The main thing is that there is no noticeable difference. That test shows that they are pretty much the same effeciency. Other sources have tested the belt drive to have the same effeciency(98%). People who rode the system at Interbike say they don't notice any difference is efficiency.

I like to embrace new technologies as well. I'm gonna go for it and be one of the Guinea Pigs.

I saw a bike set up like this (belt + Rohloff) at the Portland handmade bike show last weekend. I thought it looked great, especially if you use your touring bike for commuting (as I do). Anything that cuts maintenance/moving parts is great in my book, much more important to me than before I started commuting...the weekly maintenance is getting old.

For the week or two a year I can tour, I don't mind carrying w/me an extra belt in case of disaster on the road (I was told that they only cost $50, BTW, and that they should last up to 20,000 miles).

Sorry to disappoint you but that isn't me. I don't like bar ends at all (STI all the way). I don't buy in to most touring bike dogma. Heck I don't even like Brooks saddles and have my bars 4" below my saddle.

I think that the Rohloff is an expensive heavy alternative that isn't field serviceable. I doubt that they are as reliable as their boosters claim. Considering that they are a very low production item and I have heard of at least one internal problem and several reports of breaks at the flange, I don't buy into the supposed reliability advantage. Add to that the fact that they weigh enough that you could carry a spare dérailleur and other parts and still be lighter.

The difference in cost would fund a few weeks of frugal touring.

I think it is quite reasonable to doubt the test of the belt system system since it is probably commissioned by the belt company.

OTOH: I know that the chain and dérailleur system is very functional, light, and repairable.

All that said... buy what makes you happy.

I hope it works out well for you. Keep us posted.

If you want to get a good idea of what life with a Rohloff is like read the Thorn Rohloff forums. You'll find the good and the bad side of the hub well documented.

If you do an around the world trip I'll bet you could get Gates and/or the bike company to sponsor you. As said above, keep us posted.

"I like to embrace new technologies as well. I'm gonna go for it and be one of the Guinea Pigs. "

Sounds great, be sure to post some progress reports, I'm very interested and I think even the naysayers would like to follow along (especially if it doesn't work) oops, there I go again.

I don't see a lot of "nay-saying" 'round here. What I see is "X is robust, reliable, field-tested, and optimal for touring and/or works for me" and, in the opposite corner, the "anything goes" cheerleading.

Both have their virtues; but what can I say, except that I'm a bit partial to the former. When I tour, I don't want to waste my time dealing with mechanicals if it can be helped; I like wide tires (bye-bye, calipers); I like to have a large handlebar bag (hence no STI). A couple of tours on sub-optimal equipment have taught me that there is quite a bit of virtue in using the appropriate tool for the job.

And I can't even tell you how many times I've heard about the Superior Greatness of Our New Product. It's called "hype," and the resulting product rarely matches up to it. Especially in its first incarnation.

Now maybe the belt drive will turn out to be a good product, and perhaps even appropriate for touring. But in the interim, parts (and not just the belt) will be scarce, real-world durability is unknown, and field repairs are almost certainly more time-consuming and difficult than replacing a chain.

I'd stick to using a belt drive for commuting for a little while longer, before using it for a tour.

I think innovation is cycling is great and should be welcomed.

Honestly the chain is great. It's cheap, durable, efficient and easily serviced. Sure it can be greasy, noisy and can break (what doesn't), but it's though to beat.

Belt drive sounds great I'd like to try it. A few drawbacks I heard is that apparently the tension is much higher than for a regular chain and has to be set precisely, as the alignment. That might not be harder to adjust than correctly push a chain rivet however. Furthermore I'd like to know how you can install the belt!! (without cutting through the frame).

Check out the Carbondrive website. They show pics of the droputs. There is a removeable key that allows you to slip the belt through.

I was wondering how one would change the belt without adding a coupling system to a chainstay. Looks promising.

I saw two versions at the bike show last weekend -- one had a coupling system on the chainstay. Another had a split behind the seat-tube. The seat stays split apart and the belt slips down over the back of the bike.

Do it. Carry an extra belt, and I'm sure you'll be fine. Even if the drive is less efficient, this is touring we're talking about here. Not the TdF. It isn't going to slow you down all that much even if it's 10 percent worse than a chain drive.

"I would be just a bit skeptical since it seems to be pretty crudely done and probably not by an unbiased observer."

The beauty of testing your own gear is that you can run a totally honest test and still come out on top every time. You just sellect the paramaters to sound neutral but actually favour your product. I'm not saying anything we don't all know.

What would worry me on the efficiency is what the off peak efficiency is. We all know how chains degrade and how that hurts performance, but what if anything is the similar problem here.


"The best part, I think would be how quiet if would be, almost worth it just for that factor."

The only problem there is that the Rohloff hub, both at the word of friend and foe, is often quite a noisy beast itself.

