When it comes to bikes, I’m pretty old school. I like steel frames, toe-clips and fixed gears. So when I heard Trek was introducing a belt-driven bicycle, I was a little skeptical. That is, until I saw it:
Trek District = the new hotness. I mean, it is a bit of an attempt to ape the DIY aesthetic of the fixie nation. But for a stock bike, that’s pretty sweet.
There’s still not a lot of info on the drivetrain on the consumer site. But according to Gizmodo, belt drives have a few benefits. They’re lighter, and without all that grease, much cleaner. They’re also quieter so you can be some kind of freaky bike ninja and sneak up on unsuspecting rollerbladers (so ’90s). Beyond the tech, the District also has some nice design touches. Day-glo rims paired with a leather saddle and grips? How avant.
I’d really like to ride one of these. If anyone from Trek is reading this post and looking for a test-rider who also maintains a fairly well-read blog, drop me a line.
I’m no mechanic but isn’t that a single speed? I heard they’re more efficient than regular chains but without gears it kind of makes a moot point doesn’t it?
I’ve seen this sort of thing in Korea for about a year now. The really nice thing is that it makes it a lot better for everyone when it comes to taking your bike on the subway or bus. No grease!
Hah hah, I arrived hoping to hear it had a variable transmission like a snowmobile.
Single-speeds, and more specifically fixed-gears, are more efficient than geared bikes. This is because the drivetrain is a straight line and doesn’t have a derailleur. The power transfer is more direct.
A geared bike provides more ratio options, so it is easier to ride, say, up a hill. But you’re still bleeding power.
very cool looking…might have to get back into the “bike-thing”
I still don’t get it. I see that you’d get more out of your pedaling but you’d never be able to ride it well. With just one gear it would be too slow on flat ground, too hard going up a hill and almost useless going down a hill.
A little late in contributing, but the bike is not a single speed. It’s probably an 8 speed. The rear hub has internal gears. You can ride in the biggest gear, stop, change to the smallest gear, and start peddling in the smallest gear! No cogs for the chain to have to jump off.
Does the belt skip?
http://www.cycledrive.com/faq.html
This is a belt -driven gear manufacturer.
The CDRIVE system will not jump or skip under any normal pedaling pressure. In some circumstances, a strong and experienced rider ‘putting the system to the test’ might be able to skip the belt. This is not recommended as it can lead to shortened belt life.
my 2 cents:this tech is still not geared towards high performance cycling,more likely it is good for city bikes.
I like the idea of a belt. It’s a good thing that has taken a long time to get here. If you think about it, we are still “derailing” a steel chain on aluminum cogs.
I was on the Rohloff site the other day and they have a 14 speed internal that is weight comparable to a freewheel set-up. They are also doing a Gates belt drive bike. That my friends is intelligent and the wave of the future.