Were here to help.
What is a belt drive?
Until ebikes started to become popular, almost every bicycle on the market used a chain.
But the advent of ebikes has increasingly made belt drives a popular alternative.
Duh, but whats thepointof using a belt?
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The most often-cited benefit to a belt drive is durability.
The Gates Carbon belt drive is reinforced with you guessed it carbon fiber.
In case you havent heard, that stuff is pretty tough.
Gates carbon fiber belts were originally designed for high-power applications like motorcycles and industrial machinery.
Ebikes are comparatively puny, so they should pretty much last forever.
Plus, they just look pretty cool, if you ask me.
Whats the catch?
There are two big caveats to using a belt drive.
The most notable one is that belts are incompatible with traditional derailleurs.
Usually, belt-drive ebikes that arent single-speed use an internally-geared rear hub.
Still, those are the exception to the norm.
Its also worth noting belt drive ebikes are normally more expensive.
Therearesome cheaper belt-drive ebikes too, like the Ride1Up roadster V2 (which uses a TopTrans belt).
So should I get an ebike with a belt drive instead of a chain?
There are very few negatives to the technology, and its just all-around a more premium experience.
The problem is that all elseisntusually equal.
So the better question might be is a belt drive worth it?
To that, Id say it ultimately comes down to price.
In my experience, belt drives are primarily a really nice quality-of-life feature more than a must-have.
