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Ask mtqg.
I could have told you that when I was in my early teens racing RC cars. Stupid 2mm fine pitch belts on a flexy chassis.
They seem to do a fine job keeping the timing of my car so as to avoid smashing my engine valves at a few thousand rpm. Maybe you got a dodgy belt?
until they snap and your pistons and valves meet.
But when they go it's usually around the 80-100,000 mile mark. Say on average you drive at 3,000 rpm. That's 180,000 revs per hour. Average say 40 mph that's 2,500 hours driving. That means its gone round approximately 450,000,000 times before it fails.
That's a fair old distance on a pushbike but as I have no idea on gearing I can't say how much.
OP, did yours fail at a similar kind of usage?
Didn't know you could get giraffes with a belt drive!
Cars don't tend to drive the wheels via a belt nowadays though 🙂
What sort of mileage was on that belt anyway...,
iolo - MemberThey seem to do a fine job keeping the timing of my car so as to avoid smashing my engine valves at a few thousand rpm.
OTOH, your engine bay probably isn't full of mud and rocks.
As soon as I read the thread title I thought of mtqg 🙂
But when they go it's usually around the 80-100,000 mile mark. Say on average you drive at 3,000 rpm. That's 180,000 revs per hour. Average say 40 mph that's 2,500 hours driving. That means its gone round approximately 450,000,000 times before it fails.
That's a fair old distance on a pushbike but as I have no idea on gearing I can't say how much.
OP, did yours fail at a similar kind of usage?
Though to be fair, I'm not too sure what their lifespan is like in engines if there's a steady stream of mud and road grit sloshing over them, maybe with a UV light under the bonnet too.
Do the same sums for chain driven cams and compare it the life you get for your chain driven bike.
ah the solution is here a completely internal system with a belt 4 times as wide and tensioner (spring so powerful it needs special tool to compress). not forgeting the 2 idler wheels as well.
Lol, expose your engine timing belt to water and see how long it lasts.
Coincidentally, I've just done the same thing on the hoover by vaccuming up a sock. Now my bedroom smells of burning rubber, which normally I'd be more proud of.
*chuckles at Cougar*
cougar++
Coincidentally, I've just done the same thing on the hoover by vaccuming up a sock. Now my bedroom smells of burning rubber, which normally I'd be more proud of.
Hang on a bit, you actually tried to hoover a sock? You must've surely seen the sock before you tried to hoover it up? Did you really think it would work?
I think you've made that story up.
iolo, your maths is dodgy, for belt revolutions you need to factor in belt length divided by the circumference of the driving crankshaft pulley.
Belt drives are for those who put being different before the best solution for the job (a metal chain).
I actually have no idea what I'm talking about.
Hang on a bit, you actually tried to hoover a sock?
I, clearly, didn't [i]try[/i] to hoover up a sock. Otherwise I may well have been more successful rather than doing it accidentally and almost burning the house down(*).
As a wise computer once said,
The thing about a black hole - its main distinguishing feature - is it's black. And the thing about space, the colour of space, your basic space colour, is black. So how are you supposed to see them?
Kind of the same principle.
(* - yes, I was dyson with death)
Belt drives are for those who put being different before the best solution for the job (a metal chain).
Dunno ... I think they just buy Into the no maintenance no oil on your trousers sales blurb...urban commuter bike dream....
I think you've made that story up.
I still have the sock and broken drive belt if you require confirmation. Though, the aroma of inversed vulcanisation is trickier to photograph. Maybe I can get some sort of scratch'n'sniff cards printed? Though, buyer beware, worn socks.
dayson with death! no more vacuous puns please
Sorry. I suck.
There are a good number of motorcycles that use belt drive with few problems. Considerably bigger belts though.
Yep, but few offroad ones and motorbikes can carry more belt protection since they're not so concerned with grams. (probably the most common one being the buell ulysses, which had a big belt guard and also, hardly ever got ridden offroad). It's a different problem basically.
True and the only advantage I have noticed is that I don't have to oil it.
And chains never snap thank god.
Didn't know you could get giraffes with a belt drive!
Now there's a thought 🙂 hi feisty, haven't seen you on here (or over there) for a while - still riding one-wheelers?
What sort of mileage was on that belt anyway...,
Cougar is on the right sort of lines - a few hundred loaves of bread and pizzas.
Cougar - Moderator
Coincidentally, I've just done the same thing on the hoover by vaccuming up a sock. Now my bedroom smells of burning rubber, which normally I'd be more proud of.
You either do "it" with a sock. Or do "it" with the vacuum cleaner.
You can't do "it" with both. 😉
[i]They seem to do a fine job keeping the timing of my car so as to avoid smashing my engine valves at a few thousand rpm. Maybe you got a dodgy belt?[/i]
heh! Pour a load of mud into your car engine and see how long it lasts.
Did you actually mean "onto" there Samuri? As that's really not the same thing.
I would have belt drive hub gears for a commuter.
Belt drives have their place - somewhere you need quite a clean (no lubrication needed), low/no (depending on tooth profile) backlash system and somewhere you need a quiet drivetrain. But you need to make the structure very rigid. You often also need a tensioner with a high force and the tension required to stop jumping can often result in high sacrificial drag. Belt drives are also very susceptible to foreign objects and due to the high tension something has to give and it is normally the belt but the belts are so strong there is a huge energy release when they go which can trash other parts of the system.
Personally I think it's hard to see past a chain for MOST bike applications. Not all, but most.
Forget chains and belts. So last year.... What you need is one of these....just about to head out on it now 🙂
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WTF! Is that a connecting rod like a steam train?
Has no-one noticed this is in the chat forum, not the bike forum?
That's not a bike belt.....
It's a crank driven direct drive 3 speed hub. The rod you see has rose joints either end and provides a brace for the crank.
gotta be a dough mixer then 🙂
So where's all the rain/grit/uv in a bread maker then? Belts are so yeasterday