I have my strida MAS since 2014. Only recently I started having issues. Biggest one happened about a week ago when the brake cable for the back week was cut right where the bike folds. I was planning on changing the cable and wanting to ask you, guys, if you have suggestions on how to about doing that.
But last night while I was riding towards home, I suddenly felt something weird with my bike and I immediately got off. And I quickly realized the bike was literally holding by a thread. Meaning the folding part unscrewed (hopefully) or the teeth of the nut holding the screw just gave up (I hope this is not it). And the bike was holding together by a thread of what was left of the break wire.
In hindsight, maybe the screw was starting to unscrew and stretched the break cable and that is why it broke. Maybe.
What do you guys think? Is it unscrewed and I need to screw back or are the teeth of the nut busted and in need of change?
How do I go about screwing back the screw?
Or in case the nut is busted, how do I change the nut?
And any suggestions on how to change the brake cable? Any special details to consider? I am thinking of a solution to tie the new cable to the old cable so when I drag the old cable out, I should fit in automatically the new cable.
Hi, I havenāt seen this happen before! With what I can see in the photos, the treads may be OK and it just needs to be reassembled. I think the best way to do that would be to remove the ball joint first. This post may help, stridacanada.ca/strida-ball-joi ā¦ explained/ This will help with replacing the brake cable too.
you did right, posting images is not so easy here due to the ancient forum software.
ā¦and you have already good ideas but also you are missing some important details.
Iāll try to get to these asap, meanwhile, could you please send an empty mail to the address below?
Youāll get in return a few images.
In advance the brake cable trick, ātying togetherā usually doesnāt work:
Get yourself an overlong brake cable (for tandems) with 3,50 m length.
Fiddle the new brake hose (~ 155 cm with the standard short steering) onto the cable.
Pull out the old brake wire from the old hose (leaving the hose in place!)
Fiddle the ~ 2 m āhelping cableā into the old hose.
Pulling now on the cable - and you will push out the old hose with the new one.
Finally, replace the āhelping cableā with the regular one - done.
Logically - the method above has to be mixed with that of the ball/socket removal/repairment.
The ball (Part 388) has on top a 6 mm Allen key hole.
The ball is secured into the frame via a M6 x 10 mm set screw (Allen key 3 mm) - part 389.
Between the ball and the set screw there has to be a small cylindric brass shim (390), Ć 4,8 x 2 mm.
Mentioned set screw has to be glued (thread locking compound).
I must recommend to check the area at the frame tube, around the ballās thread, carefully for cracks!
Please DO NOT install the ball without above mentioned parts!
Thanks Chris, I was hoping you would fill in the details, I didnāt know about the shim and I didnāt look at the parts diagram. I did rush, I wanted to be first to help!
Actually a surprising coincidence, just a few days ago Iāve heard of a similar issue (for the first time!) from another user, from Portugal.
Luckily in this case, without ripping the brake cableā¦
Anyway, the parts are not clearly visible at the standard drawings, sent you the detail
I tried following your advice and unscrewed the screw holding the joint ball, put the plastic sheeting out, but I just could not get the ball joint out. In the end, with the help of my girlfriend I screwed back the ball joint. While having the bike split in 2, she was holding the back part of the bike and I was screwing the front side of the bike ) And I thus managed to screw the ball joint all the way.
But now I have another issue. The ring does not go all the way through on the steering pin. SO I cannot secure it. I believe I should change the angle of the steering pin as that might be the issue. Otherwise no idea. What do you, guys, think?
Ok. It was the angle of the pin. And considering I used a hammer besides a hex key to unscrew the screws holding the pin, I believe the ball joint was not screwed all the way through since the beginning. I just never realized this.
Ah! And regarding the break cable. I am gonna write how I did it. Just in case someone else might find himself / herself in the same situation. I could not get a hold of a 2 person bike brake cable as you suggested so in the end I changed the break cable this way. At the end, near the back break I unscrewed the brake and then I inserted the old metal break cable into the new break plastic break cover. I then used a textile made duct tape (the one that is sticks the most). I applied only a layer so not to be too thick. I then pulled the old break cable from the middle, next to the ball joint. And it worked. The upper part was easier to change. Afterwards I inserted the new metal cable into the new plastic break cover. Done.
The ball joint came off once again. It seems it is actually the threads. They are worn off. I guess I will have to buy a new nut.
Just so people know. I believe I broke the threads because I pulled a bicycle cart. And probably the one of the shocks that start to happen once you pull it, tore out the threads.
Any idea how to take out the nut for the ball joint? I already pull the small screw (I believe part 389) out, the small screw holding the big ball joint nut.
I tried screwing the ball joint screw back and pulling hard on it, but it does not work. Should I pull harder or is the nut also screwed there as well so I should unscrew it somehow? How?
Are you sure? I mean that would be a big oversight from Strida imho. Because if something breaks there it would be those threads, not the threads on the ball.
As another example, I had another bike. And while trying to change the pedals, I managed to damage the threads. And of course the threads of the ānutā on the crank arm where damaged, not the threads of the pedal itself. That is the one giving up. I would bet it always happens like this.
And why is the small screw holding the nut, if that nut is part of the frame tube? I hope you know which screw I am referring to here.
Iām 100% sure.
Why?
Because I have here tubes without paint and all the single parts.
Correct, in the pedal/crank case you would try first to re-cut the thread, if that doesnāt work you would use a helicoil insert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W418WcxZMRY
You are referring to a set screw M6 x 10 mm, ring edge type.
The M6 thread for the set screw was also cut directly into the frame tube, about 90Ā° to the ballās thread.
This screw pushes onto a small brass disc (diameter ~ 4,8 mm and thickness 2 mm).
That brass disc again pushes onto the ballās thread - to secure the ball.
And that is it - there are no ānutsā!
Right now, I canāt verify the ballās thread exactly (need to make more measurings).
The only ways to repair this thread are for my meaning:
A. Trying to re-cut the thread (Required skill level: Intermediate).
B. Drilling out the old threads and replacing them with heli-coil inserts (Skill level: Expert).
(C. Exchanging the seat tube.)
<<That brass disc again pushes onto the ballās thread - to secure the ball.>> Why does it need to be secured? What happens to a strida that does not have my problems, but where I take out that screw? Does the ball screw start to unscrew? Or what else? Thank you!
Sorry, to answer your last questions Iād need to be an engineer which Iām not.
But let me say, with the inversed logic of a simple mechanic:
Nobody, not even Ming cycle, would install that set screw/disc parts just for fun!
It is most likely, that someone noticed that the ball could become loose - that would be a massive safety issue - and they took care to avoid that.
Obviously, the brass disc is intended to save the ballās threads.
I donāt know if anyone ever tried that.
I guess that most Strida owners never noticed this set screwā¦and very less ever knew what itās forā¦
Not recommended anyway.
Perhapsā¦I mean possiblyā¦you did that experiment already without knowing?
Imagine the set screw wasnāt set properly from the beginning (or loosened over time) - and what happened?
The ball became looseā¦
Edited above repair method C.
Canāt find my thread gauges right now but Iāll get back to this asap.
(Could be a fine pitch thread M12 x 1,5 mm.)
) And I thus managed to screw the ball joint all the way.