gates drive

[Tiberius]

2007 miles done no problems at all not even had to service in anyway (veer split belt drive) not even had to clean it if i still had a chain fitted wouild have cleaned and service every week which will cost time and money

Sounding good...Thank you for posting.

[pinkbunnyok96]

veer split belt drive belt 3,000 miles done still no indication of wear

[steve216c]

Do bottom brackets wear out quicker with belt driven systems? Perhaps I am naive without experience of anything but chain driven bikes, but I am imagining the tension of the belt against chain-ring (or should that be belt-ring?) being higher and a constant vs the slight slack set up of a traditional chain on a Rohloff hub.

Presumably the bottom bracket remains the same square taper BB-UN55 or similar that most of us are likely to be using?

[pinkbunnyok96]

if you over tension a belt or chain you will have premeture wear of the wheel bearings or botom bracket bearings allsl extra friction in the drive belt i am running my belt slacker than i would a chain and after 3000 mls no adverse efect i have seen some belts on the internet you choober running it a lot slacker

[Tiberius]

i am running my belt slacker than i would a chain and after 3000 mls no adverse efect

That's interesting and contrary to what I have read - most people who have tried a belt drive bike say that the belt has to be really tight.

However, your experience matches the experience of this guy. He discusses belt tension from around seven minutes in.

https://youtu.be/8SKeQ6B2UTk?list=FLP1q2gkrgO-7gy2zn8KyTEw

[JohnR]

I've got a bike with Rohloff + Gates CDX belt in the back of the garage (it hasn't been used since I got my Mercury). Gates recommended a tension which resulted in a 50Hz frequency hum when the belt was plucked (Gates provide a phone app to measure this). However, I actually ran the belt a bit slacker (30Hz hum) without any ill-effects. However, that was still much, much tighter than Thorn's recommended chain tightness which is to be able to move the midpoint of the chain up or down several cm. I have to wonder if the belt manufacturers' recommended high tension is to minimise the risk of the belt coming off in use because, if it does, then it's likely to get damaged and new belts aren't cheap.

[Tiberius]

JohnR.

If you watch the video which I linked above, he says that he runs the belt slack but uses a 'belt snubber' to stop the belt coming off.

https://shop.carbondrive.net/shop/tools-parts/rdm-snubber.html?___store=en&___from_store=en

[Matt2matt2002]

Note: The snubber is required for use by Rohloff, when using Gates Carbon Drive on any Rohloff hubs.

Above is a quote from the sales pitch.
So IS it required on a Thorn?

[pinkbunnyok96]

on first getting a gates drive bike from a shop the transmission sounded like squashed duck so i slackened it off a lot 4000 miles later no probs talking to people who maintain belts for a living the consensus is if they do not jump of the pulleys there tight enough

[Tiberius]

Note: The snubber is required for use by Rohloff, when using Gates Carbon Drive on any Rohloff hubs.

Above is a quote from the sales pitch.
So IS it required on a Thorn?

...or a Shand ??

Can of worms opened.

[pinkbunnyok96]

do not use a gates with my thorn mercury i use a veer split belt (soperb) not needed a snuber running as slack as a chain . i allso use a cube with gates allfine 8 no snubber allso running it as slack as a chain no probs mate run a motorcycle with tight chain wore gear box bearing and wheel bearings premeture

[pinkbunnyok96]

4050 miles done on veer drive nothing to report not cleaned it even given up visual inspection so in 4000 miles i have saved that many chains sprockets so all you guys who got through a chain every 1000 miles thats 4 chains or if you got 8000 miles out of a chain thats half a chain but how much maint do you have to do i have seen some are talking about you swap chain filth for belt filth but belt filth is oil free chain filth on the other hand is not only oil but the worse oil that is designed to cling to a chain at 20 mph 

[energyman]

For the average mileage rider who likes hub gears it looks like the belt is a winner.  Just the price will put some people off.

[PH]

so all you guys who got through a chain every 1000 miles thats 4 chains or if you got 8000 miles out of a chain thats half a chain but how much maint do you have to do

I don't know who all these guys are who change a chain (On a single chainline) every 1,000 miles. 
I get about 15,000 miles out of mine.  Every few weeks, or 3-500 miles, or when it squeaks, it gets a wipe and a drop of oil on each roller, about 10 minutes, or a little extra time while I'm giving it a clean anyway.
I'm glad you like your belt, why not tell us about what it's like, rather then what it isn't?

[pinkbunnyok96]

i will tell you that the belt drive beats a chain on every count its like riding with new chain and sprockets every mile with no cleaning or adjusting spending 10 mins oiling your chain i don not even spend one min a month looking after it 4200 miles done on a veer belt 4200 miles done on a gates drive again no service done i stand over a mates shoulder waching chain service a lot of hasel that i can see wont have to do all that over the next 6 years