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Tried a chainless belt drive build and now my bike won't shift
Picked up a Gates Carbon Drive kit off Craigslist for my old commuter frame in Seattle... thought I could just swap it in like a regular chain. Turns out the frame dropouts aren't aligned for belt tension, and now the rear cog keeps slipping under load. Anyone dealt with retrofitting a belt drive onto a frame that wasn't designed for it?
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hunt.quinn28d ago
Spent three weekends trying to make a Gates belt work on an old Miyata frame myself. The only thing that shifted was my patience.
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john_cooper28d ago
You bet, @hunt.quinn. I tried the same thing on a late 80s Trek road frame. Split the chainstay, built a custom tensioner bracket out of aluminum stock in my garage. Looked like a mess, worked for about 10 miles before the belt started walking off the front ring. Ended up throwing a regular chain back on and calling it a learning experience. Those old Japanese frames just weren't made for that kind of thing.
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