washer between the existing washer and the frame and
  • the snubber bolt’s head must not touch the rotor.

The freewheel noise is gone, but not the creaking noise of the other forum thread :confused:

To secure the system and be sure the belt cannot goes off, i will try to add an extra washer with the recos you explained on your last post :slight_smile:

Have you checked the belt tension? It could be loose.

You don’t need to tighten the freewheel as it tightens when you pedal but it would help if you put grease on the hub threads before putting the freewheel back so that it would be easier to remove later on. Trust me, I’ve tried it and it took me just a couple of hits on the lever of the tool to loosen the freewheel.

Looking at the magnified picture above, it seems that the outer surface of the snubber is not aligned with the axis of the bolt, which would be an indication of a worn out bearing.
Or is it just an optical effect?

Hi. Yes, it is really tight.
Thank you for the tip. Unfortunately I have already mounted back the freewheel, but I note the tip. :wink:

Hello Bietrume,
It is just an optical effect. Sometimes I turn myself into a magician :mrgreen: