Drive Belt - Constantly Slipping Off

Hey Everyone,

I bought a Bamboo GT (2in1) at the beginning of the month, started to us it for my commute to work in Boston,Ma. About 3 days into owning it, the drive belt slipped off the drive gear and frayed (while in AT). I immediately bought 2 new belts, switched over to the street kit with no issues in the meantime while riding.

I converted back to the AT once the belt came in, being extremely meticulous about belt tension, motor plate screw tightness, and all necessary speed rings assembly. A week later the belt flew off again under normal riding conditions (checked tightness before ride, about 5mm of play)! This time shredding the entire drive gear and drive belt. Bringing me back to the evolve site to drop some more unnecessary cash.

I have the new belts and drive gear on the way, Evolve service department swears its a tension issue. Curious if you all had any ideas of what could be the cause of this before I blow another belt.... Or maybe a way to ensure belt tension slippage during rides? I've checked the motor plates/axle struts for bends, no issues. I'm noticing my motors don't exactly align in relation to each other, is that a normal issue? Extremely frustrating to troubleshoot, sure its a simple fix.

Appreciate the helps guys!
-Nick

 

Hi there, I've not experienced that problem, but i did notice when i brought my board and first checked the tension that my adjustment holes were already at max tension so I'm thinking there may well be a size issue with either belts or wheels.
look forward from anyone on this matter or even from evolve

Regards John

 

I hope not but your motor mount could be crooked or it could have been a deformed AT drive gear. Same wheel right?

 

I was thinking it could be a bent motor plate. They look pretty symmetrical (attached photos). They are the same wheels that come with the AT set. Interested to hear your thoughts on normal motor plate positioning.

My thoughts on the drive gear being the main problem is starting to come to light. I threw on the new drive gear and put on about 10miles so far, checking tension and belt placement intermittently. Could have been screwed up out of the box or from the first belt slip and I never noticed. Fingers crossed.

 

Bro, I might be just me but your motor mount looks bent or possibly loose. As you look at your board for the back the left side (the side with T of GT on the rear truck) looks like something is off. Your motor looks canted towards your wheel. I hope it’s just the angle of the picture or something.

 

Which side is the problen happening on? Is it the left side (if standing behind the board). In the first picture the belt looks way off, as in not straight. It shouldn't kink to the side like that.

If that is the side that is causing the problem then you need to add another spacer or two under the drive gear to push it out more so the belt can run straight between the gears.

 

That’s actually a great idea, do you suggest using the silver spacers to space out the drive gear? They definitely look the running at a slight angle.

-Nick

 

Yes it's the larger silver washer that sits between the truck and the drive gear, you should be able to pickup a similar sized spacer from a local hardware shop.

 

Hi Nick,

I had exactly the same problem up to the point when one of the belts cut through motor cover and slipped. The root cause was the fact that a gear on one of the motors was not fully parallel to a gear on the wheel. Very high tension on the belt as a default factory setup wasn't helping neither. I purchased belt replacement, loosen the tension and added flat washer under the furthest screw that you use to regulate the tension. Now both gears are parallel and it all works fine without a motor cover. Hope it helps.

Cheers,

Lukasz

 

Yes I have this current problem! Belt is now stretched

 

I had the same problem. I assumed since the belts were banjo string tight at purchase id try my best to get them tight as possible but i recently just tighten them with a little less tension just enough for them to be snug but still have some flex when squeezed and they stopped slipping off.

 

If there's an underlying issue here such as loose/bent motor mount, rather than compensate for that problem by adding washer surely it's better to just fix the source of the problem. If it's a new board under warranty, have Evolve look at it. If you do have a bent motor plate it will continue to cause problems and never be 100% right.