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From: AssociatedPress
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  • The new belts are better than the old ones, but belt-driven bicycles were an 80s fad.

    For the home mechanic, good luck aligning that shit up! For the frequent commuter, I hope there's several good bike shops in your route because on the fly repairs are impossible (unlike chains).

    They're pretty good at stuffing the pockets of Trek dealers though, which is probably what they wanted in the first place, and I can't blame them.

  • *Reads title*

    *looks at date video was posted*

    fail

  • thisw is not new at all!! i remember a report about Chinese economy 20 year ago or so and they show the improvement and invention minded the chinese culture was and his application to common stuff like ecomony and so on.One example of that improvement were the belt driven bikes.I was amazed for a such simple but functional idea an thought it was great...Im still waiting for a kit to make a retrofit ( or should i say update?) to my mountanin bike. it is not new and it is not their idea.

  • Its just an engine-belt with bumps, yet I've seen this product go for $200 at bicycle shop. $200!!

    .

    1. They CAN be cut; its just fiberglass and carbon fiber; no metal bead.

    2. They wear down and fray, just like the ones in engines

    3. They can't be fixed / replaced / installed on the fly; they require full breakdown

    4. I guarantee these were not tested / approved for winter cycling, as no flexible objects do well in extreme cold; elasticity fails in the cold. Springs & belts SUCK in the cold.

  • @Ghondi1 If you look closely at the rear wheel mount there is a slit in the frame to remove the belt.

  • 432 people are purists. I am too. Just because I prefer the chain, doesn't mean the belt isn't perfectly useful for my neighbour.

  • @dob90210 It isn't about being a block-headed "purist" its about simple facts.

    .

    Rubber belts wear down, fray, and must be replaced---metal chains can have sections removed / replaced anytime, anywhere. Belt requires full wheel / frame breakdown

    .

    Belts can get dirt and debris between their teeth and the cogs, causing slippage---chains push any debris right through.

    .

    Belts get stiff, brittle, and useless in the cold---chains work in all weather; their only downside is corrosion & weight.

  • So how do you change gears then?

  • Made In China,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

  • lol, How do you change the belt when the teeth wear out on it?

  • The elasticity of the belt is great when going up hill, it's like double the effort everywhere you go.

    

  • i like rolling up my pant leg, so afterwards people can identify me as a cyclist - it's sort of a badge of honor,

    i know some other cyclists feel that way too

  • @HariVIyer Do real cyclist's really wear pants when they ride ?

  • @HariVIyer That's like putting up with excessive palm friction specifically to get calluses so you can have your uncomfortable "badge of honor" instead of simply using riding gloves.

    .

    There is no logical reason to make yourself suffer through a simple issue; especially one that is so easy to fix

    .

    I've seen kids out riding, struggling with their pant-leg getting caught and jammed, so I stop them and rig up a chain guard from cardboard twigs and duct tape.

    Ingenuity is more rewarding than scars.

  • I can't believe it's taken me till now to spot this video and be able to lambast Trek for daring to claim this was in any way, shape or form a new concept or even execution of an existing one. Idiots.

  • @Mcbleh  Well Said... Lets see... Timing belts in cars, Secondary Drive belts on motorcycles, Even CVT transmissions in Nissan's use this type of belt.

  • Hmmm, my 1983 Bridgestone Picnica bicycle has a belt instead of a chain.  Whats the cutting edge part here?

  • @Nardypants What I meant was tensioning the belt, that is war I would imagine being difficult for most people

  • if you space you're bottom bracket properly that also won't happen :P

  • "this bike is really for people who are into innovation, early-adopting, kind of a progressive urban market"

    aka hipster bike.

  • what a bag of shit i think i might invent something called a chainguard basicly it protects your expensive trousers from ripping by putting a circular barrier around them ill go and make one now oh wait............amaericans are retarded and it already has been invernted dam it

  • I bet its just a joy to put that belt on by hand

  • @goldzzz14 Actually, it's pretty easy since you can slide the rear wheel front and back in the wide horizontal drop-outs the frames made for single-speed bikes use. Simpler than a chain on a derailer anyway.

  •  roll up pants? really? use a rubber band duh....

