On high end race engines they almost all have gone to a belt drive timing system even on engines that originally had timing chains like small block chevrolets. This was done to reduce rotating mass and harmonics that transfer through chain systems that occur at high RPM. These improvements are seen on any pretty much any belt system.
Screw it, I don’t even want gears anymore haha Excellent video, lots of fun to see how un-slappy the belt is and cool to hear it feels dampened too when pedalling.
Here’s something for you. I specialise in heavy machinery tracks - diggers and dozers etc. look into how quickly - and why - having your chain fitted backwards destroys chain and sprockets. It’ll blow your mind. Vid on that. To decide if belt is a system you need, work out initial cost + time + maintenance cost over the expected ownership of your bike. Go with the lower number. Unless you just really love one over the other - for me it’s all $/hr over its life. [example. Bought $350 trousers. Lasted me over 10yrs, 6 days a week. Other option: $75 jeans every 3 months. Actual cost about 10% of jeans.] Both points are badly explained, but you’ll get there.
Someone probably already mentioned this, but Veer makes a belt that has a spot where you can open the belt to pull it through the triangle, then snap it closed using pliers.
Hi ! Thanks for you video. I have 2 questions : Is a 39 or 32 teeth front pulley on you bike ? It seems to be 32T but tensioner is normally design for 39T. Your rear sprocket looks like 39T. Is a aluminum front pulley set on the freewheel hub ? Thanks a lot.
Question. when you take off the cassette, is the freehub reused OR can the rear wheel be rebuilt with a more uniform spoke layout. DS to NDS. Cassette means the DS spokes are almost at the centreline vs the NDS spoke line. I am expecting the belt drive cog being single that the wheel hub and spokeing can be 'normalised?
Love the chain/belt comparison. Lets see if I can convert my 2012 Pinion to a belt. I should actually save some weight because I use the long-live-chain (+ thicker sprockets).
In this video, you're using a traditional fork, are you not using the Motion Ride anymore? Can you do a long-term review on the Motion Ride. Thank you.
After seeing this , i would never ever ever buy a chain system , its just love at first sight , every aspect makes so much sense , the wider hub , the weight reduction from the rear axle , the clean appearance , no lube needed , no maintenance , its silent ...
Hello again, Steve! Well, I got a Taniwha Mulet from another biker here in the US that was changing his ride. It's about a year old and is in good shape, but I can see where the tensioner and belt retainer look like THE maintenance watch areas. I like your upgrades to the tensioner and will be implementing that right away. What do you lube the inside of the tensioner piston assembly with, and how often? While going over the bike, I just cleaned mine out and put a little silicone spray in it so it wasn't dry, but was reluctant to use a heavier lube or grease on it figuring it will be a dirt magnet. I can see where the rubber boot you created from the road bike tube should really help keep stuff out of there--good idea! Have you had any problems with water getting inside? Also, my belt guide at the back looks VERY close to the belt (hard to see the daylight between them) so I am thinking it will be a problem with mud and other gunk and might damage the belt. Have you decided if the prototype you created is a GO or not? If so, I would be interested in one as well since it looks like a better design. Thanks for your videos--very informative and helpful. Any other maintenance tips or lessons-learned you are willing to share would be appreciated. Thanks. Pete
Hey Pete. Thanks for your kind words. The prototype retainer wheel on the back is great but, I’ve reached out to the bloke who made it for me and he is busy trying to catch up on a bunch of back logged work as he is UK based and snowed under from covid. If the belt is running a bit close to the retaining slider it may not have enough tension or there may be stiction at one of the pivots or bearings somewhere in the system. The piston / plunger that sits inside the spring, I used a waterproof grease then covered it with the roadie tube ( a small zip tie at each end to hold it firm ) and it’s been perfect. It’s air tight and the mod seems to have held up for a year. In fact I have not had to touch or overhaul any part of the tensioner since I did the mods.
Thanks. I just installed a new belt (the other one snapped for some reason), and haven't ridden it yet, so maybe it hasn't seated itself yet. Thanks for the extra detail on the tensioner. I will make those changes to it, as it is wet and muddy here, and I don't want to have issues with it. Spring was rusty and the piston was dry. Bearing in the pulley seems good, but I think I will upgrade it based on your experience. Thanks again for the helpful information.
Hi Steve, I’m from Germany and own a Taniwha with Belt drive. Can you maybe tell me the measurements for the bearings of the Belt tensioner? Just finished sealing the Spring (got rusty pretty fast) but forgot to measure the bearings… Thanks
I got a hard tail belt drive bike, which if you get a small stone between sprocket and belt it split the belt. Plus if you replace the belt on and partially worn sprocket it makes a clacking sound. IE I think the belt tries to ride over the sprocket, with just a little over three thousand miles . I was told and seen in the advertising that It should last in excess of 15 thousand miles! I am 66 years old with a heart condition, just trying to keep fit. So I aim to do up to 10 miles a day. Mainly on roads and gravel paths. The bike as spent 4 months out of 14 months in the shop under repair? And it is still not right. I got my old mountain bike out of storage as I now how to maintain that and never had any trouble with It. So would I recommend one,No. The idea is good the execution,not so.
Hey Steve where do you source that spring cover on that tensioner also that roller on the rear belt protector. Awesome video btw very informative. Thanks
Thx buddy 👊🏻 The spring cover is a 700c roadie tube cut to length and turned inside out ( so it’s seamless and presents better ) The wheel in place of the scrubber on the belt retainer is a custom piece / prototype that we are looking to make. Testing it now to see how it holds up / performs.
This bike was really easy to assemble ru-vid.comUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA and required very few adjustments out of the box. The wheels did not require any truing/adjustments. The frame had some small scratches, but nothing major.I did replace the seat though - the seat it came with was very uncomfortable. The tires need to be re-inflated every 4-5 days, but this appears to be quite common for the narrow 700x25 tires.Overall, in my opinion, this bike looks and rides like a much more expensive bike.
