Get Started with Gates Belt Drive Systems: What You Need to Know

Discover the pros and cons of Gates belt drive systems for bikes in this video! Learn about the benefits of less maintenance and longer part replacement intervals, as well as the need for an internally geared system. Find out why it's important to have spare belts and the common problems to avoid. Don't miss out on these essential tips for a reliable and smooth riding experience. Hit subscribe for more valuable city and cargo bike maintenance content!

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction
0:34 Gates Pros & Cons
2:51 Common Problems
4:00 Basic Maintenance
6:10 How to Check Tension
7:03 Adjusting Tension

ABOUT:
A bike mechanic helping you with cargo bikes + cycling tech 👩🏻‍🔧

I owned a cargo bike shop, and have been working in the bike industry for 20 years. On this channel, I am covering mostly cargo bikes, cycling tech, and general bike maintenance.

[rickdonovan]

The fact that there is an app to check the belt tension just blows my mind! Thank you for all of the valuable information🙏

[johnfretz]

I Gates belt drives. Quiet, stout, clean, long lasting, easy to maintain. Once I had one bike with it, I was sold. Now it's almost a requirement that any bike I look at has at the very least, the option to install it. If you're the type of person who never checks the oil on your car, who hates, hates, hates, getting greasy and dirty, and just wants something that just works, and "generally" just isn't any trouble...try a belt drive bike.

[ActiveTowns]

Yay! Perfect timing… will be testing on both the GSD and Priority 600 this weekend. Cheers! 😊

[hemaccabe]

I would love to have the system, one of my main headaches is derailleur problems. At the same time, the price is daunting. Also, I am very aware that in the next couple of years, more E-bike centered options are likely to become available.

[Hungrycyclist]

My belt stays at around 26-28 Hertz. It’s been like that forever. According to gates this may cause the belt to jump teeth or the components to wear quicker. However, I’m going on 26.000 Km so far with a full bikepacking setup and I have yet to see the issues that gates claim may be possible. It is in fact more tension that wears the components quicker as the rubbing of the belt creates more friction under more tension. Alee Denham from cycling about did an entire test on this.

[HuntersCyclingAdventures]

Belt drives are the future I love my priority 600x

[peterbedford]

If Gates could make a belt with some kind of removable link, to get around the frame issue, they would really change the market for drive trains.

[JasonOLeary]

Thanks for the tension app information. 👍🏼

[paulamolick]

Great tips! Love my gates belt, so does my mechanic son! No issues ever so far but will definitely check the tension.

[Aku-mia]

Thanks for the helpful vid. I have some questions that I can't seem to find any helpful answers to on the web or local bike shops. Any insight much appreciated. I went for a belt drive and enviolo hub on my riese and muller multicharger in the hopes of having almost no maintenance. I've now learned, it seems belts do require more maintenance than I thought. What I can't find an answer to is how to know how often to clean my belt, so that it can last hopefully at least 5000km (not sure how fast heavy ebikes wear out drivetrains compared to standar cycles).
My analogue workhorse commuter all round bicycle with xt/ultegra level components would see chains/drivetrain components lasting 5-10, 000km just with some greasing and wiping every few hundred miles. California weather.
This multicharger is my first ebike and first belt and I have 4000km on it. Generally riding rain or shine here in germany on pavement and forest roads. Usually using no motor, eco and tour modes. Averaging about 100W human power output. I have washed it, but usally only when it's dirty with mud. Maybe 3 or 4 times now. It seems to perform fine so far, but a shop tech said it might be toward the end of its life. Is that normal for this situation usually? Only 4000km. I will start cleaning it more, and checking tension now. Do you have any real world numbers of how many miles/km people tend to get from their ebike belt drivetrains in different conditions and different levels of care?

Many thanks and smooth riding to you

[hemaccabe]

Also, I would point out a simple solution with an e-bike that has a lot of assist levels, mine has 10, would be to yank out the gear system and go to a single chain which I understand is much more robust than a gear chain, so more e-bike friendly. Simpler, cheaper, lighter. Then use the assist levels like gears. The downside to this option is that if you lose battery power, you may be stuck with a far more difficult pedaling experience which is what many of us are trying to avoid, and some like me NEED to avoid.

[GodfreyGuitar]

Thanks so much for this helpful video! My belt was getting REALLY chirpy. Spraying it with water and cleaning the belt with a brush helped a little bit. The noise would go away for a little while, but within a day or two, it would come right back, especially pedaling up hills or any other situation where I was stomping hard on the pedals. I used the silicone spray you suggested, and this seems to be the solution I was looking for. Quick question about the spray. I have some WD-40 on hand. When I've used up the can of CRC spray, would WD-40 work? If not, I'll happily keep using the CRC spray.

[daza]

I have a Tern GSD S00 and like your suggestion of getting a spare belt. Unfortunately I can’t see any markings on the belt to reveal what size to buy like I did in my previous belt driven bike. Do you happen to know what size is used on the S00?

[Khris]

I was wondering if it's possible/practical to retrofit a bike with a chain drive/internal hub with a belt drive

[jonfarmer]

Thanks for the helpful video. I changed my rear tyre and I'm now getting a whirring sound that I speculate may be the individual lugs on the belt rubbing on something. I'll check the tension as you suggest but would be grateful for any other tips.

[SellingNewYorkCiti]

Love seeing a girl out there doing the good work! I have an ebike and would like to lower the resistance when pedal assist is off. Do you know if increasing the front sprocket would do so. I know it would also require a larger belt. I’m currently at 20t/ 64t. On the ride 1up v2 road bike edition.

[julianf]

Hey! I have one of these, and when I was leaning my bike up against a rack today the belt got pulled and twisted away from my frame. Probably a good 45 degree rotation and an inch or so out of alignment. Will this cause my belt to fail prematurely? If so, how prematurely?

[solarheat]

I can get a good 6/7/8 speed chain for a Nexus/Alfine for $9 and a Gates belt costs $110, so yes: SLIGHTLY more expensive. Also, the chrome plated, hardened steel Nexus cog is about $12 with shipping, a Gates cog is at least $80 or $100. Jenson USA has stainless steel chainrings starting at $38 and an aluminum Gates front sprocket is about $100. Given that I can buy 12 chains for the price of one belt, I don't think belt drive is for me.

[sinsofourfathers]

Do you only check the tension on the upper half of the belt (so after chainring) or do both 'sides' need to have the same tension? Given that the tensioner is usually at the bottom (mine is at least), the tension there is quite a bit higher than the top half.

[kristaschepis]

Which Gates belt is on the Tern HSD S8i Gen 1? Or, how can we find out which one it is? Thanks!