Thicker 18" wheels for SX

Anyone know if it’s possible to upgrade the bigger wheels to thicker versions? At the moment the Strida is fine and lovely on flat asphalt, but my city has cobblestones and this means I currently don’t dare ride it on the actual street in some places. Afraid I’ll hurt the rims/slip/get caught in a crack. Would thicker wheels even fit?

Hi spongefile,

as far I know there is no possibility to mount “thicker wheels” than 18" on a Strida, due to it’s special frame construction.
May I ask what type of tyre you are using, maybe Schwalbe Kojak?

There are 2 brands of 18" tyres Ming supply:
i. Innova which IS thicker (34mm+)
2. Kojack (shwalbe) … which tends to be used in europe.

If distributor cannot help - you might contact Ming direct: contact@strida.com

Those are the two tires, I have kojaks and changed them to the innova’s and now I ride on hard pack gravel roads pretty well too without worrying about wrecking the schwalbles or losing traction because of the smooth tire treads.

One more tire that would fit that is the Schwalble Marathon Plus 18x 1.35 wide ones. They’re pretty good for puncture resistance but weigh as much as 2 kojaks for one tire. But for a happy medium I bought the innova’s from that gum.hk store and they got it to me for a pretty good price in Canada.

I find once you go to 18 inches you don’t go back :slight_smile:.

One more thing I was messing around and was able to fit a schwalbe marathon 18x1.5 on my strida before. BUT there is only like 1-2mm of clearance from the frame and you might have to tension/tweak the spokes to move the rim a little away from the frame because it will rub when you lean into a turn. Also doing that you cannot ever use a fender! this was a deal breaker for me because I ride the bike to work everyday. But the tire was BIG and it felt like alot of cushioning somehow when it was on my rear wheel when I had it for a little experimentation. :slight_smile:

Yep, Schwalbe Kojak is what’s on there now.

ETRTO 35-355 Schwalbe Art.No.: 11111348 EAN-Code: 4026495473668

http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1323

http://www.schwalbe.com/ger/de/suche/produkte/ergebnis/?tn_mainPoint=&tn_subPoint=&ID_Produktgruppe=

[url]Bag for Strida SX?]

Fits perfect on my 18" wheeled single - Strida.
These tyres have much more traction than the Kojak’s, which are really dangerous on bad roads.
I bought also Innova’s from G.U.M. some days ago for spare parts, but have not tested them by now.


picture was found here:
[url]Where to sell my Strida SX?]
Thanks, Amuro!

http://www.gum.hk/

For my feeling is the 18" Strida more stable and less nervous than the 16" version.
(I’m riding alternatively a 16" Schlumpf SD [more] and a 18" SX [less]).
Upgrading a two speed Strida to 18" wheels possibly has a disadvantage:
The enormous gear ratio might not suit all Stridanauts legs… :smiling_imp:

Btw, is there any other bike on the market which makes tube- or tyrechanging possible as fast and easy as on a Strida? :wink:

Many thanks for the fast replies, guys!

How much do the Innovas differ from the Kojaks? Will they be enough for slick bumpy cobblestones? Will they rub the frame?
Will I need new rims, or can I use the existing ones?
Anyone know if they’re available in Scandinavia? (I’m in Finland)

To clarify, I mean is there a significant, or only small difference between the Kojaks and Innovas? Or should I jump right to the Marathons? A bit worried about my ability to tweak spokes, am kind of new to anything more than basic biking things… :slight_smile:

Just 0,1" - 18"x1,25 (Kojak) to 18"x1,35 (Innova, Schwalbe Marathon Racer) to show the difference in technical data!
But a big difference makes the profile…which Kojak’s don’t have :open_mouth: .
Additionally are the Kojak’s much harder due to the tyre pressure and less comfortable.

Pressure Innova, Marathon Racer : 6,0- 6,5 bar
Pressure Kojak : 8,0 bar :open_mouth:

I don’t really know, I try to avoid such things…

Maybe switching to 16" and special tyres (only available for 16") -
see here a post of the snow riders:
[url]Photos of Stridas in Hong Kong]

No. Even with original mudguards no problem.

No need of new rims.

Please try your local google search i.e. EAN-Code: 4026495473668 for the Schwalbe.
As said, the Innova’s are from G.U.M. directly.

So, you’re from Finland, maybe you know “Korpiklaani” ?

Thanks for even more details, sorry for the barrage of questions still–

If I switch to the snow riders’ tire, it looks like I would have to change to 16" rims–do I have to change the gearing as well, or is the point that the tire is so thick it makes up for the difference and you end up with an outside circumference equivalent to the current Kojaks? (That would be kind of awesome)

Also, how do Innovas compare to Marathons? (noticed some people here have tried both)

Don’t know Korpiklaani, sorry…

Just ordered the Innovas from G.U.M., hope they’ll do the trick. Otherwise I’ll have to try the 16" rim with Big Fat BMX wheel option.

Usually the complete wheels, including brake rotor and freewheel, are changed when “upgrading” to 18". So a “downgrade” would be the opposite.

No, please refer to the gear ratios here:
[url]Gear ratios information about different models of Strida]

I think not, please look at these pictures, posted by Tom_:

18" Marathon Racer in the background…
…btw, 18" has 36 spokes, 16" only 24…

The Innova’s look like Schwalbe clones - or vice versa?

If sponge is going back to the 16 inch wheels I would actually suggest he just get the 16x2" schwalbe big apples.

schwalbetires.com/node/1328

At least they have a tread pattern and with it being a balloon tire it would help alot with the comfort because he’s riding on cobblestones! my gosh my teeth would be chattering like crazy if it rode on cobblestones! Which is why I moved away from the schwalbe kojaks, they need full pressure to operate correctly but they are not as comfortable as my innovas with a little less pressure and more air to compress on bumps because it’s a wider tire.

I wish they sold fat franks in 16 inches cause I love the cream coloured tires on my bike. every 16 and 18 inch tires only comes in black and nothing crazy sigh

Innovas arrived, MUCH better than the Kojaks. Don’t feel like I’m going to slip at every turn and bump, and also much comfier over the cobblestones… Feel like I have a real bike now. Thanks all! :smiley: