BELT-DRIVE BIKES

[yenrod]

http://bicycledoctor.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/belt-up/

Any thoughts?

 

[ASC1951]

Only usable on a fixed or singlespeed, I guess. I can see some attraction around town for the mechanically incompetent, but that's all. A chain is cheaper, probably lighter and crucially you can repair it if it snaps on the road.

 

[dodgy]

Well James Bowthorpe has just finished his around the world trip using one. I've read that the belt is lighter and stronger than a chain but don't expect me to argue for or against it, I haven't tried one yet.
I do think it's very encouraging.

 

[tyred]

I've always liked the idea of this. It's not just for single speed. Should work well with a Sturmey or other hub gear. I would imagine it would be a lot quieter than a chain, would be lighter and doesn't need oiled, therefore less messy. This would make it excellent for folding bikes. Anytime I put my folding Raleigh into the car, I usually seem to get oil of the chain all over my clothes. The Strida has a belt drive, presumeably for this reason and rides as well as can be expected given the design of the bike.

Anyone who doubts the strength of a belt look at the stresses and strains the cam belt on a high reving engine takes for maybe 50,000 plus miles.

 

[jimboalee]

If it's good enough for Harley Davidson, it's good enough for me

 

[ASC1951]

.. don't expect me to argue for or against it, I haven't tried one yet.

Pah! When did that ever stop anyone on C+?

I'm sure belt drive is extremely durable and trouble free, which is why JB specified it. However, I don't see how you get round the gear-changing problem without using a hub gear. JB's bike was fitted with a Rohloff and as that hub alone is more than most people spend on an entire bike, it's hardly a proposition for the general rider.

OTOH I do ride fixed a lot of the time and a 100% bombproof drive would have saved a couple of hedge-dives. Maybe I should investigate....

 

[dodgy]

Well a Rohloff is what a bikey would specify, but a Shimano alfine would do, a lot cheaper and still works well enough.

 

[Browser]

I'm sure that chains are supposed to be something like 97% efficient, and would imagine (though I stand to be corrected) that belt drive will be less due to frictional losses from between the belt and the pulleys.
You don't need to lube belts though

 

[dodgy]

In the short term I can see belt drive bikes quite useful for specific applications, possibly not the solution for the performance obsessed just yet though.

 

[tyred]

You don't need to lube belts though

That's no good. That's a whole 37 page discussion in "know how" every few month done away with

 

[Theseus]

The biggest problem I can see is you either need a join in the belt or you need a frame that allows the belt to pass through the rear triangle for fitting.

The former may add either a less supple or weak spot, the latter requires frames specific for this drive type so you can't retrofit to an old one.

I assume tension would be maintained/adjusted via horizontal dropouts or track ends.

 

[ASC1951]

.. Harley Davidson

A byword for outdated design and, until very recently, abysmal build quality.

 

[Amanda P]

There were some spaceframe Moultons produced with belt drives, I believe. If I recall, they were Bentley branded, and had a joint rather like an S&S coupler to slip the belt through. They had specially-machined chainwheels and sprockets, and hub gears.

Belts are rather better now than they were then, and of course bikes with swing-arm suspension get around the need for a joint in the frame for the belt to go through.

 

[ASC1951]

The biggest problem I can see is you either need a join in the belt or you need a frame that allows the belt to pass through the rear triangle for fitting.

Hrrump. I was about to get on the phone to Orange to see if they could sell me a belt, sprocket and chainwheel. What a fool I would have felt five minutes after unpacking it...

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Kawasaki did a motorcycle with belt drive: the GPz305 (I think - looking to others for confirmation!!). Don't think the concept really caught on. Not sure why.