Carbon Belt Drive Bike Review

It s capable of handling the same or greater maximum load standards as a chain drive so it can be ridden hard.

Carbon belt drive bike review.

Deemed quiet efficient and grease free. The carbon drive system consists of two sprockets and a carbon fiber reinforced belt. Say goodbye to high maintenance bike chains. The gates carbon drive or belt drive as it has come to be known is a completely grease free low maintenance alternative to a standard roller chain.

In place of a chain is the gates carbon belt drive. Belt drive bikes will feature specially designed frames referred to as a split frame so that the belt can be installed. I ve got a belt drive touring bike and a belt drive tandem sitting in my garage which both have 30 000km on their original belts. Say hello to simplicity and fun.

Veer noted its upcoming pro version will have more crankarm options in the fall. Customer service was understanding fast and responsive. Initially met with skepticism gates carbon drive has gained industry acceptance and is now featured on hundreds of bike models from more than 200 brands around the world. Carbon drivetrains are expensive but i think they re pretty good value if you consider the kilometres you ll get per dollar invested.

Carbon belt drives last substantially longer due to not stretching in the same way as a chain. Belts can make a lot of noise on sandy dry roads. Advantages of belt drive bikes. Our carbon reinforced belts last longer than chains never need grease and are nearly maintenance free.

Are carbon belt drives the future. There s two ways to properly measure the tension a gates tension meter or the gates smartphone app. In addition belt drive touring bikes are silent and require almost no maintenance other than odd clean with a toothbrush. The current front belt ring is for use with 5 bolt 130 bcd crankarm spiders.

To put that into perspective a standard derailleur drivetrain will rarely shift well after 10 000km. Reimbursement was given where appropriate. It has no moving components like a chain but uses a single loop of carbon inside a nylon cover. The first is that carbon belts typically can t be broken and re installed like a normal chain.

As good as a belt drive system sounds there are some drawbacks that need to be considered. The gates carbon belt drive is clean looking and performing. Another minor annoyance with the belt is figuring out how much tension to run. By contrast on all our tt bikes we make do with a chain that has pins and a series of interlocking metal rollers.

At this price the l train s quality and resilience struck owners as great value. There s no doubt that gates carbon belt drive is an excellent drivetrain solution for long distance touring bikes. This is primarily why the product is not mainstream. These are the advantages of the gates carbon drive system.