  • I've had enough chains break on me, that I like being able to mend a broken chain with my chaintool. This fails I'm stranded possibly 50+miles from home on backroads or trail.

  • looks stupid , rather just have fun fadjusting and lubing a bike chain . dis takes the fun out of bikes .

  • So the bike has a chain guard, bash ring aaaand has a belt instead of a chain..... you can put those 2 on your bike for 20 bucks without having to change the whole drive to belts :D

  • NO Thanks.

    

  • this will seriously change the world. thanks AP that was some news i could never have lived without. didn't mention how much lighter the bike will be now. revolutionary.

  • 3 Years on and this technology has yet to enter mainstream. I think it will remain a curiosity or fashion accessory.

  • This will never make it, just stop now

  • Ok.. now try it in dirt ... :-)

  • Thats gay, Thumbs up if you thought it was related to electric bikes :DDD

  • belt = no gears

  • wow a new TYPE of bike. rather the SAME bike with pulleys and a rubber belt... lol

    cant be cut? bet ya that means very durable, cuz I could cut that easy...

    in fact, you can cut through ANYTHING with a hydrogen torch.:-)

  • or you could buy a cheap chain guard.

  • these things are stupid, not compatible with multi-speed bikes!

  • Gay!shit will break thats why they make bigger chains like 410

  • actually a belt is NOT as efficient as a chain an if wet is prone to slipping , also the alignment of a belt is not as critical compared to a chain, Myself , I will stick to the chain or shaft driven bikes they work EVERY TIME IN EVERY CONDITION

  • @thegnu2

    Shaft drive bike is king as the spinning shaft is fully enclosed in a tube and will not rust like a chain or slip like a belt in snow or water.

  • @SPS148669 you win.. shaft drive is the best I agree

  • @SPS148669 Sounds like a good idea, but then it needs to be beefy enough to prevent the gears from pushing against each other and breaking the housing (due to angled gear meshing). Shaft drive is more applicable to motorcycles where it can be heavier and durable enough since the power loss is relatively small.

  • Efficiency? Durability? Cost? Maximum Power?

    All unanswered by this infomercial.

  • @LegendLength the belt is like 138$ to replace....

  • ever since i was a kid i always thought theres got to be a better drive system for a bike,,,and here it is,,great job !!

  • it's now 2012.........seeing these bikes everywhere. also shorts, problem solved.

  • I'm sure i can cut it

  • I feel like a chain is stiffer than a belt - a belt might deflect (stretch slightly), wasting all of your precious energy?

  • did he say 'cant be cut' i highly doubt that, and even if it cant, why would that matter anyway?

  • i don't get it? they are proud of replacing a chain drive? and there still is a belt thingy... why bother? if you are affraid off greacing your pants... why not buy a bicycle with a shaft instead of a chain?? or how about a vinyl cover for over your chain and gears?? like we use for decades in europe... no, instead we are gonna use a piece of rubber with teeth :) import some good quality european bikes and there problems are over!

  • @NLDommelsch I had no idea what you meant by a shaft drive, but I just googled it, and it seems kinda cool!

  • take that stupid rubber band and tie it around your leg. now grease your chain. problem solved

  • was that thing fixed ? O.o who honestly rides to work in work clothes and seriously doesn't know how to tie their pants out of the way.... retarded concept

  • Every once in a while designers think they can impove on the city bicycle. Recumbent or velomobile bikes, maybe there is a tiny bit to improve, yes.But the city bike? Apart from the gear hub and and theway of braking, it already was perfect in the 1930s. try this video: watch?v=9Iu_Ac_OrZA It is a standard model in the Netherlands, and in the classic Oma style at that.

    Belt drives, shaft drives and others are ALL (much) less energy efficient than the chain. Ever tried a simple chain guard?

  • they never actually mentioned anything about how a belt stops your pants getting stuck. It doesn't, the chain guard does. I'm so glad I bought a Specialized instead of the trek i was looking at.

  • @9gibsonlespaul

    Sorry but Trek bikes are, on the whole, nearly always better than Spesh. Spesh owners are usualy a little hard of thinking and can't be arsed to do any homework.

    Having said that I have a Trek Fuel and a Ghost Lactor, and the Ghost is a better bike in almost every single aspect.

    Go Ghost - Fuck Spesh!

  • Combing Pedo-power ...

  • GAY

  • man cant wait to try a tailwhip on that!

  • Can they be made to suit bikes with more than one gear?

    ...also lol @ censoredmunky's comment :P

  • what a stupid idea

    

  • A CHAIN THAT WON'T STRETCH???? Sign me up

  • What ever happened to a Chain guard?  sigh.... you people are more cared about looking cool then having a superior design from the 1930's.

  • A local company in my town has been making bikes with drive shafts for years.

  • Yeah, let's buy a bike that's so specialized that we can't perform basic maintenance on it in case of a breakdown.

  • @NickSparkss Exactly, but not only this, but the engineering of the rounded teeth will not be as snug to the gear as a linked steel chain, thus causing slippage when torquing hard.

  • wont it still pick up dust and grease from the road and other components then transfer it to your pants?

  • I'll stick with my Dura-Ace chain.

  • Or you could just get a chain guard.

  • @kop4321 Well said

  • No option for shifting up and down gears - sounds like a step backwards.

  • @powerkitemad hub gears. it'll be like a 3-7 speed

  • can't be cut? challenge accepted

  • @Dornek1 someone give me the lightsaber

  • hey just put a bicycle motor on it like I did check it out at my channel 150 mpg up to 40 mph under $200.00 for kits,come check out my ride at MrMsrtube

  • Called a hub guard DUMBASSES

  • If this is suppose to keep rider's pants from getting caught in a chain then why does this bike have a chain guard? Why not just buy a chain guard for the bikes we already have?

  • this is soo dumb a chain will always work beter and you can still get your pants stuck in a belt

  • Seems like you'll be late to work with that slow shit.

  • You cant use belt if u got levels of gears working as a transmission (no-hub tranny), or can you with/ without excessive wear...?

  • Yeah,and for 18,600.00 you can get a hub to change gears.Might as well get someone to buy and ride the damn thing as well.

  • How is that supposed to keep my pant leg from getting caught?

  • will it blend?

  • @MrWardy369 What is it with Yanks and blenders? It seems to be some OCD thing."Will it blend,can it be blended, OMG the blenders forth speed has stopped working, how will I cope". LOL

  • @labrat7357

    what makes you think im a yank?

    its a thing called a joke which you couldnt handle so clearly you are the yank because most of them are as judgmental, retarded and discriminating as you are :|

  • @MrWardy369 The fact you can take a light comment and blow it up into a conflict without comprehending what has been said. Lighten up you wanker.

  • @labrat7357

    i am light its just you judging

  • Chains are pathetic.

    After owning motorcycles and bicycles for most of my life. ANYTHING that replaces the chain with something that retains none of the disadvantages into the 20th century holds a regard for me.

    Yes, 20th century. not soon enough.

    How many cars use chains inside their engines these days? That's where its clean and oiled.

    Chains wear down, are noisy, filthy, require constant maintenance, width? irrelevant, more dangerous, more expensive to replace and damage gear teeth.

  • I bet I could cut the chain thing...

  • can you still have multiple speeds on one of these bikes? the one shown appeared to only be a single speed. would gear switching still be possible with this belt

  • What a load of crap! , how the hell are you supposed to hit jumps and do rough ground with a silly belt?... somone nicks your chain :O you should be glad they havent nicked the bike the sad cu*@s just go and buy another chain :P

  • it is called a car ever herd of them, they take no effort and you dont get your pants stuck in them

  • thats why socks were invented so yo can tuck your trousers in them.

  • Naw, just place a band around your pants leg to keep it out of the chain.

  • The company that produces these belts also makes timing belts for automobiles. Looking closely at this video this belt is extremely similar to the timing belt that would be found on a Subaru (for example)

  • There's slashing bike tires, now there's cutting bike chains. Just another way for vandals and kids have nothing better to do to have fun with.

  • yar or you buy and bike like the Giant Ultimo that protect your clothes and is a much better bicycle

  • you don't need to spend money on the whole bike, you can adapt it to run with a hub gear and replace the crankset. $100 tops. i'd say go with an automotive V belt so always easy to get replacements. i'd like to see how it fares on a mountain bike or a fixie.

  • First, cog belts have been on bicycles since the 1920s, the very first application of the cog belt!

    Second, yes, a chain cover will solve most troubles.

    The V belt will also work in bicycle applications with little or no slippage if the proper size.

    Look at old bicycles for excellent examples of all of this.

  • the belt isnt whats stopping your pants from getting ripped, ITS THE CHAIN COVER, go buy one for ten bucks instead of dropping 1k on some trek with one gear

  • cool idea, for the resilience and the quietness, but come on if you get your pants caught in your bike chain. you probably should be under adult supervision when riding your bike

  • You can still get your pant legs caught in the belt. And there has been an alternative to chain driven bicycles sence 1908... The self contained shaft driven bicycle.

  • Tired of getting your pants stuck in a chain? Try getting your pants stuck in a belt instead!

  • Wtf, i have never got caught in the chains or seen someone get caught in them. Chains are rugged, and work. No stupid work around k thanks bye.

  • ever hear of a chain guard ?

  • @niallscoot Long chain guards are hard to get, and they still don't keep your pants quite clean.

  • It's still does same thing...how bout a wheel chair with pedals.?!? XD lmao

  • Nothing revolutionary here , only driven by a different type of chain. Looks like it could still chew up your pant leg and if you stick a finger in there , it'll still get owned !  Whoa .........

  • Chainless bikes are better.

  • in France Peugeot is using this system since 1980 for women's bicycles

  • @sacya89 when did it surrender?

  • @jrod8496 I think they stopped in the 90's since bikes are made in Asia or something like that, now they use shimano nexus !

  • This belt stuff is old technology, its been used in cars for decades in the form of timing belts. I doubt it took a genius to put on a bike lol.

  • Now, change gears.. 

  • It's still a fucking chain. 

  • @LeroyRifkin actually its a belt like on a car motor

  • why have an electric bike or a racing bike with many gears when you can have a slow and expensive bike that still eats trouser legs?

  • how is it supposed to work with gears? seems kind of pointless if it doesn't.

  • @sweeper27 the gears are made to fit the rounded teeth of the chain so it can move

  • @lucmitchify that doesn't answer my question, because to change gears it would need a tumbler and be able to drop and raise from gear to gear, the concept is fine when you have a transmission but on a bicycle the rubber chain is too big to move around like a metal chain can, meaning no gears, meaning this bike is unpractical and almost useless.

  • @sweeper27 Yea, but this is meant to be a city bike. You rarely change gears in a city.

  • @magical11 if you live in san francisco you do, or anywhere you want to move faster then speed walkers.. if I'm trying to get to work tucking my right pant leg in my sock is a small price to pay for being up to 30 minutes sooner. just saying it really does just seem like a leisurely type of bike if that's the case, which it rarely is, so the market there is just too small.

  • @magical11 depends what city you are riding in though. lol

  • The worst thing about a chain is when it skips and you are standing and pushing on the pedal, All of a sudden there is no resistance and you fall. This is not always caused by a worn chain.

  • Looks impossible to pull-up in a jiffy....if possible the "chain" must be very ridgit around the sprocket.

  • Same kind of belt drive was very common in Japan about 15 years ago(1994 or 95). I had 3 gear shift belt drive which belt was cut when friends of mine playing around it. I don't know they still making it or not now. Am I missing something?

  • I always got my pants caught on my first ring, so I wore shorts!!!! Lol

  • this type of drive system has been on japanese bikes for a while.

  • So give up all the gears for a carbon fiber (and rubber) belt, that will be less efficient?

  • I don't get this. We have timing belts in cars and they're just hopelessly outclassed by timing chains. So why would we repeat the same mistake in bikes?

  • That is a slowass piece of SHIT!

  • it has a fucking chain guard!! of course it gonna get caught.

  • i don't get it, belt drive isn't all to 'Revolutionary" nor is it new, oh but wait its carbon fibre, it must be good

  • not really revolutionary, get shaft drive

  • im pretty sure you can still get your pants leg stuck in the chain thing...

  • this needs to be made for BMX bikes

  • great in Holland, no damn hills

  • how does this prevent pant legs from being eaten? Shaft driven is a better solution.

