Adoption of blue colour enables the wear condition to be determined at a glance;
Speical M-shaped teeth, no maintenance is needed;
The teeth can be fully engaged on the pulleys to minimise energy loss.
Comments by Skywalker:
By feeling, the belt is stiffer than the original one and has a very good transmission effect.
Since, the belt is thinner than the original one, the gap between the snubber and the belt is wider after installation, so adjustment on the snubber is needed.
Because the belt is thinner, it is also looser on the original setting. So you have to tighen the belt by adjusting the belt tension.
Because the belt is stiff and straight, it is easy to feel whether the front and rear pulleys are in alignment when they are turning. Correct adjustment on the pulleys is needed, otherwise you will feel the belt “jumps”.
At the first day ride with the new belt on the road, a motorcycle rider nearby talked to Skywalker when he had been stopped by a traffic signal, “Hey boy, your bike is expensive and the belt isn’t cheap too! I’m a Mercedes-Benz mechanic, the belt is very good!” Haha! Skywalker felt embarrassing at that moment.
Interesting. How long would you expect the original belts to last in terms of distance covered? I’ve seen the references to 50,000 miles, but I suspect that is the recommended replacement time for a car timing belt, rather than the likely life of the belt as a bicycle drive. The conditions as a camshaft drive belt must be much more severe than on the strida - speed of running, heat, wildly fluctuating loads are much more severe in an engine than when I pedal down the road. I should think the torque required to pedal the cycle is much less than turning a camshaft, especially say in a pump deuse diesel engine like my Volkswagen with the diesel pump being driven by the cam belt. I should think that the strida belt should last a long time indeed, but you know a lot about these cycles Armuro Lee, so what would you expect?
OK - I take it back that the car timing belt has a harder time.
Anyway - good to know yours is lasting well. I am thinking of taking my SLO on a long distance tour in Spain. There is a walking / cycling route across the north of Spain from the French border to the Atlantic just above Portugal. The distance of the whole route is just under 500 miles. I am thinking of riding / walking the SLO with some of my baggage on the large alloy rack that Strida sells. This may make an interesting exploit for the little triangle bike.
On Harley motor bikes, the belt which replaced the chain extends life from 20,000 miles to 100,000 miles.
When I bought my Bridgestone Lacrosse belt-drive commuter bike in Japan, the shop-keeper laughed when i asked about belt life. Through my trusty translator friend, he explained the belt will outlast the bike.
Fast-forward to 2009 - I now have 5830 miles on that Bridgestone, riding every day to work, and the belt looks unworn!
I now have a (Xmas pesent) Strida 5 with 0 miles on it, I’ll keep you posted…
