A huge improvement I say.

Imagine if the serpentine belt on your car was a chain that you were supposed to clean and lubricate once per week! Bicycles just keep making steps in the right direction.

https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

It's old news 'round these parts. I like the idea, but it hasn't been proven for a bicycle application yet. The cost of entry will remain high for a while too.

I don't clean my chains, so that wouldn't be a reason to switch.

You're supposed to lube your chain every week? Well I be damned.

These belts are more like a timing belt [designed to last about 100k miles] than a serpentine belt; shouldn't stretch much. I think once you get the tension right on it, you ought to be set.

Meh just another overpriced Trek product people won't buy imo. Might have it's benefits in really nasty winter applications. Still think Spot bikes are better product by far. The Highline looks like a decent commuter. https://www.spotbikes.com

Wonder how they'd work on a fixed gear bike where the stresses are in both directions and with riders who are a bit more ... umm ... rigorous than your average granny pootling up to the shops for a can of cat food.

Richard

Well if Rohloff ever makes a *cog* for a belt I would buy one. The reason why I have the rohloff is because I like bullet proof maintance free stuff.

What'd your Rohloff hub cost you?

Richard
serious question, I'm not taking the piss

My Rohloff cost me $1700.00 USD including installation and the wheel build with a velocity deep v rim. Oh and sales tax ate me up to when you buy something that expensive.

I'm sure that there will be 89 people post now about how I got ripped off. Thats okay....I would have paid double now that I've use one!

These belt-drive bikes have a strange rear triangle. It appears to have bolts on the right side holding the dropout in place. I guess you can't "break chain" on a belt, so you have to open the rear triangle to change the belt. I wonder if this setup is as strong as a conventional frame?

I was thinking about it when I saw the belt drives coming, but it requires horizontal dropouts to tension the belt, and I'm concerned about what would happen if it got clogged with snow and ice. I'm betting the cog would fill up with snow and possibly snap the belt. No matter how much of a PITA chains can be sometimes, at least they've never stranded me. And I can buy new ones for $5.

In the summer I don't clean/lube my chain much anyway, but now that winter's here, I have to lube 2+ times a week. Last week I cleaned and lubed on Thursday, then rode Friday and didn't clean the chain; when I went out Sunday night to grab some stuff from the garage, I checked and the chain was frozen SOLID. No link would move at all. When I tried to backpedal it, the derailler hyperextended due to the non-flexing chain. It took me 10 minutes to break all the links free and work lube into them all.

I tend to go through chains in about 1800 miles, fwiw.

It's been a proven technology in cars and motorcycles for many years, I don't see why it wouldn't work for bicycles.

As I understand it, belts can only be used with internal gear hubs and not cassettes. If you are going to use it with an internal gear hub, that is going to raise the price of the bike above comparable chain driven models. Not everyone can afford a Rohloff.

My 96cui,650lbs Harley has 25K miles on its belt. Plenty of life left in it. Not only does it deal with the stress of the engine accelerating the bike,but also the stress of the engine slowing the bike when I close the throttle. I've never needed to even adjust the belt tension. It picked up a rock once that 'dented' the teeth on the belt,but a couple hundred miles later it had 'healed' and there was no sign anything had been amiss. Belts really are the answer for SS/IGH bikes. Wold love to have them on mine.

I'll consider giving it try if the price drops. I prefer single speed and gear hub bikes, so I'd like to see that technology take off. I just hope they put a chainguard on it.

To be honest, I'm doubtful that many people will buy this. It's expensive, and great bikes can be had for way less.

Why would you need a Rohloff? There are a lot of IGHs. They're selling complete bikes with IGHs for less than the cost of a Rohloff hub. Personally I'd probably go for an SRAM due to cold weather performance.

Is the big improvement with a belt over a chain thought to be the reduced need for maintenance, or is there something else I'm missing? I understand why people get excited about shaft drive, even though it seems doomed to inferiority. This is just old wine in new bottles. Chain, toothed belt.....not really a huge difference, it would seem? Or are there cool things you can do with a belt driven system that you can't do (or as easily) with a chain? Are they better for CVTs?

The problem with belts is that unlike chains they don't come apart for the install, so the frame of the bike needs an opening in the seat stay/ chain stay area.

Its not just a matter of getting a belt, you need a special frame too. For that reason transitioning from chains to belts won't happen for a long long time.

For people like me who ride in bad conditions, a belt starts to look pretty good. As I related above, last week I cleaned the bike, rode one day, and 2 days later the chain wouldn't move anymore. Lubing my chain sometimes has to be done as often as EVERY DAY in the winter. In the summer, not so much; I can go 2 or 3 weeks without relubing (unless it's raining a lot)

However, as I also said, I'm concerned about snow, ice sand and dirt getting built up in the belt. I have found first-hand accounts of people having enough snow get packed into the cog to cause the belt to snap.

Might the belt itself stiffen and freeze up in sufficiently cold weather, or become brittle from freeze/thaw and expansion/contraction?

Do you use water in your cleaning or lubing ritual? If not, what the heck is freezing solid? If yes, stop using water in your cleaning or lubing of the chain.

What was the question that is being answered?

I'm car free and own a business where I pull lawn mowing equipment with a trailer.

Trust me...the 14 speeds were a necessity AND not having to deal with chain rings and cable tension is a huge plus as well.

Once you have a rohloff your gearing will NEVER need adjusting at all PERIOD. No barrel adjusters that need tweaking every few hundred miles. No chain rings for the chain to fall off of when your pedaling at 3.5 mph and pulling 300#'s up a hill. Its fantastic.

Could I have survived without one? Yes.

But my bike is my *car* and how I make my living and I have the extra cash so why would I buy something with 8 speeds and a much shorter life span WITHOUT internal indexing in order to save a few hundred dollars?

I could also have gone without the expensive Marathon plus tires and just fixed a few flats per year. I dont want to fix a few flats per year nor do I like dicking with conventional systems.

a vandal with a sharp knife.....makes kevlar corded belts impractical on commuters parked (locked)in public places. IMHO