Folding Bikes - Strida 3 - Brake maintenance?

Hello all,

Are there any Strida users out there who have had experience of adjusting the brakes? I've a problem with the rear brake in that no matter how much I tweak the cables - they're being pulled as far as they can - the pads in the drum assembly are barely making contact. Plus the lever attached to the brake housing can't be pulled any further because it's hitting the frame.

I currently can't see what else I can adjust without taking the assembly apart to see if there's something else I can tinker with/replace.

Any info would be much appreciated!

Starthistle

The stopping power of the drum brakes was definitely good enough for me, once upon a time when my Strida 3.1 was new. But two years of NYC traffic later, the pads of the rear brake are quite worn out. Though the cable is nice and tight, it cannot expand the brake pads enough for them to engage against the inside of the drum. Cable adjustment is not the solution; the lever on the drum is actually bottoming out against the frame. I'm not sure how I'm going to fix this; Strida is working on a repair kit that the'll be able to send out one day, but that isn't an option right now.


I don't know what's the root cause of the problem, whether a it's an iherent flaw in drum brakes, or something about the way the Strida's brake is mounted, but evidently the folks at Strida decided disk brakes would be a worthwhile improvement.

RHM posted this in the "Strida 5 update thread" - could it be that you have a similar problem - or is your bike newer?

Yup, that's exacly what is happening with mine. I've emailed Strida UK who promise to respond very quickly...so hopefully they might be able to shed some light on it.

I've had my Strida since last October. Thankfully the other brake works fine so it doesn't affect my journeys too much, and apart from this one issue it's been trouble-free...

I took my brake apart during a 'big clean' and could see how the brake pads were wearing - I filled off the high spots, and this improved the braking. On their web site (http://www.strida.co.uk/service/techfaq.php?SubCatID=6) there are good instructions.

I took my brake apart during a 'big clean' and could see how the brake pads were wearing - I filled off the high spots, and this improved the braking. On their web site (http://www.strida.co.uk/service/techfaq.php?SubCatID=6) there are good instructions.

Yes, I did that too, but (if it helped at all) the improvement didn't last long. It seems the high spots were the only spots that were engaging at all, and now there's more-or-less nothing.

Starthistle, is it your rear brake that's failing?

Yes - it's just the rear brake, which to be honest was never that great from day one. The front brake is fine - stops dead...but the back one always needed much more "pull" to get it to engage.

A request was made in one of the 'Strida 5' threads that I upload annotated photos to illustrate this problem, but since it's a Strida 3.1, this seems a more appropriate place. Here they are! As you see, my Strida has taken on a fine patina during its two years on the streets of Manhattan.

I can't seem to control which picture displays first; at any rate the one with four labels comes first.

Cool. Thanks for the pix, rhm. Yes, it looks like a similar issue, although it looks like a slightly different brake assembly to mine...

*Update* - After contacting Strida UK, one of their engineers called to offer to replace the entire brake assembly with a new and improved version. As it's still under warranty, they said they would either have it picked up, or would send me the parts if I was confident enough to fix it myself - so I'm having the new brake sent to me.

Looks like I'll finally be able to give my toolbox a good workout!

As always, they seem to have a good level of customer service...

As you see, my Strida has taken on a fine patina during its two years on the streets of Manhattan.

I can't seem to control which picture displays first; at any rate the one with four labels comes first.

Hello Rudi.

Your bike has certainly seen some action ;-)

If you like, take a look at the 2 small vid's here:

http://www.geocities.com/stridarida/

to see if you think the arm travel > yours.

Starthistle, does my brake assembly look like yours?

Agreed, their service has been fine for me too.

Hey John,

Yes, mine looks exactly like yours, except that my brake cable is much tighter.

I found a (temporary?) fix. I released the tension on the brake cable, took the wheel off, and expanded the brake shoes with a flat blade; then I inserted small plastic shims (cut from a disposable food container; about 0.5 mm thick) on both sides of the part that expands the brake shoes when you pull the cable, and then put it all back together. It worked! I'll upload an edited still from your video. The shims are about 10 mm square. All they do is force the brake shoes to expand a little farther than they did before, with the result that they engage the drum again. One of these days I will replace them with steel or brass shims, but the plastic ones seem to be working for now.

Rudi

That looks like a good solution...

In my case, I finally managed to replace the entire brake assembly with the new one kindly supplied by Strida UK.

The hardest part of the task was removing the main axle...It was screwed in so tight I destroyed a box spanner trying to get it undone...so finally bit the bullet and bought a pricier but more sturdy 19mm socket and ratchet handle from a specialist tools shop.

Even then the only way I could unscrew it was to attach the socket, rest the ratchet handle on the floor, stand on it with one foot and pull the entire bike frame upwards in a levering motion. Thankfully it didn't require quite as much effort to replace it once the new brake assembly was in place!

Anyway - problem solved, and it now rides better than ever...

:D

I've got a Strida 3.? (it has the snubber on the belt). I was running into this same problem and found a solution that hasn't been mentioned here.

I removed the brake arm and flipped it - so the cable end is now the pivot bolt end and vice versa. The holes have straight edges that grip the pivot bolt. The two ends have differently angled holes, so by turning it around, I got the brake arm pointing more downward, giving it more range of movement....and full braking power again!

I've got a Strida 3.? (it has the snubber on the belt). I was running into this same problem and found a solution that hasn't been mentioned here.

I removed the brake arm and flipped it - so the cable end is now the pivot bolt end and vice versa. The holes have straight edges that grip the pivot bolt. The two ends have differently angled holes, so by turning it around, I got the brake arm pointing more downward, giving it more range of movement....and full braking power again!
Hi randykato, maybe you can post your question here as well. ;)
http://www.stridaforum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4