Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
...but I thought we were a tiny tad slower with it. I think the frictional losses in a chain are less than the hysteresis losses in a belt.
Ay, there's the rub.
Literally. Such are chains' efficiency that belts are hard pressed to match. How many watts are lost from that belt? It isn't known. When the Vector power meter is released the question can be answered by having a tandem with two Vector pedal meters and a Powertap rear-wheel power meter. *Ride a circuit with a belt, and then a chain, and subtract the Powertap reading from the sum of the two Vectors. The difference represents drivetrain losses. The difference between the drivetrain losses of the belt and chain is their relative efficiency.