Originally Posted by
sinkr8
As an additional comment on the tension challenge, I find it amazing the either the belt or the pulleys cannot be manufactured (economically?) to a higher tolerance such that the variation is minimized.
I will get things aligned and tensioned and give a report back.
Thanks again.
For those of you that are finding the tension on the Gates Belt changes as you rotate the cranks you might try the following. After setting the initial tension on the belt, back off the chainring bolts holding the Gates sprockets on both timing side spyders so they are still snug but not tight. Now rotate the captain's crankset through several full rotations then re-torque the chain ring bolts. If the sprockets were not concentric with the bottom bracket axle initially, causing variable tension as the cranks are rotated, this may improve the concentricity.
After initially installing the Gates CDX system on our bike equipped with a DaVinci crankset I found quite a bit of variation in tension as the cranks went through one full rotation. After I had carried out the above procedure I couldn't detect that difference any longer. This should apply to bikes equipped with the CDC system as well. Regarding the tensioning of the CDX belt, I found quite a bit or rotational resistance when the belt was tensioned near the recommended level. When I backed this tension off there seemed to be a lot less resistance, as a result I now run the belt with relatively low tension.
Curtis