Converting a frame to belt drive: anyone done it?

Has anyone had their frame converted to be belt compatible by adding a split to the seat stays?

I was considering converting my gravel bike to belt drive + Rohloff and was quoted only £160 for the work, which was much cheaper than I expected

I’ve put the plan on hold for now (I really want a Pinion), but I’m tempted to convert my single speed mtb to a belt

Pic to brighten up the thread

Belt drive like a stiff flex free rear end. If your frames “compliant” it might not be the best.

I’ve just switched to belt drive but my frame was already compatible.

It’s brilliant although I’m only two rides in!

Go and look at all the downloads on the Gates website, it covers stuff about frame stiffness. If too flexy you might have to run a higher belt tension or have alignment problems.

Finally, you need to do some proper measuring and then look at the available pulley sizes and belt lengths, I couldn’t exactly match my current ratio so went with a slightly lower gear, but happily I can go up a tooth with the same belt for a harder gear (I don’t think I could manage it with my local hills though)

PS The only place I could find with a decent selection of in stock parts was Olsen bikes.

I’ve got a Pipedream Sirius 4g

The Pipedream Alice is belt drive compatible, and has longer and less burly looking stays made of the same steel, so I’m assuming the Sirius will be OK. I would look into that a bit more before doing anything though

I do like the idea of never oiling a chain again…