I’ve finally gotten around to using some of the belts I bought a while back and wrote up a brief description of how I converted my pub fixie to belt drive: www.kingsingleparts.com
I’ve got a few more to come when I can find the time and would love it if anyone can point me at some solid foam 700c tires.
what did it feel like cutting through a perfectly good chain-stay?!
Care to enlighten the masses as to why a belt drive is better than an easily replaceable, very affordable steel chain?
Solid foam tyres?
this looks a bit dodgy 
Are you Ty’s mate? If so he was talking to me about your belt drives and asking me about splitting frames professionally (I am a framebuilder)
Why were the chain stays cut?
to get the belt in.
Fixed,
Good effort for a back yard job though
so let me get this straight, there’s no join in the belt? so you have to build an entire frame/rear triangle around a chain that you then cant replace without taking the frame apart again?? yep, that’s some intelligent design right thurr…
Typically you would use a frame that has had a splitter like this installed http://www.framebuilding.com/acrobat%20files/Belt%20Drive%20Coupler.pdf
Its the only way, or build a frame with elevated chainstays.
The thing is the belt will outlast the frame, never needs lube, dead silent. S&S also do a coupler same as their frame joiner I think.
Doh.
kudos for being/trying something different in your backyard, belt drive trains have a nice quirk to them.
Really??? I’ve used and worked on plenty of pieces of machinery running belts ,flat/vee/poly-vee, majority working at fairly low revs similar to cadence range, and the belts always wear, and inevitably cease to operate properly or snap… Can’t see these ^ being any different, and outlasting the frame?
Enlighten me if I’m way off here…
So I spent today on a proper one.
The break in this one was done professionally (except the paint, that was me and I’m not entirely happy with how it turned out).
This is it before it was painted;
That’s a custom break made from stainless steel.
A whole heap less dodgy than my screwed attempt before. Having ran with the rats for a while in canberra I’m well used to having a little chop’n’weld on a frame but wouldn’t trust myself with one of my better bikes.
The only difference I could think of would be revs/week. Pub bike used a couple of times a week for about 10km each vs machine running all day.
I’m sure I saw a claimed 10,000 kms somewhere, will see if I can dig it up
I’ve seen those before. I think Wayne’s custom break is more elegant.
The belt drive drops in the Trek Gary Fisher Collection Sawyer are pretty cool too;
(yes, Ty’s mate)