Text: Jörg Spaniol, Photos: Daniel Simon
Despite critical comments, the belt drive continues to move in the right direction. A big step in this direction is the recently delivered drive generation with "Centre Track" technology. This belt, the new top version of currently three different qualities, was still exclusively fitted to the Specialized bike in the test field. In the medium term, it is set to become the standard for high-quality belt bikes. Our interim assessment after three years of belt drive is therefore cautiously positive. For technical and economic reasons, even a fully developed belt drive will not replace the chain. But it is on its way to carving out a large market niche. Looking at our test field, it seems likely that belt technology will settle somewhere in the middle of the market: in mid-priced bikes for short to medium distances that are ridden very frequently, but not extremely.
The bikes in the test:
Specialised Source 11, http://www.specialized.com
Diamond 247, http://www.diamantrad.com
Koga WorldTraveller, http://www.koga.com
Poison Atropine, http://www.poison-bikes.de
Tout Terrain Chiyoda, http://www.tout-terrain.de
Raleigh Gatsby DLX, http://www.raleigh-bikes.de
Velotraum VK-9, http://www.velotraum.de
Simpel Wegwärts Sport, http://www.simpel.net
Rose Black Water I, http://www.rose.de
The full-length article from issue 2/2012 is available as a free PDF download.
