Telkwa

Anyone have any thoughts about belt drive vs. chain in mild off-road conditions, like gravel rail-to-trail?

I like our e-mtn. bikes, but they're geared for singletrack. We're usually clipping along in the highest gears. I recently replaced both chainsets. The smallest cogs were skipping while the larger cogs were barely worn.

So I'm curious about some of these belt-drive bikes, like the Trek Allant+ 9S. Or the beautiful Riese & Muller bikes if money falls from the sky.

frizzen

Watch this:

Belts Are The BEST Bicycle Drivetrain Available (Epic Testing!)

The only downside is the price.

Pop N Wood

Belt drives shine in gravel and off road conditions. Would love to have one for that type of riding.

But sounds to me that you don't need a belt drive so much as a larger front chain ring. Also realize nothing wears a cog faster than a worn/stretched chain. Make sure you check your chain for wear on a regular basis and replace often. If your cassette needed replacing at the same time as your chain than you waited way too long to replace the chain.

Always have to laugh when people say something is the "best" except for cost. Cost is always an issue. Often it is the deciding issue on what is "best", especially in the case of bicycle drives. Belt drives mean some sort of internal gear hub which can be expensive. Derailleur systems give a lot of performance for relatively low cost.

Alan Bikes

Belt rings wear fast if ridden in wet/dirty conditions. There's no fix if something goes wrong with the belt.

veganbikes

I would go Belt and Rohloff E-14. If I wasn't doing that Chain and at least 10 speed Deore but ideally 11 speed XT but of course I would need to shift as I would with a normal bike. A chain and cassette are silly if you aren't shifting and just sitting in your harder gears all the time and using the motor as your gearing. I would just then switch it to a single speed and get a nice hardened steel or titanium cog and maybe see if I can get a larger front chainring and a larger cog at the back to keep the gearing I want but prolong life.

It is tough to beat R+M, sure they are expensive but it is a long term bike and if you get it set up to your spec you will be golden. For me it is this bike but I personally would swap to a different stem and handle bar for my tastes (and because R+Ms new stems are just too crazy for me I get the idea but it isn't quite the right length for me and I don't want or need the minor adjustments and would upgrade to a Kinekt seatpost (nothing against Cane Creek, love their stuff generally but Kinekt does seatposts better).

skookum

I have two off road touring analog bikes, one with chain and one with belt drive. I prefer the chain drive, as chains are relatively cheap, and cogs and chain wheels are relatively cheap to swap out and replace as opposed to belt compatible cogs and belt wheels. It cost several hundred dollars to get a lower gear on one of my bikes, by the time I replaced the front belt wheel and the belt. Plus the cost of carrying a spare belt on a tour. Belt tension is critical on a belt drive and while I haven't had any problems, a friend had some problems with her rohloff because the belt had too much tension. I dont know if there are any other considerations for a belt on an ebike
Chains are easy to find and to maintain, and on a IHG tend to last a long time, if properly maintained.

Having said all that, the belt drive has worked perfectly, no problems and of course zero maintenance (just watch that belt tension). so if you really love the idea, go for it.

The R+M bikes are beautiful, but yikes, look at the price! Even if I had the money I dont think I could make myself spend that much for a bike.

downtube42

My commuter has a Gates carbon belt. Not typically used offroad but winter shoulder and bike-lane riding around Portland can be offroad-ish. I have done some trail riding and even one CX race using the belt drive. I love the idea of belt drive, but if I were to do it again I'd go with a chain. While the belt might be lower maintenance in theory, it doesn't take too many flats on the road before lower maintenance is surpassed by higher roadside effort.

2old

At times, I'm too far away from civilization for a belt to be feasible (for me). I've only had a chain or derailleur problem a couple of times in many years of off road riding, and was able to repair the problem. A belt malfunction would mean a long walk.

CargoDane

Never going back to external gears, and unless completely unavoidable, I'm not going back to chain again ever. I much prefer belts, but you need a frame stiff enough (for the Rohloff) and with a way to separate the stay somewhere.

I use the Gates CDX:EXP system, if the type of belt matters.

Edit:
I don't get the "higher effort" another poster, well, posted. My bike is designed for it, so once adjusted, you can quickly take off the wheel and belt, and just as easily fit it after the puncture repair (it fits in the same place every time with no adjustment necessary).

KennyFSU

I guess the answer is, depends on where you ride.

Coming from motorcycles, I always preferred belt (or shaft) drive over chain; less maintenance.

Bluesfrog

I have wanted a Rohloff with belt drive for a long time. But I'm not sure how the belt would work on my Trek 520. Be Well, Bluesfrog.

2old

Probably not well at all since you'd need to cut the frame in order to install it

alloo

I'm thinking about getting this because I'm sick of replacing chains, casettes, and lubing. Pretty affordable.

https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/current

Pop N Wood

that does look interesting. CVT hub.

MillCreek

Having owned bikes with chains for 50 years, the Gates belt was one of the factors to my recent purchase of a Tern HSD 8Si. So far, so good.

momsonherbike

Belt drive. All the way.

Giant made a cheap belt drive for 2018-2019 - the LaFree E+1. A Class 1. Nothing special regarding the frame, it was considered an entry level commuter with no shocks and an old fashioned placement of the 400w battery on the rear rack. But the belt drive and IGH took it light years above anything else around its price range ($2,500). Already have over 3,000 miles of gravel road riding on my 2019 LaFree E+1, and its silence and zero care needed is...phenomenal. I've ridden a R&M and can honestly say there was little difference beyond the shocks and the number of gears offered (14 vs the LaFree's 8). The cost difference between the two bikes is massive. ($8-9k vs $2.5k). And Giant has excellent motors - silent and reliable.

I loath cleaning chains (even tho I do it religiously) and thus find that I only use my chain driven Turbo Vado on the clean paved roads because of the junk a chain will pick up. For any dirt or gravel or crappy weather conditions, the belt driven LaFree is my bike of choice. I'm going to jailbreak with a BadAss delimiter (already have it waiting to be installed) once the LAFree's motor warranty is up next May.

I have been looking at Giant's ebike lineups for 2021. The chain driven LaFree is listed, but not the belt drive. Wasn't listed for 2020 either. I'm guessing they aren't making it anymore. Shame because it's a great bike for gravel riding.

The Priority Current looks interesting but would like to know who makes the motor.

fireboy1337

I used a chain for a long time, but then I switched to a belt. The belt snapped and I was back on the chain. That's it