Originally Posted by
Bruce_B
According to the article, their belt can match or exceed the efficiency of a chain. Not that it would necessarily replace chain drives, but we can have more than one option can't we. A belt drive could offer some advantages that might make it worthwhile for some.
Every few weeks somebody starts yet another thread about some great "new" technology like airless tires, shaft drive, belt drive, CV drive, automatic transmission etc, etc, ad nauseum that is going to revolutionize the bike industry. The truth is all this stuff is not new and has been repeatedly tried and failed to gain any significant traction.
Belts have been used in machinery forever. It's not some great leap forward in technology. If it truly offered a significant improvement for bicycles, we would already be using it.
The modern bicycle is a design that has been continually optimized over the last century and it is very good at what it does. There may be niche markets where some of this stuff makes sense, but don't expect it to make a significant impact.