I really like these belt driven singlespeeds. Very sexy and clean.







Funny thing though is until I saw the road bike here I never considered a singlespeed road version.



M

Maybe there is some obvious way to do this that I can't see, but how do you change belts? Cut the old one and then glue the new one? Does it have some sort of weird master link? Chainrings (beltrings?) and cogs must be a pain in the A to find.

...

The drive side seat stay is bolted to the drop out, open it up and slide the new belt through.

The ones that I've seen have a weird slotted drop out or seat stay. You remove a sleeve, slide the belt in, put the sleeve back on and tighten it down...The belt remains one piece.

I really can't see this system on any sort of custom built bike. Chains are great, because you can modify their length to accommodate different chainstay lengths, chainrings, cogs etc. I can't think of a way that a belt could be adjusted to fit different bikes except for a belt tensioner. Also, with belts it seems as though you are limited to single speed, unless they make proprietary derailleurs and cassettes.

This one is lust worthy!

They have a better pic on the Lynskey blog where you can see how the belt gets mounted. I think it looks very clean indeed and it seems more folks are starting to utilize belts on custom bikes. Plus with an internal geared hub it would appear that you can indeed have a geared bike too.

Here it is on a SA 3 speed, and this one is affordable.

a-haaa!! Hmmmm....!!

Did you know that geared hubs are an old, old technology?

I'm really excited about these and can't wait till they hit the mass market. Just such a more elegant solution since there's less weight, less grease, less maintenance, no sharp teeth to eat pants, and they claim the power transfer is more efficient than a chain. Not a fan of the removable dropout, but I thought in one interview the company making them said there was something similar to a master link in a chain. Anyone running this setup already?

I am not down with belt drive - apparently they last much less than chains and have a somewhat higher dissipation. But I luvz being able to remove the chain without having to break it.

And no nasty sticky lube!

These belts are essentially the same as the ones used for car motors, they will last a lot longer than a bicycle chain. No one can pedal fast enough for heat to be an issue.

From people who have actually used belt drives on bicycles (I know various), they last less.

Heh. I was just about to ask this question. Also does it feel less efficient than a chain driven bike? How strong is it? Strong enough that you have to carry spare belts with you when you ride just in case?

https://www.singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=2426

Not sure I see the correlation. Car belts don't get exposed to the same **** a bicycle drivetrain would.

I understand that belt drive bicycles are not exactly a new idea. There are certainly some stinkers out there, the Spot system is supposedly "new & improved". It is bike nerdy cool, but most probably won't catch on.

The manufacturers reckon. Yes. They always reckon all kinds of things. Especially if it means you have to buy the WHOLE drivetrain from them. Then they especially reckon.

I wonder what they sound like when you pedal.

If it's good enough for my Harley....

Nothing.