"It doesn't hurt to use your bike with feeling," summarises Stefan Stiener, the man behind Velotraum. He has seen a lot, especially as an early adopter of gates. Defects or a worn belt drive are now, after countless hard kilometres with their users, increasingly coming back to Velotraum directly or its dealer network for refreshing or repair. "Most defects in timing belts and pulleys are caused by a certain degree of carelessness on the part of the user," is Stiener's finding. This includes, for example, continuing to pedal with force even though a crunching noise in the drive indicates that a stone or branch has become trapped between the sprockets and belt. Or that the unprotected belt has been subjected to a strong lateral impact. This can cause the longitudinally running, brittle carbon strands on the inside to crack or break off, threatening to tear off at the next peak force. "The Gates belt is basically an unprotected carbon component that is permanently exposed to hazards during operation," says Stiener.
Preventive measures to protect the belt drive
Gerrit Gaastra shares this view and offers a protective wing for the front pulley on the Gates belt drive of its Idworx bikes. This means that less dirt gets between the belt teeth and groove, reducing wear and abrasion considerably. In addition, the trouser legs are then safe from the aggressive tooth profiles. Gates pulleys are chamfered on the outside towards the belt teeth. This means that dirt is pushed downwards out of the gaps when the belt engages with the sprocket. However, if a foreign object is stuck in the drive, you should react immediately to such noises and take your foot off the accelerator to avoid serious damage. Belt rubbing, on the other hand, indicates skewed running, which should also be rectified as quickly as possible. To ensure that a belt drive lasts as long as possible and functions reliably, it is advisable to heed the MYBIKE tips for a long-lasting belt, despite its low maintenance requirements.
12 tips for preventing premature damage
- Clean the centre track groove regularly with a toothpick.
- Clean the belt drive, i.e. the Gates belt and pulleys, with water and detergent. Remove all road salt residue in winter.
- Check the belt line occasionally: The pulleys at the front and rear must be aligned parallel to each other and the belt must run absolutely straight on them. Skewed running first causes noise, then wear.
- Keep an eye on wear: longitudinal and transverse cracks in the Gates belt or broken teeth indicate the end of the belt's service life.
- Abrasion on the blue or black inside of the belt occurs during the running-in process (first 50 to 150 kilometres) and is not wear.
- Check the belt tension occasionally: When correctly tensioned, the Gates belt should be able to be pressed in about 10 mm from the horizontal in the centre by pressing with your thumb. Too little tension can be caused by a loose pulley, sprocket, eccentric or slider axle piece or an incorrectly fitted rear wheel axle.
- Excessive belt tension damages the bearings on the crankshaft and axle.
- If the tension is too low, the belt can skip teeth. This damages the inner carbon fibres.
- Once a year and before long tours, you should have the belt tension checked with a measuring device (specialist workshop).
- The use of silicone spray helps with belt squeal.
- When fitting the rear wheel, always place it in the dropout with the Gates belt in place and slightly tensioned.
- Pinion riders should carry the Pinion lockring tool (approx. 33 euros) with them on long tours: The belt pulley lockring on the crankshaft can loosen by itself under certain circumstances, which can then only be fixed with the tool.
Nine things you should never do...
- Never use abrasives or sharp-edged tools for cleaning.
- Never drive for long periods with the belt tension too low or too high.
- Avoid lateral impacts, knocks or kinks on the Gates belt.
- Never drive off with a blocked centre track groove (dirt, snow, ice) or frozen pulleys.
- Never drive with a misaligned Gates belt or loose pulleys.
- In the event of sudden noises from the drive: Stop immediately, determine the cause and eliminate it.
- Do not continue to drive a worn belt with broken teeth, cracks or holes.
- Never crank a belt that has fallen off onto the side of the pulley and sprocket in the frame.
- A replacement belt must not be crushed, twisted or kinked. Secure it with sturdy cardboard for transport when travelling.
