[maclaren]

Thank you for the response.

I welcome design critique and plan on always welcoming it.

The reason that we don't want to use chains is that we have stretched several chains before which is a big pain in the butt.

Also chains are heavy compared to belts. Sprockets are also heavier than pulleys.

The amount of tensioning that we have built in can compensate for the difference in standard length belts. So I'm confident that we can find one that fits.

Also we are going to make sure to serpentine the belt around the drive pulleys as much as possible to eliminate any chance of the belt slipping.

I have attached a sketch of what we are planning on doing.

If you are asking yourself about the engagement of the center wheel pulley yes that is a concern but it can be compensated for with additional idler pulleys around the wheel.

As for the actual transmission that will drive the drive pulley it will be two cims that are geared together and attached to the drive pulley. We plan on making the drive pulley either out of aluminum or steel and it will have a large mating cross-section with the output shaft from the gearbox.