crank , freewheel , pedals not engaging strida 3.2

I have a Strida 3.2. It seems that I overdid the tension of the belt because when I took the bike for a ride I busted the crank / freewheel or whatever is called by applying to much pedaling force. The Kevlar belt is fine. Anyway, I am in NYC and the places I have called here do not service this older bike. I donā€™t even know what part I need to replace or where to get it-- or if there is any workaround to fix it. I commute to work with this bike so any help will be greatly appreciated.

Victor.

Hi Victor,

did you read this post?:
[url]bottom bracket has stopped functioning]

Maybe it helps, hope youā€™ve got the Strida 3 manual?
http://www.strida.us/files/strida3.pdf

Good luck,

BSA

Thanks for your response. Yeah I read that post, I am just not sure if the problem is with the crank or if the problem is in the freewheel mechanism of the rear tire. Apologies for my ignorance on what might seem basic Strida knowledge.

Victor.

Iā€™m sure to have read that on older Stridas the freewheel mechanism is located in the beltwheel, not in the rear wheel.

Sadly, my knowledge about the Mk 3.2 is like that of a cow about knitting. :blush:

Sounds like the pawls (ratchets) of the front mounted free wheel are not doing their jobs !
Iā€™ve have this and also cured it (without having to change the freewheel) ā€¦ it was basically gummed up with old grease ā€¦ I washed it out by spraying WD40 (thin aerosol spay) into the freewheel with the bike laid down on its LHS ā€¦ after an over night soak like this, the ā€˜clickā€™ of the pawls returned and it worked OK ā€¦ so I added some regular oil and it worked great.

Failing that I guess the freewheel could be replaced with another 18 tooth one ā€¦ Iā€™d suggest a high quality one eg Shimano etc, (or even a White Brothers ??) to best cope with crank force and belt tension.

I now run lower belt tension, but check that the snubber gap is small - seems to work best with less drag and minimal tooth jump.

Good luck :smiley:

Today I was able to talk to one of the AREAWARE Strida technical support people here in the U.Sā€¦ He told me to lubricate the freewheel with Tri-flow oil first before replacing any part-- that in most cases that solves the issue. Anyway, they also have in stock the freewheel (30.00) and the whole crank with freewheel and everything else for (60.00). The tech guy that answered my questions was very kind, which is unusual with phone costumer support, so kudos. Here is their phone number in case you might have inquiries of your own-- AREAWARE Strida Phone: 614-469-0600, ext. 223.

Tom, thanks, yeah, your info sounds right on with what the tech guy recommended me. I canā€™t wait to try it-- the bike is in my office so I will get to it tomorrow. Great forum, than you all.

Freewheel ?

Freewheel part ?

Actually not a freewheel ?

Should be correct pics, I hopeā€¦

Thanks for the awesome picks and your initial advice! Luckily, I ended up not having to take it apart: the tri-flow oil worked like charm. I am back commuting on my Strida.

Target reached - Iā€™m glad to hear that!
ā€¦and many thanks for telling us! :smiley:

ACE :slight_smile: :smiley:

ā€œDont you love it when a plan works outā€ to paraphrase A-Team Quote :mrgreen: