If you’ve ever fallen down a YouTube rabbit hole, you’ve probably
encountered the belt drive bicycle. No grease, no chain lube, whisper quiet,
lasting tens of thousands of miles. The promise is real — but for most cyclists,
belt drives remain a curiosity.
Genuinely Impressive Technology
Alee Denham at CyclingAbout.com has logged over 84,000 miles on Gates Carbon Drive belt systems across six continents, getting up to 22,000 miles out of a single drivetrain — three to four times the lifespan of a typical chain. No lubrication, no grease, no rust. For commuters and touring riders especially, the low-maintenance case is compelling.
Alee Denham at CyclingAbout.com has logged over 84,000 miles on Gates Carbon Drive belt systems across six continents, getting up to 22,000 miles out of a single drivetrain — three to four times the lifespan of a typical chain. No lubrication, no grease, no rust. For commuters and touring riders especially, the low-maintenance case is compelling.
So Why Aren’t We All Riding Them?
Three practical barriers keep belt drives off most bikes. First, they require a purpose-built frame with a split rear triangle and built-in tensioning — your current bike almost certainly isn’t compatible. Second, belts can’t flex sideways like a chain, making them incompatible with derailleur gears entirely. Riders must commit to a single-speed or a gearbox system like a Rohloff or Pinion, which adds roughly two pounds and runs about 5% less efficiently than a well-tuned derailleur. Third, when a belt fails in the field, there’s no roadside fix — unlike a chain, which can be repaired with spare links and sourced at virtually any bike shop on earth.
Mud is also worth mentioning. Where a chain tends to shed debris through the sprocket, belts can pack mud onto their contact surfaces, increasing tension and requiring cleaning stops. World traveler Tristan Ridley learned this firsthand cycling through Utah backcountry before switching back to chain. Denham counters that a sealed gearbox largely solves the mud problem — but that requires yet another specialized component.
Gates Is Betting Big: The €100K Belted Purse
None of this means belt drives are going away. Since 2024, Gates has offered a €100,000 prize — the Belted Purse — to the first elite racer to win a UCI World Cup Downhill event on a belt-driven bike. Four serious teams committed to the challenge in 2025, including Atherton Racing. A junior rider, Oli Clark of MS Racing, already made history by winning a UCI downhill event on a belted Zerode — the first time a belt drive reached the top of a UCI podium. The elite prize remains unclaimed, but the wall has been breached.
The Bottom Line
Belt drives are excellent technology — for commuters, tourers, and cargo riders building a purpose-built machine from scratch. They’re not yet the right fit for a cyclist who already owns a good chain-drive bike, values wide gear range, and wants to fix a mechanical on the side of the road. The frame incompatibility alone is a non-starter for most. But with Gates putting serious money behind the technology and more belt-compatible frames arriving every year, the conversation may look different before long.
Sources
& Further Reading
Hackaday: Why Chains Are Still Better For Bicycles Than Belts
CyclingAbout: Belts Are Now Better Than Chains On Bicycles (135,000km of Testing)
Gates Carbon Drive: The €100K Belted Purse Challenge
Hackaday: Why Chains Are Still Better For Bicycles Than Belts
CyclingAbout: Belts Are Now Better Than Chains On Bicycles (135,000km of Testing)
Gates Carbon Drive: The €100K Belted Purse Challenge