Belt drive bikes?

cca...@new.rr.com

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Nov 6, 2009, 8:45:29 AM11/6/09

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Hello,

The bike in this video[www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/soho/soho/]
has a belt drive.

This belt drive is completely new to me. Are you folks familiar with
this? Do you know any other bikes that have the same thing?

How is its performance? It looks cheap, flimsy, and easily breakable
to me.I think I'll stick with the old metal chain!

Cullen

John Pitts

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Nov 7, 2009, 2:13:05 AM11/7/09

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The drive belt is way over-spec for the job. It should pretty much last
forever. A chain needs replacing every few thousand kilometres.

I've seen these in the shops, and a few years ago saw a custom-made
flat-bar tourer with a belt driving a Rohloff gear hub. A little less
mechanical efficiency than a chain and derailleur, but clean and
ultra-reliable. I'd consider this setup for my next commuter, for sure.

--
John
"Never journey without something to eat in your pocket, if only to throw to
dogs when attacked by them." - E.S. Bates

Norman

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Nov 8, 2009, 4:41:42 PM11/8/09

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On Nov 7, 2:13 am, John Pitts <j...@fatcyclist.com> wrote:

> On 2009-11-06, ccar...@new.rr.com <ccar...@new.rr.com> wrote:
>
> > Hello,
>
> > The bike in this video[www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/soho/soho/]
> > has a belt drive.
>
> > This belt drive is completely new to me. Are you folks familiar with
> > this? Do you know any other bikes that have the same thing?
>
> > How is its performance? It looks cheap, flimsy, and easily breakable
> > to me.I think I'll stick with the old metal chain!
>
> The drive belt is way over-spec for the job. It should pretty much last
> forever. A chain needs replacing every few thousand kilometres.
>
> I've seen these in the shops, and a few years ago saw a custom-made
> flat-bar tourer with a belt driving a Rohloff gear hub. A little less
> mechanical efficiency than a chain and derailleur, but clean and
> ultra-reliable. I'd consider this setup for my next commuter, for sure.

The drawbacks, while not necessarily "deal breakers",
are nagging horrors:
1) separable right-hand "chain" stay
2) limited range of ratios (since you can't add or subtract
links to the belt)
3) availability of replacement belts &/or pulleys (I guess
if these become popular enough we can talk of "belt-
wheels" ad nausuem)
4) belts often need significant pretension to transmit. I
suppose the notches are to help with that, but once the
rubber ages a bit, and those notches start shedding
like the mange, what do you do?
5) fouling from sticks, plastic bags, squirrels (I know a
chain isn't a magical cure for this, but my fixed-gear has
rather blithely eaten a few sticks without harm. I'm a bit
curious as to how the belt performs in a FOD heavy
environment)

Ears

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Nov 8, 2009, 6:42:42 PM11/8/09

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Progress is good.

terryc

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Nov 17, 2009, 6:47:06 AM11/17/09

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On Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:42:42 -0800, Ears wrote:

> On Nov 6, 5:45 am, "ccar...@new.rr.com" <ccar...@new.rr.com> wrote:

>> This belt drive is completely new to me.
>

> Progress is good.

What progress?
AFAIK, it is just history repeating itself again and again and again.....

Chalo

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Nov 17, 2009, 9:51:01 PM11/17/09

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terryc wrote:
>
> Ears wrote:

> >
> > ccarter wrote:
> >>
> >> This belt drive is completely new to me.
> >
> > Progress is good.
>
> What progress?
> AFAIK, it is just history repeating itself again and again and again.....

Belt drive will catch hold when it becomes reasonably cost-competitive
with chain, and not until then.

As it is, you can buy an pretty decent chain-drive bike for just the
cost of a belt and two belt sprockets. That's a recipe for failure--
completely predictable failure.

Chalo