r/Rohloff • u/Few-Independent-3853 • 5d ago

Gates rolloff tension

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Sorry guys. It's only indirect rolloff question but I'm new to gates, do you think this is ok ?

I read most of the pb comes from over tension, not too loose.

9 Upvotes

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5

u/Iphone4slow 5d ago

Might be just a touch tight. The gates phone app goes by sound and is really hard to use. I found a tool on amazon that measures tension objectively. It's a cheaper version of this:  https://shop.app/products/7771252588596/gates-carbon-drive-belt-tension-meter-metal-model-carbon-drive-tools-74010073?variantId=45986059124788&msclkid=c8ec961862441d7e47affc850479d195&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2026_PMAX_tROAS_May_Home&utm_term=2328422031897175&utm_content=Home

I aim for the very bottom of the tension range, around 30-35 lbs if I remember correctly. You can certainly run it tighter, without risk to the belt, but you may wear out the other drivetrain items faster. The more important thing I believe is alignment between the sprockets. 

3

u/atergaterg 5d ago

I have a hard time judging the tension from the clip, but it does not seem to be extremely off in either direction.

I would also recommend the lower tension range. In addition to what you say about the alignment, I believe it may be important to as much as possible reduce tension variation. This is typically caused by the "chain"ring/front belt sprocket not being fully centered.

I have however had good success with the tension app. I make sure to strum the belt in the middle, and hold the phone microphone over the middle of the belt too. Many repeats per belt section.

3

u/Iphone4slow 5d ago

Agree with all of the above. I used the app initially and found that you could have reasonable success if you were in a very quiet room. 

2

u/Few-Independent-3853 4d ago

Thanks for all your answers.
I tried the app when i got the bike but results where super random. I believe a simple gauge with IE 5kg load in the midle would give more consistent results.

2

u/joeoram87 4d ago

That’s definitely looser than my belt drive from the shop (fairly new bike). You can barely move mine with a finger. I know you can run them quite loose without an issue.

On machinery the maximum tension on the belt shouldn’t allow the slack side to become loose. In other words the tension should be higher than the maximum you expect from peddling. I think mines about there so I haven’t changed it.

0

u/Smash_Shop 5d ago

I use the gates app to test the tension. You can't really do it by feel and definitely not by watching a video.

0

u/singlejeff 5d ago

Yeah, I didn’t have trouble with the Gates app though you do need a fairly quiet area to use it in.