Chain snapped

I have a Strida 3 that I bought a couple of years ago and have used regularly since. The chain snapped when I was riding it the other night. Does anyone know where I can a) get a replacement and b) get someone to fit it. Has this happened to anyone else? I thought the chain was meant to last for 50,000 miles - I’ve done 2,000 at most.

I think you can contact your local distributor of Strida to order one for replacement and ask them to fit it for you.

Or you can buy a timing belt which is used on cars of correct size and fit it yourself.

Here is the instruction manual of Strida 3:
strida.us/files/strida3.pdf

As on a car camshaft belt - what can break a belt is if at sometime in its life (may be even in factory), it has been ‘kinked’ ie pinched, as this breaks the brittle internal kevlar fibres. Camshaft belts can also be killed if kinked. Under normal use, tensioned on the pulleys they cannot be kinked, so they are at most risk when being handled or stored.

That prospect of my camshaft drive belts snapping is a chilling one. My VW 1.9 Turbo diesel engine has perhaps 2mm clearance between the closed valve and the piston at TDC. Belt snapped = new engine is the rule here in the UK. It causes terrible engine damage and a complete rebuild so they just scrap the whole engine. That cost £4000 when the exchange rate was E1.25 to £1. Now it would probably be £5000 if the belt broke. I replaced my camshaft drive belt at forty thousand miles and spent £300 in fees to the mechanic as preventive maintenance. Well worth it. I still don’t think the belt should have a hard life when used on a strida. Turning a car camshaft must be a far harder job I think. Probably similar torque to pushing the strida along, but much faster. I’d expect the strida drive belt to last a very long time if it had been handled properly.