Planning a late season adventure by bicycle? Gates Carbon Belt Drive has you covered with new high-mileage CDX:EXP sprockets for their chainless transmission.
Designed with 25% more surface area then their regular CDX sprockets and made to work specifically with Rohloff’s internally geared hubs, the new sprockets are aimed at the trekking and expedition cyclists. They say the extra strength only adds a few grams. They’ll be offered in three front sizes ( 39T, 46T, and 50T) and four rear Rohloff-compatible sizes (19T, 20T, 22T, and 24T).
There’s plenty more new options and developments from Gates coming soon, and the full PR belts it all out after the break…
PRESS RELEASE: Gates Corporation, maker of the Gates Carbon Drive™ belt system for bikes, will introduce new high-mileage sprockets for expedition cyclists and global bike trekkers at Eurobike 2015. The CDX:EXP™ sprockets are designed for use with Rohloff hubs and offer extended range in abrasive off-road conditions.
The extra durability derives from the 25 percent increase in surface area compared to regular CDX™ sprockets. Rohloff is a close partner of Gates, and its hubs combined with Gates belt drives are an increasingly popular application for trekking cyclists who seek a low-maintenance, strong and clean alternative to chains and derailleurs.
Despite their extra strength, the CDX:EXP sprockets weigh only a few grams more than current CDX sprockets due to a redesign of the sprocket interface. The CDX:EXP sprockets are currently available in three front sizes and four rear sizes for consumers who want to upgrade their existing CDX drive. The 39-tooth front sprocket is also designed for use with Pinion gearboxes.
Gates will unveil CDX:EXP at Eurobike because Europe is the global epicenter of bike trekking. “The CDX:EXP sprockets are an example of how we continue to expand the Carbon Drive product line to meet the needs of the widest range of bicyclists,” says Todd Sellden, global director of Gates Carbon Drive.
Electric bikes and commuter bikes remain the biggest sales categories for Gates, which will show a range of new belt drive bikes and eBikes at Eurobike and Demo Day from brands including HNF Heisenberg, Cube, GTech, Kalkhoff, Biomega, Stevens, Klaxon, Riese and Muller, Butchers & Bicycles, Cannondale, Bergamont, Ghost, Kettler, Ibex, BME and Cannondale.
HNF Heisenberg is a new brand that has introduced three eBikes with Gates Carbon Drive and Bosch drive systems, including a first-of-its-kind full-suspension electric mountain bike whose suspension linkage was designed by BMW. Karlheinz Nicolai, one of the Heisenberg founders, is also the head of Universal Transmissions, the Gates Carbon Drive distributor for Europe and a research and development partner for Gates.
In other eBike news, Gates has partnered with Shimano to create a front sprocket assembly that integrates with Shimano’s STEPS mid-drive. “Gates is seeing fast growth in the premium electric bike market because mid-drive motors wear out chains rapidly. Our testing shows that Carbon Drive has a longer life than chain drives on mid-drive eBikes,” Sellden says.
Other new product highlights include the new lower-priced CDN™ belt system. Gates is working closely with Thun in Europe and FSA in Asia to design and make available
bottom brackets specific for the CDN system. Gazelle will introduce a new commuter bike at Eurobike that uses the CDN system.
“From the outset, Gates has focused on Europe because of the maturity of the European bicycle market, especially for electric bikes and commuter bikes,” says Frank Scurlock, sales director for Gates Carbon Drive. “We are noticing that the European eBike trend is picking up in North America, where both Focus and Kalkhoff introduced electric bikes this year with Gates Carbon Drive.”
Continuing its global growth into new and emerging markets, Gates has added new distributors in Vietnam, Singapore, South America, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Italy and Poland in 2015. “Gates has come a long way since we first exhibited at Eurobike with just a couple belt sizes and one sprocket design,” Scurlock says. “Now our product line is exponentially larger, and we continue to partner with more component makers to develop sprockets that integrate with their technologies so that we can provide belt drive options to the widest range of customers.”
