- This topic has 27 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 1 month ago by
james-o.
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March 12, 2010 at 10:39 am #12236
TRs Blurb n Blog
Is this the future? How much extra would you be prepared to pay? What do you think are the major down falls of using a belt drive?
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we don’t just make what i
we don’t just make what i want though.. 😉 as long as it rides nicely and works, i’m happy. I just don’t want to do it ‘just because’, we need to be sure it offers something for the rider’s benefit. smooth and clean is enough, but it’s a hgh price for that alone.“And I also assume the belt is mechanically less efficient than a chain due to elasticity”
– it should be more efficient as there’s no stretch in a good belt (Gates for ex) and the drive force transmission is smoother/more direct/less ‘stepped’ – anyone know the proper term for this…Fringe
james-o wrote:.
give me ajames-o wrote:.give me a wax-lubed chain instead – fairly clean and a lot more adaptable.
so i take it Genesis wont be heading out on the commuter-belt-drive-bike way for a bit. 😀
OldRidgeback
Belt drives are used
Belt drives are used successfully in some motorcycles, most particularly models from BMW and Harley Davidson. In a motorcycle using a belt drive instead of a chain helps cut vibration, an important factor with the big V-twins built by Harley Davidson or BMW’s parallel twin and single cylinder models. I have heard of belt drives on these motorcycles failing when stones have been trapped between the belt. And I also assume the belt is mechanically less efficient than a chain due to elasticity. Hub gears could be used on a bicycle too and would offer the rider a choice of ratios.belt’s aren’t a good idea for
belt’s aren’t a good idea for suspension bikes though, as most use chain growth in the design for anti-squat. The round-the-bb bikes would work but they tend to pedal poorly due to having no anti-squat, fine set up stiff for jumps but not good for plusher bikes that need to climb.it’s a hub gear/town/commute/fixie type bike only option at the moment, and i’m still not convinced that the cost-to-benefit ratio works out. for a one-use, low-maintenance bike it’s interesting but changing ratios is a faff.
“I’ll pay an extra £100”
so would i! belts add a lot more than that sorry..give me a wax-lubed chain instead – fairly clean and a lot more adaptable. but for non-mechanically minded or mainteance-shy it’s interesting – it does pedal very smoothly indeed.
Alankk
with an enclosed braking
with an enclosed braking system and mudguard, belt drive makes a great commuter and doesn’t everyone commute? Low maintaince joy. Fit reliable tyres and it’ll be my perfect all weather machine. I’ll pay an extra £100 but ideally lower since it’s a gearless system so I’ll expect it be an extra £40.
STATO
DaSy wrote:But with the tight
DaSy wrote:But with the tight tolerances required to make the system work properly, I wonder how long a neglected belt drive would actually work for?a fair distance it would seem….
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/444118/james-bowthorpe-s-round-the-world-bike.html
4500miles before he changed belt, but no obvious wear anyway.
Anonymous
But with the tight tolerances
But with the tight tolerances required to make the system work properly, I wonder how long a neglected belt drive would actually work for?A chain seems to manage to keep going through some amazing neglect, if the chav’s I see round this way are anything to go by!
cat1commuter
I think that’s where the belt
I think that’s where the belt drive’s niche is – maintenance free town bikes. There are an awful lot of cyclists round Cambridge who never oil their chains. And a belt drive is supposed to last longer than a chain (even if you oil the chain).hmmm.. im kinda with DaSy on
hmmm.. im kinda with DaSy on this one, but hey you cant stop innovation and progress.. and i spose if i had the funds i would certainly like one fitted to a ‘town’ bike, with mudguards and dynamo..I’m not sure what problem a
I’m not sure what problem a belt drive is the cure for?Is there a real advantage to a belt drive? It will still suffer from wear, is at present a bit of a pain when removing the back wheel, and have heard that getting the belt to run true can cause issues too.
A chain is cheap, simple and robust. A belt isn’t a radical departure, it seems to me to be just another way of doing the same thing.
I’m sure in the future I will eat those words, when bowling down the road on my belt drive road bike, but it seems a bit pointless to me at present.
STATO
retrofitting is always an
retrofitting is always an issue with new ideas (take the ugly fittings required to fit a rohloof to a standard frame) but sawing your frame in half is a bit of a show stopper! ;0)I dont think its an issue at all for new bikes tho, there are so many designs of split dropout or chain/seat stay that have proved soild, reliable and easy to use/maintain. A few quick examples off the top of my head…
Alu road frame with carbon stays, 90% of these are actually bolted/rivited at the dropout already!
Many MTB frames have dropouts that hold together the chain/seat stays, example – SantaCruz blur.
Every 4/faux bar full susser by Specialized/Kona/Trek has a split dropout. If fact Kona makes Bass/Cowan frames which have a pivot around the bb so are ripe for a belt conversion!Efficiency wise i cant see it being worse than a chain, tho you do have to run a belt very tight which might have an impact on bearing wear/resistance, but that would depend on your hub.
I’d like to try it on my
I’d like to try it on my Rohloff hub commuter, but I’d have to take a saw to the frame!I think it is a great idea, but you do need a frame which separates at the dropout to get the belt in. The chainline has to be perfect too, so crankset choice will be limited. And if you change the number of teeth on your chainring or sprocket then you need a new belt of the correct length. And it does not work with derailleurs.
Otherwise it is supposed to be silent and oil and maintenance free.
Does anyone know how efficiency compares to a roller chain?
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