For bicycle manufacturers, drivetrain specification is becoming more application-driven. OEMs need solutions that match the expectations of different riders, bicycle types, and price points, while still delivering reliability, low maintenance, and a strong ownership experience. At Eurobike, Gates Belt Drive is responding to that need with the introduction of three new sprocket product families: Cruise, Cruise Plus, and Commute.
The new sprocket families are designed to make Gates Belt Drive technology more accessible and more precisely aligned with today’s bicycle market. From efficient entry-level applications to robust everyday riding and urban e-bike use, the company is expanding its portfolio around clear use cases and rider needs.
Expanding access to Gates Belt Drive
Cruise has been developed as a cost-efficient entry point into Gates Belt Drive technology. It enables more bicycle concepts, and more riders, to benefit from the advantages of a clean and low-maintenance drivetrain.
For OEMs, