My Strida EVO

Yes, like EVO, but different gear ratios.
Sorry, no info for readiness - more in private please, thanks :smiley:

Made in Poland, right? :wink:

Right! :wink:

hey BlackStridaAustria - I don’t quite get this. How reliable is this inside info? And another multi 3 speed Strida but with different gear ratios?

I assume it’s a refinement model for Strida EVO – as in a model 2? Would not make sense to have 2 Strida models with 3 speeds on the market.

You got my curiosity! :smiley:

Oops wait - in private can send message? Sorry re-read your post :mrgreen:

@Willie
The forum pm box is accessible, after logging in, via the button “New Messages” at the upper left corner of the forum window, next to “User Control Panel”.

…and the address below is still leading to independent Strida support - and not a company :laughing:

Just wanted to update status.

Status: Loving the Strida EVO more and MORE.

I stopped riding my other 3 bikes (which are chain driven and more gears) in favor of the 3 speed Strida EVO.

I don’t need to be super fast and I am on mostly bike tracks and some city roads. It’s fast enough to keep speed with inner city traffic.

Main reasons for Strida EVO love and what makes me ride it more are:

It’s kelvar belt - less maintenance as I ride 3-5 times a week with each ride being approx 40-50Km. With my other bikes I was chain cleaning every week.
weather has been hot humid and thunderstorms - no problems with the Kelvar belt! My dry lube on the chain bikes wash off!
People love the Strida - people stop me and ask what it is. It’s also a chick-magnet. Girls in general are not into full carbon kit road bikes or mountain bikes whatever… the Strida is a chick magnet! The number of times a random girl wanted to ride my bike =). It’s also way cooler than other folding bikes - the A - geometry
I will never ride a 1-speed Strida including the C1 Carbon – the 3 gears are fast enough to hit 25kh/hr which is the legal speed limit on bike tracks in Singapore. If I really needed speed I be on my road bike!
I love the 3 speed “back pedal” click to change gears !

An update on the bike - it’s done approx 10,000km - serviced it 4 times now at the local Bike Shop – nothing is wearing out or broken. Kelvar belt and the EVO Strummy Archer 3-gear box going strong. Wear and tear in general - like scratches to the frame from my neglect or general use. NO RUST anywhere despite lotsa wet weather riding. Rear tyre probably to be replaced this later this year (it wears out the rear fast - or a tire rotation needed!).

I upgraded my handle bars to the bent bar kit – totally changes the riding experience and pushes the weight of the bike more “even” as most of the weight distribution witht he default short handle bars (stock) is on the raer wheel. The bars are these at https://stridacanada.ca/product/strida-bent-handle-bar-kit/

I personally love this bike so much - it’s a pity that the Strida is not marketed more aggressively. Even my local Strida reseller – NONE of them ride the Strida or can speak strongly on the advantages / disadvantages as they NOT ride it themselves - which is a pity.

To be successful on the Strida - it takes a few rides to get used to the “twitchy” aspects of the bike - after which everthing is GREAT. I see too many potential buyers of the Strida are put off by this (as the sales person does not know the product in order to relay the experience) or they try sell the Strida LT (which is very different to the Strida EVO from a riding experience!).

Thanks for the neat update :smiley:

Persons like you should be hired and rewarded by Ming cycle - you are a perfect test pilot with that respectable mileage :sunglasses:

I wonder how many times your freewheel was changed in fact - I guess two times at least?
Also - did the service team anything at your rear hinge?
Was it necessary to maintain the KS3 drive?

You know what’s principially different between them ?
The LT’s excenter is made of plastic (instead of aluminium) and also are the wheels.
I don’t think that the plastic excenter can be the cause for a different ride feeling…

** WARNING LONG POST **

I love the Strida EVO - it’s an amazing bike. I think owners should promote it… I only seen like < 5 Stridas in all of my rides in Singapore … all LT models (although I do know there has been EVO’s sold in Singapore! - they exist!!!). It’s just not a popular bike - for the price most people buy other bike models, nor is there enough marketing on Stridas! And even the resellers of Strida’s as far as I know - do not ride Stridas themselves - they have their own road or Mountain Bikes… !! (other than Bill Wilby - Strida Canada - now Bill if you are reading this - you are a Strida crusader - as are you BSA!)

On wear and tear here are the issues I am encountering…
[b]

  1. KS3 Strummy Archer gearbox.[/b]
    My rides are mostly 80% of the time on the 3rd gear. I do not need to swap gears much unless I am in the city road areas. As such I think my KS3 gearbox has had it “easy”. I ride on very flat paths and I can ZOOM FAST (25km/hr to 30km/hr) on 3rd … even small hills etc. Not too much shifting. However Gear 1 and 3 are super smooth. The gear 2 seems to have issues engaging now - and every now and then a loud clunk before it hits the 2nd gear properly every now and then (1 in 5 it does this?) - not sure if that’s normal but it works just fine when engaged fully. I can’t remember how it was when it was new!!! I think it was a bit like that at the beginning too not sure. I can’t say how long the KS3 will last as there is not enough people riding high milages on Strida EVO’s – not that I know of unless others can share. I be interested also!

2. Freewheel has been good to me. Only 1 freewheel has been changed. My current (2nd) one still looks good visually - so hope it lasts. I am shocked to have read that there was a post (from you - BSA?) in this forum that they can wear out in 2,500km or less.

  1. The rubber handle was wearing out (I tend to rub it when riding - wearing it out!) and the string thingy broke (the string that holds the brakes so the Strida can “stand”) - but that was fixed when I got the new extended handlebars! So problem went away. They sell replacement parts for that ANYWAY.

  2. Nothing I am aware of – re: rear hinge. They just tighten all the nuts and bolts? Something I NEED to be aware of?? I do worry now the bike has done some distance!

Out of the 4 bike services - there is nothing to mention specifically that raises alarm bells for this bike. I do agree it’s relatively a low maintenance bike (compared to my other traditional chain / gear bikes!). I really feel for the Strida EVO the critical components are KS3 gear box and free wheel.

Below is a picture of some of my “in house” spare parts I bought to keep on hand - as I do love my Strida and I hate for it to be at the LBS waiting for parts to be ordered before repairs.

From the diagram above…

Top left - my spare Strummy Archer brand new KS3 - still in shrink wrap. Given there is no need to maintain it, and it’s supposed to be what I heard is “self lubricating” I am very uncomfortable. It’s the heart of the Strida EVO and I keep thinking my existing KS3 gearbox will one day die… so I purchased this as a “spare”. I don’t want to have my bike @ the local LBS for “weeks” as they repair or service - if they don’t have parts.

Top Right - spare Kelvar belt. Sure the website saids 50K milage… it’s cheap why not just have a spare handy? My belt looks really worn out after 10K milage (teeth are intact though)… I can’t imagine it lasting another 10K !! Even though website saids 50K.

In the middle - 2 Aluminum Free Wheels. This is the other part I felt uncomfortable and would “wear out”. Amazingly I think due to the Singapore weather and my lack of “muddy” riding my free wheels have not had to much issues! I cycle generally on sunny days and but of late it’s been raining quite a bit - it gets wet but not muddy where excessive grit gets into the teeth of the free wheel. I am not saying it does not – it just is not the particles of sand grains etc which can do some severe wearing on the teeth. (I cycle on clear wet roads or paths – sorry to say I think Singapore does have some of the best roads in the world!). I also noticed that on several occasions when it rained on me and I was caught totally wet (me and the Strida) - the design of the freewheel has 2 “wings” circle structures on the outside of the teeth… they tend to block the water splashes - and when I touched the “teeth” in the freewheel it was in fact still dry or just “wet” only and all the road junk and grit was shielded by the “wings” on the side of the freewheel.

Left middle are 2 spare tubes - nothing to say much here.

Bottom is 2 Strida original disc rotors on spare… Probably didn’t need these but they here and spares!

Future CONCERNS of Strida Ownership:

  1. I worry that Strida’s will become obsolete. I mean I don’t see many on the road vs say Bromptons or cheap supermarket bikes that cost 20% of the price of a Strida. So Ming Cycles stops production. In Singapore e-scooters are so prevalent now - they killing off recreational cycling. The cheap e-scooters cost 33% of the price of a Strida EVO - they quick, light and compact for commuting to office etc. And no sweating! They sold in supermarkets for the masses!

  2. I got alot of creaking and I been checking the joints. Posts on this Strida forum of “sudden tube” failure scares me. I since wear a bike helmet ALL the time - as I do ride 20-25KM/hr average speed and in some cases 30Km/hr+. (okok it’s NOT the fastest bike but a fall as it’s an upright seating bike posture to the hard cement road would be very nasty at 25km/hr + speed if a tube suddenly broke! Nasty to my head! So helmet it is!). FYI - I am 200lbs! Not the lightest rider but well within the recommended weight range! I did pay specific attention and I DO think it is the kelvar belt rubbing on the chainwheel… can’t prove it. Creaks under load or hard pedalling. Silent when cruising or normal light pedalling.

  3. My KS3 gear box dies…(that’s why I have a brand new one on standby lol as per my spare parts I am holding) - so I can swap one out for repair/service and other swapped into the bike). HOWEVER to be fair this is paranoid fear by ME… the KS3 is GOING strong still only the clicking noise when I am in Gear 2. I asked the distributor and they assured me it goes “forever” with NO maintenance required. I am used to bike maintenance regular weekly!!! I find this odd. The bike distributor only has 1 experience of another EVO owner who rode thousands (no idea how many!) and his KS3 was “loose” and would unintentionally change gears when it goes over any bumps. That other person was visiting Singapore with his Strida EVO – from Thailand.

  4. I have to keep stocking up on Free Wheels (which are expensive compared to normal bike parts!) but as mentioned they seem to last for me so far. Now don’t blame the Strida, one of my other traditional 8-speed chain bikes - the chain ring was worn out by me in just 3 months of regular “my typical riding” and it needed replacing! (yes - 3 months - of 40-50 KM trips / 4-5 times a week). That chain ring was an original part and was stainless steel – I swapped it to an alloy so will see if that metal is longer lasting. That was kinda short lived on my other bike!!! So the Strida Free Wheel has lasted for me when I compare to my other bike! Just wished it was cheaper or as other formmers (Chester Tan etc) mentioned - can replace JUST the plastic teeth on the free wheel itself. I cycle for exercise and enjoyment so I am OK with parts costing etc - but I know many people use it as part of their daily commute and the concept is NEED TO KEEP maintenance and ownership costs DOWN. The Strida Free-wheel is over priced but I guess it’s more complex to make vs other traditional free wheels on the after-market - on common mainstream bikes.

If my Strida EVO was stolen, damaged in a bike crash or just “died” including tube failure – I’ll buy another NO QUESTIONS ASKED. I plan to ride the Strida till it is worn out.

Even thought the Strida is SGD$1250 (approx Euro 800) so is more pricey than most comparable bikes at SGD$500 (EUR 320) – it bring huge riding pleasure and satisfaction, portability… and LOW maintenance. I was looking at another Gates Belt Driven bike and it was SGD$5000!!! or a Birdy at approx SGD$3200 pending the model. How about an original Brompton - a 1-speed Brompton is SGD$1,900 here in Singapore. So – I’ll buy a Strida EVO anyday! YES THE Strida EVO is THAT good! IMO!

I will not touch a Strida LT. They just is no comparision…

First - many thanks for the praise and the insightful post :smiley:

I mean each Strida user does promoting automatically - just by riding in public :laughing:

Regarding gearbox:

Your feelings sound very familiar to mine; it IS odd to hear something will work “forever” without maintaining.
Also I don’t feel really well if there is no detailed documentation (besides a few bad pdf pages and a patent in Chinese) available at the web.
(Actually I think there is no service manual existent for the KS3 - wished somebody would proove me wrong…)
I’m talking here about hard work - done very well it should look similar to this:
Schlumpf drives FAQ/webpage

Schlumpf speed drive workbench manual 16,9 Mb pdf file

Btw; the new competitor efneo told me they’re working on their manual.
It seems there is also no maintenance interval adviced…

Could it be really possible that nowadays are lubes on the market which can last “forever”?
I’m in doubt…

Regarding freewheel I do believe that the extremely different mileage experience could have been caused by just one reason:
Eventually were series of faulty freewheels manufactured (plausible could be for example anodizing mistakes) and spread all over the world.
Of course is this just speculation - please note - but that could explain the whole thing easily.

The freewheel is not cheap, that’s correct, but looking for possible alternatives you may return quickly:
gates-carbon-drive-cdx-freewheel-22T

Regarding Strida obsolescence - if you mean that in the sense of product maintenance and service - yes, you do have to worry.

If you meant that the brand could disappear (soon) then I’d say no.
Ming cycle is actually a bike supplying specialist and they do not hide that:
https://www.mingcycle.com.tw/en/
Ming cycle is, on one hand, pretty proud on “their” Strida and they use it as some kind of flagship.
But on the other hand is the folding bike segment too small to be important (enough), that explains their lack of interest in product service.
The lousy support has its roots in the fact that Ming has just bought a brand - but they don’t know exactly what that means because they are still mainly suppliers.
“Brand awareness” can’t be bought.

To give an example; imagine you are a car parts manufacturer.
Would you care if Chrysler, Mercedes, VW or Skoda does buy your products?
No, you would give a s… on who buys your parts - as long as you can sell them.
You also don’t have to advertise because the car manufacturers do that already, same with customer service.

Just today I found the following words, retweeted by Mark Sanders and obviously said by Will Butler-Adams (Brompton CEO)

“We haven’t created a brand - we’ve created a product and a service. Our customers create the brand”

Transferring above into Ming cycle mentality it must mean:

“We bought the brand, now it is ours”

Regarding spare parts collecting:
Good idea if you don’t like to wait for LBS orders.
The front rotors (140 mm) can be replaced by third party types, but the rear one (160 mm) has no bolt holes which is uncommon.
Also very unusual the belt snubber bearing btw!

I’m highly amazed that you didn’t notice that sooner - especially since you supplied more data.
This is for my meaning the absolutely typical “creaking rear hinge” behaviour.
To comprehend what happens exactly please watch this video,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdECyvRsizI
kindly supplied by our Hungarian collegue Zoltan - thanks again mate :slight_smile:

At about 0:20 running time note the sideways tilting of the front beltwheel which is caused by a rotation of the bottom tube around its axis.
This rotation transfers huge forces via the cup spring on the frame surface - the cupspring “bites” into the frame.
The next step is that the forces directions change and the cup spring “breaks loose” - that is the crack you hear.
The harder you pedal the more seizing cracks.
(A bit simplified.)
**Note: Before checking anything on the REAR end of the bottom tube:
Make sure that the FRONT end is tight - that means check both 274 bolts left and right of the locking latch AND look if upper an lower bearing are present/intact.

Surely not dangerous, but very annoying (at least for me) and the main chapter referring to product maintenance.

There ARE solutions and suggestions available - created by renowned persons like Mark Sanders or Bill Wilby.
Ming cycle DID receive above informations at least several times (partially personally overtaken at Eurobike Germany, including samples).
But the hinge remains the same. Period.

Considering that the brand exists over 30 years and I have only 8 years of Strida forensic studies to tell about - there is still hope…

However, please don’t worry about the rear hinge creaking, surely we can get rid of that if you want :slight_smile:
Thanks to Mark (who sent me kindly his suggestions including drawings) I could manage to enhance my own solution massively.
Gladly I’ll share it asap, just for total reproducibility for everybody is some documentation explicitly required…and I can’t afford a secretary…

I agree - no service manual other than the few pages telling you NOT to open it. I have a feeling this KS3 drive is something they expect us to cycle and use till it no longer works - then send for a major overhaul meaning your EVO Bike will be out of action for … weeks on end or months!

Well I done 10,000kms - and it’s going strong so maybe it’s NOT something we need to worry about as something else will break eventually anyway (??). No one seems to know how long a KS3 drive is supposed to last… maybe Ming Cycles DO KNOW but for lack of communications - they not shared it and we “over thinking this”??

In regards to Lubes - for a major service the Strida dealer is supposed to inject fresh lube. But I honestly don’t think the LBS Strida dealer is aware!! (or knows). I will ask next time as all 4 services were basic services. I’ll ask for a complete strip and overhaul of the bike - which will mean a re-grease / lube of every single component. The User Manual does not specify what lube to use OR how to do it. (otherwise I do it myself!)

Anyone on this forum - knows?

FYI - I now have 2 x spare KS3 drives. I just bought ANOTHER for US$200 - could not help myself. :smiley: So I a happy to experiment a bit if I know HOW to inject the lube into it —>. I was looking at this – would the KS3 use this??? chainreactioncycles.com/sg/e … -prod33670

Be interesting next year as by then I can hit something more respectable and I can share again how things are.

Lastly - thankyou for all the other suggestions and information! :smiley:

EDIT - 10th June.

So I am browsing and saw these 2 articles on servicing the Shimano 3 speed hub.

Link #1 - web.archive.org/web/20130926205 … %20Oil.pdf. — wouldn’t it be cool if we can just take the KS3 out and drip it in oil and plug it back?

Link #2 - web.archive.org/web/20130925000 … 0ohaul.pdf — Full Manual.

If only this was the Strida EVO KS3 instructions I be so pleased…

Correct, nobody knows exactly which grease to use…

Anecdote from Germany:
A good friend showed the Sturmey Archer document to his workstore and forced them this way to change the grease of his drive.
Of course they didn’t read it before and were surprised, but they managed the task.
Unfortunately it’s not 100% clear which lube they used - my friend was told “common bike grease”.

…and there is one more problem; the drive has to be disassembled before greasing because there is no refill opening present.
Though I’d not recommend to open the drive without knowing before exactly what/how to do.

Hi Chris,

Just some comments:

I’ll do a full strip down service later this year with our Singapore distributor - see what they do and say. Stripe Down - as in remove every single part and re-lube every part before re-assembly. It costs not cheap but worth it on high mileage in my opinion - and let’s see how the KS3 goes. Alternatively, with the milage and enjoyment I am getting - I now have 2 spare KS3 gear boxes - really since the Strida EVO has been relatively maintenance free – if I was to compare this with my other chain driven bikes wear and tear and replace of components — if over distances it averages out for a new KS# swap out — it’s STILL worth it and not the end of the world. Look at the thousands we spend on cars… or hundreds to low thousand on those e-bikes — they have a limited life too.

So in short - it is what it is. If anyone reading this is worried about KS3 on EVO — get a Strida SX on 18 inch wheels - similar to 2nd gear on Strida. IMO only.

True. Whilst on one hand one could say Strida is not a cheap bike (compared to made in China generics etc) - it’s actually VERY cheap compared to other branded bikes like the Birdy, Bromptons etc - and they don’t even have the Kelvar belt etc tech that I so love.

Thanks Chris. I just added an extra rear disc and subber repair kit to my spare parts. I didn’t know this – so thankyou.

Any other parts I should be looking at too? For now - Strida is still plentiful - so can always get a 2nd hand on eBay etc and strip for parts.

What happened to the other Moderators. Seems I discovered this forum quite late … everyone almost seems to have left… Hoping for many more years Chris… :wink:

Added Carbon Wheels and changed from the Strida 18" Innova tyres to Schwalbe Kojaks.

Special thanks to:
[]Bill from Strida Canada for the wheels. He has great customer service and recommend! He has a while selection of parts etc!
[
]Hello Bicycle (Singapore) - the local Strida distributor for helping me get the tyres and wheels on. Special thanks to Kenneth, Jun Hong and Peter.

They awesome - more riding on this little beast! :laughing:

This early morning I had the urge to cycle and also try out the new carbon wheels.

I never understood why some people say the Strida is only good for short distances! I ended up racking up 69.47km (43.2 miles) over 3 hrs 48 mins. Not at the fastest speed - I do need to content with road traffic in Orchard leading to Marina Bay before it’s a nice flat smooth run.

So from Orchard area - to Marina Bay Sands - to East Coast Parkway, pass Changi Airport and up to the NE part of Singapore at Changi Beach and then decided to go home and head to office for work! The below is the 69.47km trip (with U-turn @ Changi Beach and headed back to Orchard).

Summary Stats for the ride:

Took this pic along the Cycle paths on East Coast leading up to Changi Beach - in Singapore.

Did another 71.8km (44.6 miles) cycle ride on the Strida EVO this early morning.

I wont be posting all my rides but wanted to just show it’s pretty easy for long distance rides (it’s not a short distance bike).

Here below is a pic of my Strida out on a cycle run. :smiley:

So last week the local “Hello Bicycle” shop (yes that’s the name of the LBS!) had a 40% sale - and I also traded in one of my other less ridden 8-speed folding bikes… to well… end up with another Silver EVO Strida! HAHA! (they had matt black but looks weird with the upgraded silver handle bars…).

As I had stated before - I love the Strida EVO it’s a seriously fun and capable bike for my needs. I upgraded the steering kit, black Brooks Flyer saddle, red alloy chain ring, MKS detachable pedals, and carbon wheels… and since my other original Strida is going so well still… I decided to pack this bike away into the Strida bag.

It can be my spare bike for another day…

And into the bag it goes… and into my wardrobe! Another reason I love the Strida design.
In the pic below I placed my backpack so can see the dimension / size comparison.

Oh and I had a flat the other day – 45 Km from home. Thunderstorms hit and I was stuck. Folded the bike up and flagged a taxi home :smiley:

Otherwise I could had patched the flat, but I be sitting around under some wet make shift shelter with tropical mosquitoes for ages waiting for the pelting Thunderstorm to subside … or a very long 1.5 -2 hrs soggy and wet ride home… AH-CHOOOO!!! :open_mouth:

Hello All - just a quick post to yell out my 2 Strida’s are going strong - wait - my 2nd Strida is still in the bag brand new (unused). Original Strida now 2.5 years old. Pity I do not have a odometer to track the distance travelled.

3 speed EVO BB gear still working like a charm - was always paranoid of that gear system but I love the kick back and simplicity.

Changed the rear tyre - front wearing fine. Like most rear wheel cycles - the rear wears at 2x the rate…

Changed the freewheel as well - no issues. Still on original Kelvar belt. I estimate now 25,000+ of (km) travelled on this bike. Yes I have rear wheel squeak when going uphills - but in Singapore my route only has one mild hill.

I not done any other enhancements to the Strida EVO - I can’t think of anything else I CAN DO! Except the Efneo drive but I am worried that I don’t know how to install it and my local Strida distributor - well - I not asked and I don’t think they seen the Efneo kit. I wished I was in Canada and I can pay Bill Wilby a visit or Chris in Austria! :wink:

Happy Strida’ing all!

Thank you Willie for the compliment, have you read this and tried my fix for the rear wheel squeak?
Cheers, Bill
stridacanada.ca/strida-bikes-re … explained/

Hi @Willie I am curious about your front bag. Could you please tell me more about it? Is it handmade?