Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Belt Drive Ss

Trek District....Anyone heard of it? I was at my LBS and on of the guys showed me a picture in treks new catalogue.

Any opinions or responses?

picture here http://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/2769501342/

I like the color way :)

Belt drive would be great! It would be lighter, cleaner, and more quiet that a chain.

Hrm, I like it. Belt-drives are supposed to be fairly maintanence-free and very quiet and the parts can be made from carbon fibre, so they can be very light too. Nice.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2378/2769501342_22a46e1424.jpg?v=0

All one needs to do is add a spare belt in the tool bag. No messing with chain tools and greasy links.:p

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3119/2769534750_2075ddec5b.jpg?v=0

Wouldn't it stretch a whole hell of a lot?

No. Think of the drive-belt on a car. They are replaced, what, every 10000 kms or so? That belt is under tremendous amounts of torque, I think that a bicycle on the street will be fine.

Of course, this is the BFSSFG forum so everyone on here has legs like fire hydrants and rides 200kms a day so these things will break in no time....

but can you skid on it?

No. Think of the drive-belt on a car. They are replaced, what, every 10000 kms or so? That belt is under tremendous amounts of torque, I think that a bicycle on the street will be fine.


Do you own a car?

There's drag from the pulleys, but far from what I would consider tremendous.

Wouldn't it stretch a whole hell of a lot?

I don't think the belt drives on Harleys are stretching all that much. Seems the power coming out of those v-twins would be greater than anything a cyclist could throw at it!

Sign me up!!

(This comment is from a guy whose chain broke on his roadie, yesterday.) :notamused:

I predict a vandalism trend of people cutting parked bikes' belts.

but can you skid on it?

About as well as you can skid on any single speed.

A big V-Twin Harley puts out far more torque than any human powered engine could and belt drive seems to hold up just fine.

Belt drive on a bicycle is not exactly Treks's original idea....
http://www.spotbikes.com/

Is there a master link type thing on it somewhere? How do you remove them?

Unscrew the drops from the frame and you remove it.

sounds like a good winter bike

OMG! stock deep Vs

the district is pretty sweet looking, trek did a really good job with that color scheme. the belt drive seems like a pretty sweet system too, and although trek wasnt the first to utilize the system it is good to see a big company into a different direction with their bikes. then again perhaps there's a reason that chains are what is still in use today. either way, interesting looking bike, anyone know what msrp will be?

I think Trek killed it with the design on this, although the 2 stripes is a little 'madidas.' Love the colors, swept back bar, orange bolts... just looks real decent.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3016/2769570290_60d379424b.jpg?v=0
Also, that's not a SS hub, it's internal shifting.

Cool design, excellent engineering on being able to move the ends to set tension, rather than moving the axle.

A good portion of cars with overhead cams use a drive belt. The one in my ford ranger is 10 years old with 85K miles on it. The reason they last and dont strecth is that imbedded inside the rubber is a fiberglass belt that is what really provides the strength, and prevents stretch.

now I don't know that they did that, but I suspect they did.

i rather have the good old dirty/greasy ass chain personally.

Also, that's not a SS hub, it's internal shifting.

I think they had a few set up, notice on the one with the internal gear, there is a fender mounted. On the over all shots there is no fender. Also in this photo it is an entirely different drop out than the internal geared one.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/2769567862_ace2527fab_b.jpg
Also note the different wheels.

Here they explain the differences: http://www.cyclelicio.us/

Trek District
The District, a flat bar singlespeed bike featuring the Gates belt drive system, will be available in October for around $900. According to Trek, this aggressive road bike inspired design" produces an edgy ride with color matched Bontrager Inform saddle, orange rims, accents on the stem face plate, and even constrasting colored water bottle cage bolts. The Gates carbon belt drive shaves 280 grams from this urban bike while producing a "ninja quiet ride" with no lubrication.

Trek Soho
Soho is another belt drive bike, which will retail for under $1000 in December. The existing 2008 Soho (chain drive) has an 8 speed Alfine hub. The 2009 model shows at Trek World included matching fenders and a minimal chainguard.The Soho will be the geared one, the District with be the SS.

Meh.

Those dropouts (?) look sloppy and it's probably less forgiving with a less than perfect chain line.. er, belt line.

The most efficient way of transferring energy is with a chain. Matters less with bicycles I guess, but with motorcycles, it's huge.

There are quite a few belt drive bikes here in Japan. Like the shopping (mama chari) bikes you see with a basket on the front.
Not that many but ive seen them since I first visited Japan 8 years ago....so i doubt Spot bikes invented this idea.
I think theyre in use because of the lack of maintenance needed on the belt compared to a chain. Here most people leave these types of bikes outside in the elements all year long so i think its a great idea.

People are posting about how strong the Harley belts are....that is true but, those belts are made to withstand high torque and some belts of that type even have a metal strip inside.
I doubt these bicycle ones are made to the high strength standards as the motorcycle belts so comparing one of the belts like on the Trek to a Harley belt is apples to oranges.
Im sure they can be made tough as hell...but are they?
Thats the question someone can hopefully answer.

All this aside, chainrings, cogs and chains look better. :)

wow, that's a great loooking bike, but is it fixie, or just SS?

....that is true but, those belts are made to withstand high torque and some belts of that type even have a metal strip inside.



That they do. Automotive engine belts as well.

Im guessing these bicycle belts dont have it and arent anywhere near as strong. The one's ive touched seemed very soft compared to a timing belt.

Im sure they can be made tough as hell...but are they?
Thats the question someone can hopefully answer.

http://www.carbondrivesystems.com

Exactly!
That's a real belt it seems.
Would clearly hold up to skids or whatever you can throw at it.

Doubt I would put one on my tarck bike ever but how much do they sell those for?

http://bp0.blogger.com/_1Zb7K43b1D4/SI-IBPKTsrI/AAAAAAAAAdc/BJ1jXANeBkI/s400/fixieInc_riemiger2.jpg (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1Zb7K43b1D4/SI-IBPKTsrI/AAAAAAAAAdc/BJ1jXANeBkI/s1600/fixieInc_riemiger2.jpg)

Doesn't look that hot, IMO.