overheating front wheel

Must admit Im a strida novice; Im not mechanically orintated either; so im dubious to strip the bike down either!! But my front wheel is overheating.

Ive got a strida2 i bought of ebay and I guess the disc type brakes are overheating. Ive tried to slacken them off a bit but to no affect.

Started when I realised front wheel was getting stiffer and stiffer. Stupidly put it down to lubrication. Sprayed with WD40. Issue went away. However:

this may seem daft but on a long ride smelt burning! Put my hand on the wheel and it was red hot!! I did have drinking water with me; that was only way I could cool it to get it to re-turn.
A mile later you could almost see smoke and it was that hot I had to douse the whole wheel in water at a garage. yes I must own the record of the first person to own a strida thats caught fire!

Im sure the disc brakes are screwed and are shot causing friction. Anybody relate to this? Like I say Im very dubious to take the thing apart in fear of dismantaling it and not getting it back together. Probably whole bike needs a service.
Anybody recommend anywhere that could do it? Im dubious about taking it to somewhere like halfords as I doubt theyll be able to fix it.

Like I say Im a complete novice with these bikes so any info anybody could give would be much appreciated.

Regards
chglm

Most likely the brake is binding on, but I’m very surprised that you persevered in riding it long enough to get it that hot. You must have been working pretty hard.

Turn the bike upside down and spin the affected wheel. Most likely you will spot where the problem lies. If it is the brake being over adjusted (almost certain I think) you ought to be able to back it off or free an over stiff cable yourself.

I think you are right in thinking that most bike shops won’t want to work on it. You can probably find the appropriate strida manual online. I expect it has a hub brake, but someone else will come along here soon who knows the actual model and help you better.

Not sure that I’ve understood everything correctly (my English is still needs improving), but maybe this will be a piece of help for you:

Disk on the disk brakes is placed between two pads. One is movable, and one is not. When you squeeze the lever, the moving pad is pushing the disk to the unmovable, and the friction stops the wheel. This friction is generating a lot of heat, that is why it is normal that disk is warming while you brake.

However, there is also the situation, when unmovable part changes its fixed position, and, depending on where it moves, you may face two results - you cannot brake at all when you completely squeeze the lever or the pad always touches the disc, generating slight noise and heat.

Now you may think of your situation: if it is movable pad - change the position of the fixing bolt on the brake cable. If it is unmovable pad - from the opposite side there is a hole for a hex key - you may adjust the position of the pad. Start from 1 mm from both sides and then adjust based on your feelings on the lever.

Good luck!