Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.makingmark
10-27-08, 03:46 PM
Been loving my Strida 5.0 but after a couple of weeks, the right hand pedal developed a kind of click in it, at about the 2pm position when pedaling (probably point of maximum torque). I don't mash the pedals, but it also only happened when riding my bike, not rotating the cranks while the bike was in a stand.
I did a little Googling which suggested a) the pedals are cheap and b) try tightening the pedals. I didn't actually try b) - more on that later - because after fiddling a bit with the bike in the stand, it seemed to me that the problem was that the folding mechanism on the pedals was slightly wobbly, suggesting that a) was the answer.
So I did a little more Googling on pedals. I thought the Strida alloy folding pedals were a bit dear at $90 - although if you want those, I found them much cheaper here ($54): http://www.yoyashop.com/ys_product.asp?cat_id=88&prd_id=1791
It turns out these are not special made for the Strida, they are VP-80s:
http://www.vpcomponents.com/pedals.asp?pcat=&pcat2=5&nowPage=1&pagesize=5#
But having read a pdf of Mark Sanders tips on the internet, he mentioned that he liked small non-folding pedals, the VP-220:
http://www.vpcomponents.com/pedals.asp?pcat=&pcat2=5&nowPage=2&pagesize=5#
These do look cool, and like they would be inexpensive. But I couldn't find a retailer. Also I wondered if I could find a long & narrow pedal that would stick out less, instead of short and wide. Did some more research and found the Tioga Spyder. I found a seller with good price ($75 shipped) and good feedback on ebay, here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TIOGA-SPYDER-PEDALS-NEW-2008-SPIDER-PEDALS-9-16_W0QQitemZ330273933185QQihZ014QQcategoryZ36137QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I was a little concerned they might feel too narrow, but they don't. I should mention that I wear mens 7.5 shoe, so perhaps the relatively small size of my foot helps. They also feel considerably grippier thanks to the pegs (you get choice of two, flat and pointed, or you could go without). BTW it's a chore installing 32 pegs with the little crescent tool included - I recommend a 6mm socket for your wrench.
So I like them. They don't feel any different other than the grip, and the clicking is gone. Plus, I don't have to fold them, and they actually look pretty cool - notice the spider in the pedal web and the fly on the crank! The reflectors are included but optional to attach (they're the long black plastic strips at the pedal ends) - they do add clunk factor, but it's also safer that way.
You can see in the first photo the additional width added by this non-folding pedal. It is there, but I feel not as much an issue as it would be in my Brompton, which I have to carry by hand.
I do recommend the seller - he shipped very quickly. I'm not affiliated with him in any way.
Oh yeah, on b) try tightening the pedals - when I removed the stock pedals, I discovered that they were just barely tight, despite the fact that the bike came straight out of the shipping carton maybe 3 weeks ago. So some chance that if I had tightened the pedals, it might have taken care of my problem. Oh well. Still enjoying the look, feel and convenience (having one less thing to fold) of the Spyders.
The other thing pictured is a Pyramid Mini-Condor horn. I thought I'd try a horn instead of a bell just for grins. It does have a cute two note sound and it was $3.50. Note that it doesn't obstruct the fold. I like it but I may go back to my bell for a couple reasons: 1) it does slightly but sometimes obstruct my handhold on the bike when I'm rolling it and 2) it seems to me in NYC that pedestrians are more used to hearing a bell than a horn, which I judge from the amount of times that I see a reaction like moving right.
I did a little Googling which suggested a) the pedals are cheap and b) try tightening the pedals. I didn't actually try b) - more on that later - because after fiddling a bit with the bike in the stand, it seemed to me that the problem was that the folding mechanism on the pedals was slightly wobbly, suggesting that a) was the answer.
So I did a little more Googling on pedals. I thought the Strida alloy folding pedals were a bit dear at $90 - although if you want those, I found them much cheaper here ($54): http://www.yoyashop.com/ys_product.asp?cat_id=88&prd_id=1791
It turns out these are not special made for the Strida, they are VP-80s:
http://www.vpcomponents.com/pedals.asp?pcat=&pcat2=5&nowPage=1&pagesize=5#
But having read a pdf of Mark Sanders tips on the internet, he mentioned that he liked small non-folding pedals, the VP-220:
http://www.vpcomponents.com/pedals.asp?pcat=&pcat2=5&nowPage=2&pagesize=5#
These do look cool, and like they would be inexpensive. But I couldn't find a retailer. Also I wondered if I could find a long & narrow pedal that would stick out less, instead of short and wide. Did some more research and found the Tioga Spyder. I found a seller with good price ($75 shipped) and good feedback on ebay, here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TIOGA-SPYDER-PEDALS-NEW-2008-SPIDER-PEDALS-9-16_W0QQitemZ330273933185QQihZ014QQcategoryZ36137QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I was a little concerned they might feel too narrow, but they don't. I should mention that I wear mens 7.5 shoe, so perhaps the relatively small size of my foot helps. They also feel considerably grippier thanks to the pegs (you get choice of two, flat and pointed, or you could go without). BTW it's a chore installing 32 pegs with the little crescent tool included - I recommend a 6mm socket for your wrench.
So I like them. They don't feel any different other than the grip, and the clicking is gone. Plus, I don't have to fold them, and they actually look pretty cool - notice the spider in the pedal web and the fly on the crank! The reflectors are included but optional to attach (they're the long black plastic strips at the pedal ends) - they do add clunk factor, but it's also safer that way.
You can see in the first photo the additional width added by this non-folding pedal. It is there, but I feel not as much an issue as it would be in my Brompton, which I have to carry by hand.
I do recommend the seller - he shipped very quickly. I'm not affiliated with him in any way.
Oh yeah, on b) try tightening the pedals - when I removed the stock pedals, I discovered that they were just barely tight, despite the fact that the bike came straight out of the shipping carton maybe 3 weeks ago. So some chance that if I had tightened the pedals, it might have taken care of my problem. Oh well. Still enjoying the look, feel and convenience (having one less thing to fold) of the Spyders.
The other thing pictured is a Pyramid Mini-Condor horn. I thought I'd try a horn instead of a bell just for grins. It does have a cute two note sound and it was $3.50. Note that it doesn't obstruct the fold. I like it but I may go back to my bell for a couple reasons: 1) it does slightly but sometimes obstruct my handhold on the bike when I'm rolling it and 2) it seems to me in NYC that pedestrians are more used to hearing a bell than a horn, which I judge from the amount of times that I see a reaction like moving right.