What is the point of belt drive? wouldn't the belt just slip? i have never seen a belt drive bike, but i would imagine you would need a timing belt and pulleys to make it work. Seems like it would add weight as well. To the OP, thats a gnarly setup, but I too think the stack height is excessive. To each their own.

No, the belt won't slip. Toothed belts have been used extensively on motorcycles, and they have the advantage of being maintenance free, require no lubrication, do not stretch, last very long, are very smooth and quiet and have no annoying slack. But yes, they do add weight, make gearing changes virtually impossible, are wider than a chain and require a removable section in the frame to install or remove.

This is a very good application for belt drive on a bicycle >>> https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes.../soho/sohodlx/
Weight is not an issue for this type of bike and the IGH 8-speed eliminates the need to change belt sprocket sizes.

I usually find Van Dessels very attractive, but I'm not feeling this one at all. Maybe it's the color scheme.

Does look pretty burly, though.

I've seen someone riding one of these around with a SRAM build, setup as a commuter. It's pretty sweet in person.

A number of folks say this but offer no insight into what they mean, other than, occassionally, claiming the frame's too small (Which is seldom tha case).

I've been riding and racing "grown-up" bicycles of all types since the early 70's and working at bike shops for 30 years, and I currently own a retail bike shop. All this time I've found that positioning your handlebars even with or just below saddle height works best for a large percentage of cyclists, including me. This is a problem with most frames, including correctly fitted single purpose ones, because even frames with taller head tubes, which are few, require a fairly tall combination of longer steerer tubes (Which for a bike in a box is usually cut off too short at the factory), spacers, riser stems, long quill stems, short reach/high rise drop bar stems, riser bars (If Mtb's), etc. All this means that it's difficult to get a nice, clean looking, set-up that has a good scale to it, particularly with drop bars. So those who do not share the idea of "handlebars at saddle height" and/or don't like the look or lack of scale, recoil at the notion. Realistically, many would be well served with longer/taller head tubes, greater sloping top tubes, and longer steerer tubes from the factory, which would clean up the high bar installation; but then, of course, the front triangle would appear odd, and that would create another whole group of naysayers (Check out some of Matt Chester's long head tube frames, all the owners of which say are great riding bikes).

Suffice to say I have tried most combinations, from Salsa's extremely high rise/short reach drop bar quill stems of the 80's and the venerable Technomic, through the threadless revolution with spacers and riser stems & bars, to the present Nakisi style stems (And there were many variations on this theme at the recent Oregon Hand Made Bicycle Show - so it seems the custom builders are dealing with this issue by redesigning the stems rather than changing the front triangles), with the intent of achieving the cleanest possible set-up, from both form & function.

So, while the look of the result might not agree with some, the position certainly works for many, and with modern frames and threadless headsets, stems like the Nakisi help solve many of the problems. Whew!?

Regarding belt drive systems - they require a frame that will allow installation and adjustment of the one piece belt, the components are expensive, and you must be able to achieve a very straight chainline. If properly installed they are quiet, clean, maintenance free, and, of course, unique and give your single speed a very cool look. The latest version has a rib between the teeth and a slot in the cogs/rings to help centering.

My bike has an extended headtube, and I'm very glad it does.

I love the look of drop bar mountian bikes. A buddy just SS converted a Bianchi mtb and I'm very jealous.

Thanks for the well thought out explaination regarding stack height, gruppo. Cool bike, too!
I think it's hilarious how quickly the "experts" on this board will jump at the chance to tell a stranger thier bike is set up wrong/the wrong size/whatever, knowing nothing about the rider's proportions or the bike's intended use. I suppose if one hasn't done any offroad riding, it might be hard to understand the primacy of stand-over in terms of bike fit.

Yeah but you gotta admit it looks totally silly.

Most people think a grown-up on a bicycle looks totally silly. Gruppo has a cool bike that serves his purpose, and offends your sense of aesthetics. Get over it.

There's nothing for me to get over, you just missed the joke.



Long, thoughtful, well reasoned argument presented by a very knowledgeable poster -> tersely refuted based entirely on non-functional aesthetics.


It's what this forum is all about.

I would toss 5 or 6 more spacers under the stem and call it a perfect fit

Get over yourself vw addict stop telling the op how to live his life

Gruppo, I think you missed the part in my post that said "to each their own". Im sure people on this forum would have much to say about the unusual aesthetics of my bikes. As I have said before, comfort is superior to looks, especially when beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

fify

The Fast and the Furious is a vastly underrated movie.

not as underrated as using 22 headset spacers

Dude.