Originally Posted by
Smaug1
Last thing is that they recommend making the belt very tight. Tight enough that it affects how easily the rear wheel rotates. I run it a lot looser than they recommend, so that the wheel rotates freely, but still have good traction between the belt & pulleys. (there are a lot of teeth engaged, so it doesn't need to be that tight) It hasn't slipped yet, even during standing up and mashing now and then.
Seriously? That's weird. Why make the belt tight? If it is to save the life of the belt, F...skip that!
Have you tried an Enviolo? They replaced all the 3-speed hubs (or almost?) on the Citi Bike fleet here in NYC with Enviolo. I like the micro-adjustability, but I think I notice the added inefficiency. And they're extra heavy. I believe the company chose this hub because of the reliability and durability. These bikes are used hard and abused. Apparently, they're very tough hubs. Here, they use chains, not belts. The chains are sometimes rusty and stiff, but they may prefer them because belts might be more vulnerable to vandalism. Or maybe it's because chains (and their sprockets) are so much cheaper.