Suppose my pulleys are 15mm, but I only have a 12mm belt. Are there any practical drawbacks of using a narrower belt? (using caliber trucks and kegel wheels) This is for a single drive system.
This is not a problem Reversed it would be a problem
Also a little less drag because is a smaller belt so that’s a plus
Thanks for the replies!
@Michaelinvegas - I’ve done some research today, and I’m trying to wrap my head around the implications of belt width. If I understand correctly, 15mm belts require from the motor, whereas 9mm belts require less, but wear out faster. Do you know if there is a significant performance hit/additional motor weardown caused by using a 15mm belt?
I use 9mm
But I’m always on flat…
The wider the belt the more drag…but how much?
12mm is the middle ground…if u have 15mm buy a 12mm and a 9mm to see…
That’s the only way to know based on your application
The evolve owners should pipe in but not sure if any have done the mods you want to do…
There are a few on here
The reason I ask is that I’m actually deciding between 12mm and 15mm pulleys
Depends on if you have a single or dual drive set up. 9mm is fine for dual, 12-15 better for a single drive. The more surface area the better for torque and especially breaking, my single 9mm skips when breaking hard. I’m changing that to a 12mm.
I would beg to differ the drag between using a 9mm and 15 mm width belt are the same.
I feel like you aren’t going to want to kick push either one… so i would go with the 15mm if you can fit it. My evolve has 15mm belts and it only took me less than a month to break one. That being said though they can take a lot of abuse
I have the following experience: 9mm Belt was good for 6354 Motor ore lower and you can push. And i can build later on dual. 12mm Belt I did not drive but i think that was a good alternative for a 6364 Motor. but you can not so good push 15mm Belt high friction much resistance but more torque Ideal for 6374 Motor no good for push. the bigger the motor so to wider the belt.
Hi Chaps,
No-one seems to have mentioned tooth pitch. If your belt/pulley system has a 3mm tooth pitch (ie, HTD3) you really need a wide belt like 15mm. If your system is 5mm pitch (ie, HTD5) a 9mm wide belt is usually suffice. I’ve been using a 9mm HTD5 belt on my 6364 powered board for a while now and it still looks new.
Maybe belt quality is also a factor as some timing belt material feels really tough (like a car V belt) and some feels quite soft and rubbery.
Using a 9mm belt on a 15mm pulley system is not a problem. Not aesthetically right, but not a problem.
Using a wider belt than is necessary will use more power.