  • yeah right. it would take one helluva spring on the derailleur to keep that tight on a multispeed. Innovation on a fixie isn't innovating anything but old technology

  • 0:18 FOREVER ALONE

  • Can't be cut? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

  • @irishcorndog18 LANCER!

  • One speed bike? Shade of 1950. Unsaleable!

  • it won't be adopted as there just isn't enough single speed fans out their to make it profitable. most that cycle to work use hybrids or racers single speed not mega common.

  • @ElectronicPleasure In Europe there are plenty of bikes used by a lot of people to go from and to work who are equiped with a geared hub. Racers and hybrids are not used that often. Most of these city bikes are fitted with a fully enclosed chain, making this solution pointless nonetheless. I just wanted to point out that bike culture is region specific, you can't transpose the findings of your own region/country to the entire world.

  • This video is several years old..... I guess the early adopters haven't yet arrived.

  • Or you could use something called a chain guard for 5 bucks

  • How big is the derailleur gonna be ?? 

  • @MrDwhphotography

    single speed.

  • "You dont need to lube it"

    Thats what she said!

  • where can i find out more information about these belts? looks interesting.

  • i wonder how the new feel of it is compared to metal? Campag all the way!!!

  • Pfffft, my fixie would destroy that belt.

  • Now adays when im Bicycle riding downtown i carry 2 things a emergency hammer hanging from my wrist that explode's car windows, and my trusty kick draw peper spray funny motorist dont horn after me when im riding i wounder why.

  • for the fixed gear trainspotters?! NO WAY

  • Old idea. Suzuki started this in the early 80's on motorcycles.If someone else did it earlier,I am umaware. But,this is nothing new.

  • What kind of school child gets their pants leg caught in the chain of a bike? I've done a lot of bike riding in my days, and even as a young pup I've never seen or gotten anything stuck in a chain.

  • @gymkhanadog I actually had a cunt ride down the line of cars again today. She then somehow got in front of the line of cars and rode in the middle of the lane for 2 blocks before jumping onto a sidewalk. I think the useless bitch was a courier. If I had been right behind he I'd have ended her career. There was an inch of snow on the road FFS! And the taxes drivers pay built into fuel prices pay for the roads not bicycle sales hippy.

  • @14goldmedals They're called roadways, not car-ways. If you want to hijack the transportation network across America and keep it exclusively for the gasoline customers of Sheikh Muḥammad bin Rāshid al Maktūm then you should be wearing the flag of the United Arab Emirates across the back of your truck. Your little hippie friend who you want to kill is getting around without filling the pockets of the Arab States and not helping to buy the bullets that kill US troops. Shame on you.

  • @ClownFight I'm Canadian. We have more oil than we will ever need. In fact we sell a bunch to the USA. Canadians don't finance bullets for the haji's on the contrary our boys stand shoulder to shoulder with yours over there in the Sandbox. But trying to draw a connection between me thinking pedal-bikers better stay out from in front of my 6.6L Duramax and me buying some desert ape a bullet shows you're reaching pretty hard...

  • @gymkhanadog trailer trash morons and niggers who wear baggy pants... ask them about their jeans lol

  • @gymkhanadog Not yet.

  • @gymkhanadog ive gotten my dick stuck once..

  • @gymkhanadog I always have to put on a snap bracelet to keep from getting snags.

  • @gymkhanadog Probably because you had a chain guard. Which, admittedly, is a simpler solution to the problem. I don't have a chain guard on my race bike and I have ripped a pair of jeans in its chain once.

  • @gymkhanadog you clearly wear pants so skinny that people can count your pocket change.

  • @gymkhanadog I've shredded plenty of pairs of trousers and come off bikes before because of the chain :(

  • @gymkhanadog it really only happens if you wear baggy pants

  • @gymkhanadog You must not have modified your bike as a kid. In my day your were not cool if you had a chain guard, fenders, or any other safety equip.

  • @Luey00 No chain guard, no reflectors, and I never recall having gotten anything except a finger stuck in my chain and that was only because I was being a typical stupid kid while I was tightening my chain when the bike was upside down and stuck my finger in there. Had a good panic for a second, too.

  • @gymkhanadog Are you joking? I used to ride to school every day and if I didn't roll my pants up they would get caught in the chain and rip.