Belt-drive road bike?



stevej37

New Member
Oct 14, 2014
13
0
1
Any comments or experience with belt driven bikes. Casual rider here...looking at an 8 speed Shimano hybrid road bike. Thanks for any advice.
 
Once you’ve dialed in the gearing ratio you prefer, belt drive bikes work just as well as chain drive bikes. And with the advantage of needing less lube and less cleaning.
But with the disadvantage of requiring a specific frame.
While dialing in your preferred gearing ratio, or If ever the belt gets damaged, they are a pain. Parts are more expensive, and harder to get.
Strong riders sometimes complain about feeling the belt stretch when pushing hard.
 
while a belt does cost more to replace then a chain they typically last about 4 to 6 times longer than a chain so in reality the cost is about the same by the time you add up all the chains you had to buy, not to mention the rear gears need to be replaced about every 3rd chain replacement.

read this for more info: http://cyclemonkeylab.blogspot.com/2014/06/tech-talk-belt-vs-chain-drive.html

The one disavantage they left out in the above site is that belt drive system has more friction to overcome, which means it takes more watts from the rider to keep the bike moving. So weigh out all the advantages and disadvantages and see if it's right for you.
 
while a belt does cost more to replace then a chain they typically last about 4 to 6 times longer than a chain so in reality the cost is about the same by the time you add up all the chains you had to buy, not to mention the rear gears need to be replaced about every 3rd chain replacement.

read this for more info: http://cyclemonkeylab.blogspot.com/2014/06/tech-talk-belt-vs-chain-drive.html

The one disavantage they left out in the above site is that belt drive system has more friction to overcome, which means it takes more watts from the rider to keep the bike moving. So weigh out all the advantages and disadvantages and see if it's right for you.

Thanks for the link above...helps a lot. I might have to ride one first to make a decision.
 
Have they made anything with an axle? Like some gearing in the bottom bracket (uppity the bummity) and then an axle to another thang on the back?
 
They did come up with a CVT type of hub called the NuVinci N360 but that thing is heavy at almost a pound, and they've done nothing in the last 10 years to reduce the weight of it, which I would have thought by now they would have but i guess if there is no demand then there is no research money to make it happen; and no LBS would know anything about it so you will be forced to learn how to adjust and repair it all on your own.
 
Just purchased the bike in my first post above
553-PH4__02.jpg_1.jpg
553-PH4__06.jpg_1.jpg
Too snowy around here for riding yet. Used it on my rollers..shifts super smooth and quietly. I really like that it can be shifted to any gear without pedaling. The Alfine gear hub is very easy to adjust...which I had to do after changing the rear tire to a different tread.
 
Internal gearing has been around a very long time, I remember as kid about the early 60's having an Archer 3 speed unit that worked flawlessly as long as oil was kept in it. I understand the same should be true with the Alfine, you have to keep your eye on the oil level in the hub. Oiling the Alfine hub is more complicated than the Archer was but this manual should help you understand how:

http://www.koga-signature.com/docs/Maintenance-Manual.pdf

If you fail to keep the oil clean it will eventually gum up the hub and it won't shift, if it runs out of oil again it won't shift. So you need to maintain it as instructed in your owners manual.
 
Thanks Froze for posting that link! Very useful info, as I never received an owners manual...just a generic one that had no info on the 8 speed hub.
 
I remember the Schwinn Racer that had the 3 speed archer hub I was talking about came with an owners manual with detailed instructions on how to care for the hub, which was so stupidly easy even an 8 year old could do it! But alas we have come a long ways from the days of companies not caring if you worked on your bike or not, now it's expected that you bring the bike in for service and thus the companies won't provide you with any instructions on how to care for it. Its all about churning money out of your pocketbook to someone else's!