Belt driven hub gears....

CoalTheCat

What do people think if this....? Are there any others I should be thinking about?

http://www.focus-bikes.com/gb/en/bikes/ ... lanet.html

The Rookie

Belts are not lasting as long as originally claimed, hub gears work Ok, some people don't like the extra weight at the rear, also the 8 speed have a bit of a gap between some of the ratios that you get, but if you 'get it' then they are good for a commuter.

Price isnt mentioned though.....

nicklouse

CoalTheCat wrote:

What do people think if this....? Are there any others I should be thinking about?

http://www.focus-bikes.com/gb/en/bikes/ ... lanet.html

I rode one of them when the came out.

loved it.

CoalTheCat

So the belt comes with a lifetime maintenance free guarantee. And I think we are talking about £8-900.

This will be a commuter and family bike ride bike…

asprilla

I had a Civia Bryant a few years ago; belt drive, alfine hub, rack, guards and discs. It was for my wife and I to share and for me to commute on when the weather was really bad.

As has been mentioned, it was very heavy at the back and there were some weird gaps in the gearing. Changing an innertube is a massive pain, so I'd only recommend Marathon Plus tyres which completely ruined the ride. Also getting the belt tension right after making a change by the road side was an ache; I got it wrong and snapped one. Literal ball ache. Had to walk home as there wasn't anything you could do to effect a repair.

I wouldn't do it again.

CoalTheCat

are the back wheels that much of a ball ache to get off? What extra is involved, the chap in the shop suggested it was a simple linkage?

asprilla

It looks to be simpler on that Focus as it's using vertical drop outs, but that does make me wonder how easy it is to get the belt on and off the rear sprocket.

My Civia used horizontal drop-outs so you had to unbolt the axle, loosen and remove the chain tugs, remove the shifter cable from it's slot on the side of the hub and then pull the wheel out. You only needed to undo the coupler on the seat stay if you wanted to take the belt off. Getting the shifter cable in and out was tricky and I used to keep needle-nose pliers in my pannier just in case (on a freezing snowy day they were a god send).

Using horizontal dropouts meant that you could put the belt on slack and then adjust the tension. Using vertical drop outs means that the belt will be under it's desired tension as you either put it onto the sprocket or as you put the axle into the drop-outs. Not sure what the prefered technique it.

I understand that belts have changed a little since I had one and they now have a central track as opposed to just teeth so that might make things easier or harder, depending on how you are supposed to do it.

I'd ask to try it first, or at least get a demo.

Also, thinking about it, it felt to me like there was a lot of transmission loss in an Alfine hub, certainly more than a rear mech.

CoalTheCat

My LBS is setting one up on a turbo trainer on Saturday and if the weather is fine letting me out on the road on it. I will report back.

alan_sherman

Roux are an alternative:
http://www.rouxbikes.co.uk/carbon-drive-a8/