Carbon Belt Drive Bike Review

Belts can only be used with an internally geared hub or as a singlespeed not for derailleurs.

Carbon belt drive bike review.

I ve got a belt drive touring bike and a belt drive tandem sitting in my garage which both have 30 000km on their original belts. Say goodbye to high maintenance bike chains. Because the app is free and with me whenever i have my phone i downloaded it and gave it a try. Free yourself from oily rusty chains and join the gates carbon drive revolution.

The gates carbon belt drive is clean looking and performing. To put that into perspective a standard derailleur drivetrain will rarely shift well after 10 000km. Belts can make a lot of noise on sandy dry roads. Deemed quiet efficient and grease free.

Advantages of belt drive bikes. By contrast on all our tt bikes we make do with a chain that has pins and a series of interlocking metal rollers. Our carbon reinforced belts last longer than chains never need grease and are nearly maintenance free. As good as a belt drive system sounds there are some drawbacks that need to be considered.

There s no doubt that gates carbon belt drive is an excellent drivetrain solution for long distance touring bikes. Customer service was understanding fast and responsive. Say hello to simplicity and fun. Carbon drivetrains are expensive but i think they re pretty good value if you consider the kilometres you ll get per dollar invested.

At this price the l train s quality and resilience struck owners as great value. The gates carbon drive or belt drive as it has come to be known is a completely grease free low maintenance alternative to a standard roller chain. There s two ways to properly measure the tension a gates tension meter or the gates smartphone app. Veer noted its upcoming pro version will have more crankarm options in the fall.

Belt drive bikes will feature specially designed frames referred to as a split frame so that the belt can be installed. This is primarily why the product is not mainstream. The carbon drive system consists of two sprockets and a carbon fiber reinforced belt. Initially met with skepticism gates carbon drive has gained industry acceptance and is now featured on hundreds of bike models from more than 200 brands around the world.

It s capable of handling the same or greater maximum load standards as a chain drive so it can be ridden hard. Carbon belt drives last substantially longer due to not stretching in the same way as a chain. The current front belt ring is for use with 5 bolt 130 bcd crankarm spiders. Another minor annoyance with the belt is figuring out how much tension to run.

In addition belt drive touring bikes are silent and require almost no maintenance other than odd clean with a toothbrush. Are carbon belt drives the future. These are the advantages of the gates carbon drive system. It has no moving components like a chain but uses a single loop of carbon inside a nylon cover.