I've got myself a new pushbike for cycling to work. I've went for something more road based but I wasn't wanting a full on road bike as I don't really like drop bars. I had looked at a few basic commuter bikes and I went to the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative to look at their Courier, a basic 8 speed bike. It looked pretty decent and I figured it would be ideal for what I needed. I was speaking to one of the staff in the shop about the different bikes they were selling. I had seen they had a Revolution Belter, a belt drive bike in and asked a few questions about it. The guy suggested I took it for a wee spin. It was ace! It felt really light and easy to get on with. The belt drive felt really solid, direct and should be hassle free. I really liked it. The downside is that its a single speed. No gears. So if there's a brutal headwind or a steep hill you have to pedal harder. If you're going down hill and want to go faster you have to spin like crazy. I arranged another longer shot and went away to think about things.
My commute is pretty flat and when I had my second test ride on the Belter I tackled some of the wee hills I could find near the shop in Edinburgh. The Belter has road wheels and tyres which make going up hill piss easy. I figured I'd be fine on my commute to work and went for it. I'm now a proud owner of a Revolution Belter. The belt drive is a Carbon Drive system made by Gates and is pretty similar to the timing belt in a car. I'll post up how I get on with the Belter over the next few weeks. I'll try and make a riveting film with the Gopro showing it in action too.
How easy is it to change ratios? And is there a tugnut?
ReplyDeleteIt should be pretty easy to change the ratios but would probably be quite expensive compared to a chain set up plus there will be less options. The current ratio is similar to a chain on 42 16. There are nuts to stop the wheel moving forwards in the dropouts. Gates reckon you won't have to adjust it that much as there is very little stretch. We'll find out for sure over the next wee while.
DeleteAce! I got my Belter back in June/July, and I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see another one on the road! I cycle into the city centre from Leith almost every day, so be sure to say Hi if you see me out and about.
ReplyDeleteAll the best!
Hi Mike, Quick question - are you still happy with your bike? Would you make the same purchase if you were in the market for a new bike? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi there, sorry for the late reply. No, I wouldn't get another one. Unfortunately mine wen't back at it kept eating bearings on the hub. Probably due to the huge tension they were under. I ended up swapping it under warranty for a Specialized Langster.
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