Originally Posted by mikepwagner

When I rode motorcycles, they were all chain driven, including the primary. Belt drives were "a solution in search of a problem" when they first started to show up - I gather that they are now are ubiquitous. I don't know for sure, I haven't ridden a motorcycle in a very long time.

My next bike will very likely had a belt drive and a internally geared hub.

Do I think that a belt drive bike with an internally geared hub is a good choice for everyone? No.

Do I think that a belt drive bike with an internally geared hub is a good choice for a lot of people (including me)? Yes.

If you can live with 11 or 14 gears, keeping gears in a sealed oil bath makes a lot of sense to me than sticking them in the weather.

Once you have decided to go with an IGH bike, I don't see much reason to go with a chain as opposed to a belt. Most reviewers who have ridden belt bikes claim that they are quieter and cleaner. I expect that's true. It also appears that the Gates Center Track belts seems to have solved a number of problems with the previous generation.

All in all, "Bye Bye Bicycle Chain" seems like a silly headline to me.

But I am very glad to have the choice, and right now I am happy and prepared to pay a premium for that choice.

Over time, I expect belts to become more and more common on bikes. I think that the limiting factor is probably the development of better and better internally geared hubs, and that seems to be going on at a rapid pace.

If finances go according to plan, there will be one of these in my future:

http://beltbik.es/civia-cycles/2012/bryant-belt-alfine