Belts are the BEST bicycle drivetrain - Test data

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The premise of the statement largely applies to E-bikes as well.
In today's world reports and reviews can be bought and it's hard to trust what information you consume online. For this reason, I always try to understand the person delivering the information and see if they are a credible source.

There are a few people in bicycle touring world that I admire and respect deeply.

1. Mark Beaumont (A British cyclist who holds multiple world records). Check out some of his videos here.
   
   
2. Alee Denham who runs a website called Cyclingabout - he offers tons of great information about bikes, touring and epic rides in general.
   
   
3. Darren Alff - The Bicycle Touring Pro - Wealth of information here as well.

They all have 100,000 or more miles of riding experience and I have found their advice to be quite helpful (this is how they gain and maintain reputation)

Recently, Alee Denham posted this video about Belt Drive systems and many of those experiences can translate well into E-bikes.
For example, if the belt lasts 15,000 miles on a regular bike, I would say one could get 6000 miles or more on an E-bike.
From my personal experience, I can say that belt systems on an E-bike last twice as long compared to chains. Normally, I would replace chains at about 3500 miles on bikes with Bosch speed motor drive and on a similar system with belt, even at 3600 miles, the belt or the cogs seemed to have lot of life left.

On a well-designed bike with proper frame, belt tension and cogs/sprocket, the belt drive systems should provide a very low maintenance setup. If you have any personal experience (positive or negative) of this system, feel free to share below.

 

[Sierratim]

My youngest sons are both Mech Engineers and longtime MTBers. They don't (yet) ride eMTBs, but have advised me that when they do it will be belt drive bikes. Just sayin'...

 

[Sierratim]

Forgot to mention that one of our youngest sons has been trying to get his lovely young wife into MTBing. No luck, so far. His latest gambit is eMTBing. I'm beating he succeeds...

 

[FlatSix911]

The premise of the statement largely applies to E-bikes as well.
In today's world reports and reviews can be bought and it's hard to trust what information you consume online. For this reason, I always try to understand the person delivering the information and see if they are a credible source.

There are a few people in bicycle touring world that I admire and respect deeply.

1. Mark Beaumont (A British cyclist who holds multiple world records). Check out some of his videos here.
2. Alee Denham who runs a website called Cyclingabout - he offers tons of great information about bikes, touring and epic rides in general.
3. Darren Alff - The Bicycle Touring Pro - Wealth of information here as well.

They all have 100,000 or more miles of riding experience and I have found their advice to be quite helpful (this is how they gain and maintain reputation)

Recently, Alee Denham posted this video about Belt Drive systems and many of those experiences can translate well into E-bikes.
For example, if the belt lasts 15,000 miles on a regular bike, I would say one could get 6000 miles or more on an E-bike.
From my personal experience, I can say that belt systems on an E-bike last twice as long compared to chains. Normally, I would replace chains at about 3500 miles on bikes with Bosch speed motor drive and on a similar system with belt, even at 3600 miles, the belt or the cogs seemed to have lot of life left.

On a well-designed bike with proper frame, belt tension and cogs/sprocket, the belt drive systems should provide a very low maintenance setup. If you have any personal experience (positive or negative) of this system, feel free to share below.

Ravi, great informational video... thank you for posting.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

My youngest sons are both Mech Engineers and longtime MTBers. They don't (yet) ride eMTBs, but have advised me that when they do it will be belt drive bikes. Just sayin'...

Sounds like a family engineers, tech lovers and a whole lot of fun riding together.
Your sons certainly know what they are talking about.

 

[Sierratim]

Sounds like a family engineers, tech lovers and a whole lot of fun riding together.
Your sons certainly know what they are talking about.

Guilty as charged. We're off to one of our favorite spots next Summer for our 50th anniversary. Hosting all 4 kids, their spouses and all the grandkids for a week of riding, sand, surf, and aquariums.

When we were young we went SCUBA diving here.

What fun!...

 

[smorgasbord]

Belts are great. IGHs not so much.



And the claim that belts weigh less than chains needed to be balanced with IGHs weighing WAY MORE than derailleurs & cogs.

 

[byunbee]

Belts are great. IGHs not so much.



And the claim that belts weigh less than chains needed to be balanced with IGHs weighing WAY MORE than derailleurs & cogs.

Good trade off for low maintenance.

