A few weeks ago I picked up a Strida 1 at a yard sale. When I got it home I found that the ball socket plastic moldings at the top of the steering tube were trashed. Having no luck finding replacements I decided to improvise.
I purchased a short length of 6061-T6 tubing, 1.250 inch outside diameter by .083 inch wall thickness, from Metalsonline.com for $7.50/foot. Then I purchased part numbers CYSP215S, CYSP215P, and CYSP250 from John Ficek at Strida USA for $7.30.
I cut the tubing diagonally at 30 degrees and then perpendicularly at an overall length of 4.312 inches. Holes were then drilled in the tube to accommodate the cable pipe, part no. CYSP215P, and the attachment screw, a 5mm by 12mm round head screw.
Next the Strida steerer tube was cut off just below the point where it was swaged down to allow installation of the original stem/handlebar, about 4 inches below the original ball socket in the molded plastic halves. An old seat post of 27.2mm diameter was cut off to provide a piece 5 inches long. This piece was then coated with JB Weld and inserted 3 inches into the cut off steerer tube. 24 hours later the fabricated section of tubing was JB Welded onto the exposed 2 inches of the seatpost with the diagonal cut up and facing the rear of the bike and this joint was allowed to cure for 24 hours. A handlebar stem from Specialized, which has a steerer bore of 1.300 inch, was slipped over the fabricated tube along with a .020 inch thick aluminum shim on the lower 2 inches of the fabricated tube and then clamped in place using the stems 2 clamping bolts. The socket pair, part no. CYSP215S, was spread apart enough to encompass the ball at the top of the Strida seat tube and then inserted into the fabricated section of tubing. The cable pipe, part no. CYSP215P, was then pressed in place through the fabricated tube and the brake cables inserted in the steerer tube and the seat tube. The rear brake cable was not threaded though the cable pipe because this would have created too much of a bend in the cable housing; it was passed around the right side of the ball/socket joint instead. A handlebar shim was made from 1.250 inch outside diameter by .125 inch wall plastic pipe to adapt a handlebar to the Specialized stem.
The conversion has worked out quite well and I’m now adapting to the quick handling characteristic of the Strida.
I need to punch a hole in the seat tube about 2 inches below the ball so that the rear brake cable can emerge there without a severe kink. Then it could go through the front tube in a more direct path.
Thanks for your sharing.
I’m Kwang and live in Brighton, UK.
In fact, I also bought a second hand MK1 yesterday and found the exactly same problem
with the ball socket. Strida Europe answered they donot have spare parts for MK1 anymore.
Your repairing work is great but I wonder whether I can follow your sophisticate procedures.
Can you suggest slightly simpler way which other normal people like me can follow?
Many thanks,
Thanks for your posting.
It’s brilliant! How could he make the patch?
Is it aluminum? Do you think other lay people like me
can benchmark the patch method?
