Return of the Elevated Chainstay

[Dr S]

One for Mr Kawasaki

I want

http://www.bikecarson.com/2010/11/13/interbike-2010-sycip-bikes/

 

[cyfa2809]

im not a great fan of e stays but that is superb!

he comments on stiffness of the frame, do your research writer man!

 

[mikee]

they've never been away si

looks a cool bike ,now if only it had a proper drivetrain

 

[Dr S]

I like the rubber band. Fit a Rohloff hub and that bike would be dreamy.

I've emailed them to see if it will go into production.

 

[MikeD]

Belt drive = epic pointlessness.

 

[Dr S]

Belt drive = epic pointlessness.

Nice and quiet.
Belts have proven more efficient in engines too. Why not on bikes? I'm always snapping bloody chains too. Dirty, noisy bloody things.

 

[Kestonian]

I like the rubber band. Fit a Rohloff hub and that bike would be dreamy.

^^ what he said

 

[MikeD]

The question is not "why not?" but "why?". Comparing a straight run of bike chain to a straight run of belt there's bugger all in it for efficiency. You've got to use hub gears if you want a geared belt-drive bike. You have to have the frame made specially for it one way or another. The belts and sprockets are wide which leads to all sorts of packaging issues. The belt is lighter than a chain but the sprockets are heavier than chainrings. You need to run lots of tension which the bearings don't like much. You have to spray it with water to stop it being all squeaky in dry/dusty conditions.

Urban commuter/utility bikes yes. Mountain bikes not yet

 

[MikeD]

And Rohloffs aren't all that, either

 

[orange71]