Rohloff hub

[wazzo]

Does anyone see a downside to switching from a chain to a belt drive for the Rohloff hub? I have a Co-Motion Americano with the Rohloff, and everything I've heard about the belt drive sounds positive. My wife and I will be doing a modified TransAm next year and I thought adding the belt would make my bike as trouble free as possible.

[whittierider]

I'm on the Bicycling forum too, and velobro.1 there is an industry guru who puts on about 12,000 miles a year, owns a big bike shop, has visted lots of bike factories, has raced most of his life, both on- and off-road, has led bike tours in Europe, etc., and he is not excited about belt drives.  He says they still have too many bugs, although as I remember, he said the belt itself is not the problem-- it's the other things that go with it.  He says he would not recommend it yet.

[DaveB]

A frame has to be designed from the start or heavily modified to use a belt drive.  The belt cannot be separated like a chain so you have to be able to disconnect the driveside chainstay or dropout to install it.  A chan running a perfect chainline and never shifted as with a properly set up IGH should last a VERY long time.

[tombrogan]

I have often wondered if the long term durability of the bottom bracket and the rear hub will be reduced due to the high tension that is needed to keep the belt from slipping. 

[wazzo]

I wonder what the industry guru feels could go wrong with two pulleys that are made to match a toothed belt? I see very little chance of slipping due to the tooth configuration of the belt, which would also eliminate excessive tension on the belt/ bottom bracket. My bike was built from the beginning to accept a belt, so there are no issues with the frame. You have an excellent point about the wear and tear and life expectancy of a chain that doesn't flex or bend as a derailleur setup would. My main interest is basically because of laziness.I would be spending a good chunk of money so I don't have to oil my chain.  If it works as well (or better) than a chain, then it's one less maintenance chore I have to deal with on a cross country tour. I like the feedback guys, keep it coming!

[RussSeaton]

Since maintenance of the chain is the reason you are considering a belt, I'm going to suggest a full chain case.  Europeans, Netherlands, use them on commuting bikes.  These cases enclose the chain, chainring, sprocket and don't allow any water/dust to get onto the chain.  It would reduce oiling a chain to a minimum.  I presume some European websites would be selling these chain cases.  Maybe St. John Street Cycles deals in them like they deal with the Rohloff hub.

[TCS]

I see very little chance of slipping due to the tooth configuration of the belt, which would also eliminate excessive tension on the belt/ bottom bracket.

But many, many reports on the 'net from users indicate the toothed belts do slip w/o quite high tension.

Here's a widely available, lightweight, modern chaincase.