 

[TimJohn]

A couple of points. If you have a front HUB motor then the belt will last even longer. Not as much stress on the belt in this configuration. Also with the IGH, you can shift at any point in time. Up and down when completely stopped unlike the old fashioned derailleur. Oh I forgot with a folding bike, no mess, no oil inside the car.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The rider has now used this KOGA touring bike for over 30,000 kms and is still on the original belt.
The bike itself has been flawless. A very detailed study from Alee.
I have been a Patreon supporter of Alee and am happy to see such a wonderful report.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Funny to think none of premium e-MTBs is equipped with a belt drive. Or, road e-bikes.
There is nothing that is "the best" in the cycling world. Ironically, Specialized Como SL ("super lightweight") that is equipped with a belt drive and Enviolo is about the heaviest of the SL e-bikes, and very close in weight to full-power chain driven Comos.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

none of premium e-MTBs is equipped with a belt drive

The real challenge is in designing the tensioner system.
If you look into the market more closely, you will find some premium electric mountain bikes with belt. There are literally hundreds of non-electric mountain bikes with delt drive.
Here are some e-MTB options for you and they are as premium as they get.

Tensioner system

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I cannot see the label of Specialized, Trek, Giant or Cannondale on the e-bikes you have shown. Canyon? YT? Santa Cruz? Think of the NAMES of e-MTB world. Sorry to say but R&M even didn't stand next to a premium e-MTB.

There is an old saying: "A cow won't become a horse even it it stood by a horse for twenty years". Please name MTB or e-MTB world leaders.
A twig inside the belt drive and you are out of action. Need to remove the rear wheel on the trail for a field repair and you are done.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I cannot see the label of Specialized, Trek, Giant or Cannondale on the e-bikes you have shown. Canyon? YT? Santa Cruz? Think of the NAMES of e-MTB world. Sorry to say but R&M even didn't stand next to a premium e-MTB.

There is an old saying: "A cow won't become a horse even it it stood by a horse for twenty years". Please name MTB or e-MTB world leaders.
A twig inside the belt drive and you are out of action. Need to remove the rear wheel on the trail for a field repair and you are done.

Trek, Specialized, Cannondale are mostly catered to mass-market demography. They are by no means premium compared to the craftmanship of Nicolai.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Trek, Specialized, Cannondale are mostly catered to mass-market demography.

Not. They make their bikes and e-bikes for the cycling community, and especially for people concerned about performance riding.
Fancy stuff such as R&M or Nicolai e-bikes remind me of SUV cars never meant to be driven off-road. Yes, a thing for snobs, not for cyclists.
One of the factors to be taken into account is the e-bike weight. Just try to carry a heavy e-SUV over a big fallen tree or ride it cross-country.
A luxury e-bike is not equivalent to a premium performance one.

 

[opimax]

Is Specialized newest top of the Vado line being offered with a belt as an upgrade for 500$??? Due in April I believe

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Is Specialized newest top of the Vado line being offered with a belt as an upgrade for 500$??? Due in April I believe

A road e-bike or e-MTB? Yes, I heard how heavy it was expected to be. Como SL is akready ridiculously heavy at 21.6 kg while Vado SL (same motor and battery) is 15.5 kg unequipped.

 

[Art Deco]

Just dropping in to follow this conversation, really. How much absolute weight does an IGH belt drive add ? I suspect that lightweight belt drives could be built if the frame is built to accept either, and that seems like where Specialized is going with the SLs. Yes ?

 

[Art Deco]

If this thread is still going on ... how many gears are really needed with electric bikes vs manual bikes? I have nine speeds (with a weaker motor), maybe three to five speeds with a stronger motor would be enough for most riders ?
An "automatic transmission " is a huge draw in North America and probably for commuters everywhere. People who don't shift gears in their cars don't want to shift gears on their bikes either .

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Not. They make their bikes and e-bikes for the cycling community, and especially for people concerned about performance riding.
Fancy stuff such as R&M or Nicolai e-bikes remind me of SUV cars never meant to be driven off-road. Yes, a thing for snobs, not for cyclists.
One of the factors to be taken into account is the e-bike weight. Just try to carry a heavy e-SUV over a big fallen tree or ride it cross-country.
A luxury e-bike is not equivalent to a premium performance one.

Stefan,

You know a few things and you don't know a few things. You may know something about specialized but you certainly have no idea about Nicolai.
Nicoali built the suspension designs that Speicialzied used/uses in their mountain bikes. Nicolai is whom you would refer to as a Grandmaster of bicycle design and technology.
His creations are hardcore cyclists' dream and he has consciously decided to stay small and produce really high-quality bikes. When you have some time, read this article by Pink Bike to understand how his designs made it to Specialized MTBs. Giant builds trek bikes in China and Merida builds Specialzied bike Taiwan. It is well-known. Nicolai builds their bikes from tubes and does everything in-house in Germany. Take a look at the video below.

From The Top: Karl Nicolai on Gearboxes, Geometry, & How His Company Found Its Niche - Pinkbike

We sat down with the founder and owner of Nicolai Bikes to talk about the past, present, and future.

www.pinkbike.com

Hope you get an idea of where Nicolai is coming from.