Gates Belt Drive 9 spine / freewheel / hub question

Hi,

I’m building a commuter and have the Gates Carbon belt drive system with the 9 spline rear sprocket.

The rear sprocket looks like this.

Supposedly Shimano freehub compatible.

What I’m confused about is what wheels and in particular what hub/freewheel I need on them?

This is my first belt build so I’m a little unsure.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

That fits your run of the mill Shimano HG.  So any wheel that fits your frame and has a HyperGlide free hub, or something like a Hope Single Speed hub with the short HG freehub if you want to be fancy.  Then use a single speed spacer kit to get the chain line right.

BTW what frame is it?  Belt compatibility is pretty specific (Well, sort of, most bikes don’t have any way to get a belt through the stays) so I’d expect the manufacturer to have some advice available

Thanks man, that’s really helpful.
Frame is a Cooper Bikes commuter and is specific to the Gates system.

Do you know what the axle spacing is?  I think I’d ask the makers for advice, there may be a better alternative to the Gates sprocket you have linked to.

I’ve done a number of belt drive conversions on various bikes.

What I learned was the most important feature on the bike was lateral stiffness in the chainstays. Basically it comes down to bikes designed for singlespeed work better because you are less likely to get misalignment under power. The belt then tries to ride up the cog and then cracks back into place and if that happens often enough you risk breakage.

The cog you show is the improved version from the early ones, so it is probably more able to self correct for a small amount of misalignment.

If you’re looking to split a frame that does not already have a joint, then go for a frame with a flat plate dropout because that makes the job of conversion something you can do yourself rather than pay a framebuilder.

Here’s a link to a conversion I did 11 years ago.

I’ve tried various systems from V to 8mm to Gates, but this system looks worth a try because it appears to have better mud/grit clearing capabilities than the other, and its USP is it is a split belt, therefore no frame split needed.

Split Belt™ Pro Belt Drive

If you want gears then it has to be some an internal hub gear like sturmey archer 3 spd or shimano alfine or rohloff. Thats in ascending price order and specification. Be careful with belt drive – if anything gets caught in the sprocket eg bungee hook, its will snap the belt.
Also, they’re not quite as efficient as a chain but are clean.
For the money, i would stick with a chain and internal geared hub as the maintenance isnt that much worse and its more durable

finephilly
Also, they’re not quite as efficient as a CLEAN chain…

I made a slight adjustment. 🙂

The silence of a belt drive with a 3 speed S-A is amazing. You may think your bike is quiet previously, but once you’ve done this, you realise it wasn’t.

If you’re going to run an exposed chain then for cleanliness the only option is something like Purple Extreme or Putoline (preferably the latter for cost).

However an exposed belt still manages to pick up road filth, so it still needs some protection from spray. Once you go down that route, an enclosed chain has more attractions IMO – and that’s the opinion of someone who likes belt drive.

The cog you show is the improved version from the early ones, so it is probably more able to self correct for a small amount of misalignment.

I’m confused, the cog the OP showed is a CDX and I’ve never had any problems with mine as the Centre Track seems to keep things running happily. Is this something I’ve simply had the good fortune to avoid so far?

Inevitable pic:

@eddiebaby The CenterTrack is the improved version.

If I was doing a conversion now, it’s what I’d use. It also requires less tension which should improve bearing life (wheel & BB).

Like your bike. How’s your belt system holding up?

The belt is still fine after 4 years. I think it helps that it never really gets used in totally crappy wet and gritty conditions, I just take out my rigid 29er MTB then. Just starting to get a bit of delamination of the extreme outer layer of the belt. Possibly due to UV exposure.
The worst thing is the chain ring fading from black to bronze…