TreyWestgate

sooooooo what is a carbon belt drive like?. Is it lighter, is it durable?.

I'm not sure if I would trust it since I am a hard rider and not sure how it handles that.

trek made some in the past.

does anyone ride the carbon belt?.

Not me. Just wanted to ask about it.

JonathanGennick 

A friend and I ride belt drive bicycles. They work fine. Neither of us has experienced any durability problems. There's no need for lube, and I rather like never having to wipe down a chain.

Back in the late 1980s I owned a belt drive motorcycle. Owned it five years, rode it often, and that belt was still going strong when I sold the bike.

Weight is a tricky question. Belts require hub gearing, and geared hubs aren't really aimed at the weight weenie market. Whereas one can throw money at high-end derailleurs and hubs and cassettes, and even those chains with holes punched into the side plates, and possibly end up with a lighter weight drive train overall.

dabac

If you really stomp on the pedals, it's sometimes to feel a bit of stretch before the bike gets moving. But that's such a small fraction of real riding as to be a "feel" thing rather than a functional thing.


Some belt drive bikes experience trouble during winter/muddy use due to snow/mud building up in the troughs on the chainwheel/sprocket to the Point of eventually causing slippage.


Biggest things otherwise are the need for special frames, and that getting the bike set up just right will cost more/take longer than with chain drives. Not many shops that'll have differently sized sprockets/chainwheels and belts of different lengths on hand.

Andrew R Stewart 

I will add that the half dozen+ of belted bikes I've worked on all showed greater drivetrain friction then otherwise similar chain drive bikes do. Not a deal breaker for the owners but it is noticeable. Andy.

sch

You should be aware that carbon timing belts are used on higher end tandems and handle tandem torque fine. They will, in
tandem service last in excess of 20k miles. Tandems are available with belt drive on the timing cogs and the rear wheel
drive with 10-11 spd hub shifters. Such a set up would be very low maintenance, just clean the bike now and then and
once per year drain and add 5 ml oil to the hub.

Gates will be or is getting some competition from at least one European belt maker. They use a different tooth
configuration however.