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Thu 2 Oct, 7:52 pm UTC

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Exclusive look: Belt-driven Trek cyclo-cross bike

By BikeRadar

Former mountain bike pro and current Trek test bunny Travis Brown raced a prototype belt-driven Trek cyclo-cross bike at CrossVegas September 24.

The bike has unique tension adjusters built into the dropouts. Brown was equipped with a few "cog" options so he could make a final gearing selection at the race once he saw the course. The bike was built off a standard Trek XO2 cyclo-cross platform and had the rear dropouts and chainstays replaced to accommodate the belt. The chainstays are off a Trek T900 tandem; their heavier gauge minimizes lateral flex and compression loads that could make the belt skip.

There's more than meets the eye with brown's "frankenstein" 'crosser.: there's more than meets the eye with brown's "frankenstein" 'crosser.

Trek's Advanced Concept Group has been tinkering with how belt drive bikes can fit into the line. Right now belts are on a few commuter models (including the Trek District) and some other prototypes running around the office but watch for them on more and more bikes in the future.

According to Trek's brand manager Scott Daubert, the dropouts are eccentric.

Eccentric dropouts - quite a deviation from the standard means of clamoing a wheel to the frame.: eccentric dropouts - quite a deviation from the standard means of clamoing a wheel to the frame.

"If you are familar with Trek's ABP suspension set up you understand how it works," he said on Trek's "Up The Road" blog. "The inboard eccentric plates are slotted to accept a conventional hub. A "QR" threads in from the non-drive side and pinches everything together."

User Comments

There are 4 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 4 of 4 comments

  • sweet ride, can't wait till it's on the market! I'd love to use it as a commuter too while getting more into CX...

  • I'm loving the idea. Just um,...can we have in another few colours please?

  • Am I right in assuming the chainstays and seatstays are not permanently joined together - if they were it would be impossible to replace the belt!

    Rather than have a mechanism to open the frame in order to fit the belt, why not have the rear 'sprocket' outboard of the frame?

  • Just found this page - this bikes looks sleek! The color scheme is great!

    McTyke: Hard to tell from the picture but I think the seatstay/chainstay opens up at the dropout. That is a pretty dropout design. Most other frams have separate bolts.

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