After my bad experience with the Gates CDC tandem belt kit, I was hoping that the Centertrack design would eliminate the excessive wear and noise of the original. After two years of cycling between Turkey and Australia, I’m happy to share that it still runs perfectly. I’ve found that the Centertrack belts allow for lower tension when compared to the CDC design. This has dramatically reduced tandem chainring wear and overall noise.

I generally recommend that tandem touring with belt drive is best left to sealed roads as I’ve experienced noise on the tandem side on sandy or dusty roads. This is especially the case for the tandem belts and chainrings, and less-so for the drive-side belt and cog. If you’re just riding a small percentage on dirt, then you can eliminate the noise easily by cleaning the belt with a bit of water every 50-100km. It’s pretty rare to experience noise on sealed roads.

Click HERE to see the standard Centertrack review.

Why?

– Lighter in weight by 450g than standard chain/chainrings, – a great weight saving for your tandem
– A longer wear life than a chain/chainring
– I’ve never have to clean or lube the drivetrain, although a bit of water keeps it clean
– Runs practically silent all the time on the road
– Greatly improved design over the Gates CDC tandem belt kit

Why Not?

– The belt makes a lot of noise on sandy, dry roads; I recommend using belts for primarily tandem road touring
– Expensive compared to a regular chain/chainring setup
– Hard to obtain spares in remote areas of the world – I always carry a spare.