Strida Seat Mount Height Project

Strida Seat Mount Height Project

The email I received from my newest customer, the subject read, “In Tears”.  Betty had received her new Strida EVO the day earlier and things were not going well.

The difficulty is that Betty is 5 feet 2 inches tall. This shouldn’t be a problem as the Strida can usually be ridden by someone 4’9″ to 6′ 4″ but this does depend on a few factors, one being how long your legs are. Betty’s leg length is 27.5 which still may not be a problem for some but it can also depend on one’s comfort zone.

An example, I am about 5′ 10″ but I like to pedal a bike with my toes so that when I get the Strida seat mount in a comfortable height position I can only touch the ground with my toes and with just the tips of my toes. This is the way I prefer it and I am comfortable hopping off and on the saddle. But everyone has a different comfort zone.

In Tears, the solution

Looking at a Strida standard seat mount I decided there may be a way to help this situation. The Strida Quick Release seat mount and the Strida standard seat mount both have a minimum seat height of 32 inches using the standard SX and EVO saddle on a Strida with 18 inch wheels. Using the standard seat mount from the Strida Lt the height is 31.5.  A person would have a lower seat height with 16 inch wheels.  Checking this the difference is not what you would think, the rim size of the 16 wheel is 12.5 inches, the rim size of the 18 wheel is 14.5 with a difference of 2 inches. Half of this difference or diameter should provide a 1 inch lower seat. But the difference is only .5 of an inch because of the difference in the profiles of the two different tires.

Modifying the Strida Standard Seat Mount

When you examine the inside of the standard seat mount you see that there a is space above the top bolt hole that could be used to support the seat pin. The first step was to measure and mark a spot 1 inch and 1.5 inches above the top most notch.

I then used a small round file to file out two groves on each half of the seat mount. This allows one to mount the seat mount higher but I thought this area should be reinforced before using.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reinforcing the seat mount

I decided to use a two part hardening epoxy to fill in this space in the seat mount. The epoxy that I used was PC7 Epoxy. The package that I found contained two oz. or 56 g which proved to be the right amount. The epoxy has a one hour working time and is easy to mix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before the epoxy hardened I used a Strida seat pin to place the groves in line with the new notches. I needed to clean these groves up with the small round file. I also filed off any extra epoxy and made sure the two half’s fit well together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Final Result

The seat is now 30.5 inches measured from the ground. This is using the thinner Lt saddle, the standard modified Strida seat mount and 18 inch wheels. Because of the bend of the seat tube, a lower position would mean the bottom of the seat mount would need to be modified. My other concern is that the lower the seat mount and rider, then more weight is transferred to the rear wheel. The Strida set up in this way will need to be ridden carefully as it will require less effort to lift the front wheel from the ground.

So in conclusion, Betty has reported that she is riding and enjoying her Strida bike with the lower seat position. One thing to note is that the Strida rear rack is not usable with the Strida seat mount mounted in this low of a position.