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Old 06-13-19, 11:28 AM
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Rob_E
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Anyone tour with a Gates belt drive?

I have a low mileage, credit card tour coming up later this summer, and I thought I might skip some bike fees by bringing the folding bike. The folding bike has a belt drive that has been pretty much maintenance-free for the 3 years I've had it. But then I saw someone selling replacement belts and it touted that a Gates belt "lasts twice as long as a chain." That's not actually that long, especially since a spare belt costs four times as much as a chain. I know because I ordered a spare, thinking I'd fold it up and put it in my tool bag for the eventual day that it did need replaced. I figure the odds of stumbling on a shop that can help with belt drive issues is pretty rare, so I should come prepared. Then the belt shows up in a larger-than-expected box with all kinds of handling warning about not folding it, kinking it, looking at it out of the corner of your eye, or doing anything to it that would make it a size that could be stashed in a small pannier.

So now I'm weighing my options:
  • Just assume it's a pretty reliable system that's had hundreds of trouble-free miles and will surely have a couple hundred more.
  • Put the new belt so I can at least start fresh.
  • Convert to chain.
I kind of like how clean the belt drive is compared to a chain. That would make for better packing, too. But it's one more non-user-serviceable part, like my gear hub, that won't be an easy fix any bike shop I wonder past. At least the gear hub is unlikely to fail in away that I couldn't single-speed it the rest of the way. A broken belt would be a show stopper. Not sure if there are enough people using these to get any idea of reliability, and I'm guessing their not a popular touring choice for that replacement issue.
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