Hello. I live in the Alaskan Bush. The roads out here can be thought of as large nature trails. There is one paved road, spanning about ten miles. I've had three Chinese made bikes in the last three years, and they've all broke. For next year, I'm considering this American-made bike by Delta Cycles. (https://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=69&i=161) It is belt-driven. All the chained bikes I've had get very sandy in the dry Alaskan summer.

Would this be recommended? (Again, think of the roads I bike on as larger nature trails.)

What I see on the web page is that the belt-drive system is American made, I don't see that said about the bike itself anywhere.

My initial impression is to avoid something like this that isn't in common use. There have been a number of gimmick-type bikes trying to solve problems that didn't exist. (Auto-shifting, for example, or 2-wheel drive, or shaft drive, etc.) In each case, the bicycles tend to be overpriced, and seem to be sold exclusively to people that don't know anything about bicycles. They may or may not work, but don't seem to be good values, at least.

There has been some development work on high-performance belt-drive bikes, but regular chains work well enough that it's hard to improve on them substantially. Sand on a belt might be just as bad as sand on a chain.

You might also check into full chain cases, and into different kinds of drier lubricants. For that matter, you can get an old 3-speed bike and for $30 or so, you could change out both sprockets and the chain every year or so as needed.

You mention your Chinese-built bikes being broken. The problems I've had with a cheap bike were due to it being cheap, not specifically Chinese. I think there's some high-dollar frames that come out of China and especially Taiwan, so place of origin is not a complete indicator.

take a look at Surley (small american company) , they're mfg'd in Taiwan but are a great and durable frame. A lot of quality frames are made in Taiwan. Just don't get another Walmart bike.

On the note of a belt drive, honestly i think it will perform worse and wear out faster than a chain will in regards to sand.
Possibly the investment in a chain cleaning kit is what would be most useful for you overall, it will also save you money by not needing to replace your chain nearly as often.

I agree. Stick with main stream technology. Quality single and 8 speed chains are very durable and should last at least 1500 miles before needing to be replaced. They do need to be cleaned and lubed regularly, but get one of these and some chain lube and you'll be fine: https://www.parktool.com/products/det...=5&item=CG%2D2.

I also agree that the type of bike you buy determines the quality, not the country of origin. It just so happens that almost all the crappy bikes are made in China, however not all Chinese bikes are crappy. Surly is a good brand, but if you aren't sold on buying exclusively American, you should be able to get a quality from a local bike shop (i.e., avoid big box retail or any store where selling bikes in not their primary business.) Be prepared to spend at least $250 on a quality entry level hybrid (not the best choice for utility biking) and hundreds more for a quality bike that is well matched for utility cycling.

If you aren't sure about what style of bike ore features you should look for, check out my transportation bike picker article here: https://austinbikeblog.org/?p=38

"Developed in the USA"

That means it was engineered here and is manufactured somewhere else (likely china/taiwan, etc).

You may wish to let folks know which bikes you've had (brand and model). Are you buying them at bike shops or walmart/kmart? Big difference in quality.

There is nothing wrong with belt drive, or shaft drive, it's just more obscure and harder to find parts for. There are also internally geared options such as the Shimano Nexus system or there's even a CVT (continuously variable transmission) rear hub available now, made by NuVinci.

Give us some more information on what "broke" on your old bikes. Bicycles are repairable, are you not maintaining the bikes and then just junking them when something breaks?