"The touring community has always been a bunch of naysayers, they still think bar-end shifters and cantilever brakes are greatest inventions of all time."

Well they aren't far wrong, it just depends what specific attributes you are looking for. Let me know how your brake/shift levers work with the Rohloff.

"The main thing is that there is no noticeable difference."

Noticeable difference could be about 20%. What is it they say about tightening spokes without a spokemeter. Pros will swear they did wheels on different days the same and they will be worlds appart. Whatever the difference it isn't going to be a tight test within a few points to go by observations of people in a parking lot tooling around on loaner bikes. The Problem is that Rohloff and other gear hubs are already down on efficiency in many conditions so we sure don't want something that multiplies more inefficiency in there.

Minimaly the three parts one would need would be the belt, and the two sprokets. Are they selling those separately and what do they cost? I can provide the frame. That Carbon Drive website crashed my computer several times today, so I am in the dark.

Speed? Chain lubed? Bias? Aw, come on! Does there have to be a conspiracy behind every new contraption that hits the market? Sheesh!

The only bias I perceive at the Touring forum is against new technology.

Disc brakes? Voo-doo!

Aluminium frame? Nope! Can't get it welded in Tibet!

V-brakes? What's THAT?

Brifters? What if an Argentinian donkey kicks my handlebar????

700c wheels? Do they sell them in Nairobi?

10 speed drivetrain? Won't last more than 5 miles!

Campagnolo? What did you call me**********

Moon landing? That was a Hollywood photo shoot!



By the way, the belt is manufactured by Gates. Gates is a well-respected and a long-time manufacturer of automotive belts. They should know their stuff. If my alternator belt is good for 80K miles of driving, it should be good enough to drive my bike, eh?

This is good, you've struck a cord that I recognize in most tourists. However, tourists are not really worried
about performance, for them reliability is paramount so they stick with the tried and true, with what they know works.

I've used Campagnolo front derailleurs as they are not very critical, yes I use them in friction mode. Campy cassettes and rear derailleurs don't really have the capacity to be good for touring, unless you combine them with a 44-36-22 or 20 front rings.

The touring bike is fairly highly evolved so the things in wide use are proven and work well. Newer and better things do come along, but something is not automatically better just because it is new. The key is to adopt the ones that actually make a real improvement. Recognizing which ones are worth adopting is the key. In this case the additional cost is probably more than I paid for the entire bike that I rode coast to coast. For me the possible benefits don't seem great enough to justify the extra cost.

For the record:

I think it naive to not question a test "by an independent lab" for a new product or any product when the test was almost certainly commissioned by the manufacturer and only very sketchy detail is given on the testing.

Disk brakes, not a fan for a variety of reasons.

Aluminum frames, I love the Cannondale touring frames, but don't currently own one.

Vbrakes. I like them fine, but run cantis because they came on the bike and work fine. If starting from scratch I might use vbrakes.

Brifters, I love STI, best thing since clipless pedals. I wouldn't buy a bike without them.

700c wheels, thats what I run.

10 speed drivetrain, not really needed when using a triple, a bit more prone to wear, and not generally available on a touring bike without going custom so why bother?

Campagnolo, great stuff but why use something that will be hard to find parts for on tour.

Didn't you just build up an LHT and go on your first overnight tour this past spring? Have you been able to tour much on the LHT? Just a thought, but if it was me I would rather take the money you would spend on the custom and do a long tour on the LHT. The cost would pay for a pretty nice tour.

If you do go with the custom and rohloff with a belt drive please do keep us posted. It would be interesting to see a tour journal and a review of the bike.

Disk brakes - I don't like their complexity

Aluminum frames - I find them a bit harsh

Vbrakes are just fine, but I run long reach calipers

Still using barends, STI is ok if you want to change gear for a sprint, don't see the need for it touring

700c, oh yes, with 700cx32 tires and caliper brakes.

I just went form 8 sp to 9sp, what's this 10 sp stuff?

The odd Campy part works well, like their FD, its fun to mix and match parts, on my bike I have parts by
Campy, Shimano, TA, Nitto, Brooks, SRAM, Sugino, Tektro, Velocity, Phil Wood, White Industries.

I did build up an LHT, but ended up selling it because I wasn't going to be able to tour for another few years until I paid my truck off(after I decided to keep the truck). I sold it and bought a new mountain bike which I would use more in the meantime.



Some people were wondering what I sold it for, I never updated them. I built it up from the frame, and sold it on ebay for 1,900 plus shipping.






If I do go with a belt driven Rohloff equipped bike, the frame is going to be custom built, still trying to decide on the frame builder.

These guys have built several, I was asking about Rohloffs the other day...

https://www.davidsonbicycles.com/html/home.shtml

"Brifters, I love STI, best thing since clipless pedals. I wouldn't buy a bike without them."

Then you aren't going to like Rohloff.