Old belts, when is the time to change?

Hey guys, I just took out the old belts from my board and when i swapped in new ones, i noticed a big difference. Other than aesthetics, the old belt was much harder and stiffer than the new one. It also feels less rubbery and has the firmness of a dried out fruit.

The belt teeth were in pretty good shape.

So my question is, how will a stiffer and drier belt affect performance? At what stage of the belt’s life is it recommended to swap out for a new belt? Is it alright to run old belts as long as the teeth and structural integrity is in good shape?

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in my experience as long as the belt still has teeth and isnt clearly worn down in any way, its safe to run. I always keep a belt or two on me when im riding just incase i get stuck

Some belts are just stiffer than others even when they are brand new. Some have thicker plies than others. It can also depend on the composition of the rubber and nylon plies.

You replace them when they start to crack, fray, or shred. For the most part, it will be on the order of miles before replacement. Manufactures have online pamphlets about timing belt wear.

My old belts aren’t really cracking or anything, but they do make a really squeaky noise when moving

my belt havn’t replace for 2 years…as long as it still working, I will too lazy to change it…

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this is an amazing response. iv read this thread and i have the opposite experience with belts, old ones are softer than new ones, i figure its from the pulling that causes it to get looser with time, making it slip, affecting performance, i did hear about a spray you can purchase for your belts that help fix the health of the belt. in the past i occasionally spray a bit of black spray paint under the teeth, makes things less smooth, more sticky with grip, sticky may affect range and power efficiency but it allows me to use the same belt up to 1 year at a time. Also it depends on the board, new boards have smarter systems to reduce belt strain like gradual acceleration, and belt housing also helps from moisture, i find during rainy days belt get drastically wear. maybe try using hydrophobic spray anytime you need to ride in the rain inside the belt housing id spray.