9873210 wrote:GrahamPlatt wrote:88V8 wrote:GrahamPlatt wrote:I seem to recall reading - and I’ve just been back on the indiegogo site to check & see that memory serves - that the bike has a “Gates Carbon Drive”. That should last, no?
Yes, it does.
Like an overgrown cogged fan belt.
I hope it will last, and probably cheap to replace when it wears.
V8
Oh I think it will. Far better than a chain. No rust, no slackening, no oiling do do and no oil on your clothes. Harley Davidson have been using belt drives for years on their motorbikes, and now BMW are too (on some models). So I think it should take pedal-power without stretching!
DOI - it’s what I’ve got on my Beaufort.
A single speed chain drive can tolerate a lot of abuse. I used one on a beater commuter for several winters with only a regular spray of WD40. By many standards it was in awful condition, but it was fully functional.
I am open to the idea that a properly designed belt would work better, but "far better" is a high hurdle. Even with no oil the belt will be filthy, just like every other part of the bike.
Also the belt for a Harley is 28mm wide. Are Gates using the same belt? (I've used chain drives with 15kW motors, should last forever on a bike, only it's not the same chain.)
The one's I've seen look to be half that width but otherwise the same (material & pitch)
I can't really see anything other than the belt that would wear out in normal use which removes a lot of the on going servicing on a commuter.
(as a bonus the stainless steel cogs you can get look awesome)
The only thing you'd need to know is how to break the stay to fit the belt (then slide the axle in the dropout)
I'd probably have got a bike with one for my commute if I thought there was a feasible hub with the gear range I needed
- as it is I've been periodically considering a Lekker Amsterdam+
-sd