Sheet Metal vs Tube Drivetrain

[asid61]

Originally Posted by TheModMaster8

While i can not attest to reconnecting chain, I can say with utmost confidence. that belt is by far the easier of the two. Chain stretches making it inconsistent in slop. Belt does not stretch and is more accurate, lighter, cheaper, stronger(depends what kind you get), cleaner , etc. that's one of the reasons it's used in engines (and the fact that it can run at much higher speed without oil) Don't get me wrong. chain does have it's purposes, but drive wheels without any shielding to the chain is not one. (IMO) It's wonderful when making a forklift!

Chain is also used in engines, though. And teams have run center-to-center chain, most notably us this year. Seriously though, 118 ran (and might still, I can't recall what they did this year) chain-in-tube C-C for years.
Chain technically doesn't stretch, but it does wear, albeit slowly. For us, chain wear was far less of a problem than bearing blocks getting closer together due to hole clearances. Last year we ran on one tension of chain for the whole season without any problems. I would say chain is the easier of the two due to the sheer amount of forgiveness it has (and it's ability to replace 20 pitch gears, but that's for another time).
There also seems to be a rare recurring problem of belt picking up field tape, although I have no idea why.