Re Boardman URB 8.9 Belt Drive

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uphillstruggle

New Member
Hi, Does anyone know or have experience of the removal and replacement of the back wheel (in case of puncture) Boardmans has no online info and the manual supplied is as good as useless.
 

netman

Veteran
Not specific to Boardman, but does this help?

 

chr15b

Über Member
Location
Paisley
I've got the 2021 URB 8.8 and removal of the back wheel is fairly straight forward.
  1. Disconnect hub cable.
  2. Loosen axle nuts.
  3. Drop out wheel.
 
OP
OP
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uphillstruggle

New Member
Thanks for that, Just collected the bike last week, took it back to the store and and the assistant dropped the rear wheel but was almost impossible for him to set it back because the belt tension was so tight, To me it looks as if the belt maybe loosened by the off center concentric crack bearing held in with two alan bolts?
 

chr15b

Über Member
Location
Paisley
Thanks for that, Just collected the bike last week, took it back to the store and and the assistant dropped the rear wheel but was almost impossible for him to set it back because the belt tension was so tight, To me it looks as if the belt maybe loosened by the off center concentric crack bearing held in with two alan bolts?

That is indeed how the belt is tensioned, but you should be able to remove and refit the wheel without changing the belt tension.

This is a video I created fitting mudguards to mines - you can see removal of the wheel at 09:15 then refitting at 12:20.
 

IpsRich

New Member
Only thing I would add to this is that after removal and replacement it is worth checking the gear alignment as it may be out, and that is not covered in the video posted above. It it fairly simple, there are yellow setting marks which should be aligned when in 4th gear. If they aren't, turn the barrel on the gear shifter until they align properly.
 
Eccentric Bottom Brackets with set screws are generally the worst kind being difficult to fine tune. My EEB has an externally clamping BB shell with two bolts so it never tries to return to any dimpled position. The wedge style ones are also better.
 
One tip to help the removal of the rear wheel is to deflate the tyre, allowing the wheel to be pushed forward a bit more, giving a bit more of the precious slack in the chain or belt.

Does anyone know how to replace the carbon belt on the 2023 Boardman urb 8.9? There is a small section of tubing with 2 bolts near the rear axle, presumably those must be removed, but then what? The 2 bolted-together ends will remain adjacent, how is a sufficient gap created?
 

pete_alfine

New Member
Location
London
I'm planning on getting one of these so will be interested. However currently have another Gates belt drive bike, a Scott Sub 10 Speed and that has a similar joint near the dropouts. When I changed the belt on that one I removed the bolt (there's only one on my bike) and you prise enough space with a screwdriver or similar to change the belt over.
 
"When I changed the belt on that one I removed the bolt (there's only one on my bike) and you prise enough space with a screwdriver or similar to change the belt over."

Thanks for that, I can see how that should work with 2 screwdrivers: insert one, insert belt, insert second, remove first, slide belt through, remove second screwdriver.

I have just received my Boardman urb 8.9 (very happy with it), front brake caliper position needed adjusting, but the main concern is the factory set tension of the belt, it seemed incredibly tight, the bottom bracket angle was almost at maximum tightness, maybe too tight for the belt itself, and/or for the hub gear bearings. Good news is that it is easy to adjust (the 6mm Allen key supplied has a nice long handle for leverage), but unsure what tension is OK for the belt and for the hub bearings.
 
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"There is an app for tuning the tension of belts to get the right twang."

I've tried the Gates app, will keep trying, but getting inconsistent results, maybe it is picking up vibrations from other parts of the bike. One youtube video (maybe for a different make of belt) said that you should be able to depress the belt with a finger by around 1 cm, and will go with that simple rule for the time being. To get to that tightness I had to move the adjustment holes in the partially loosened bottom bracket (via gently tapping the end of an inserted 4mm Allen key with a hammer) by about 8mm.

From other forums, what MAY happen when the belt is too tight:

https://bikeradar.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/13116553/can-anyone-offer-advice-on-this

or too loose:

https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?t=47618
 
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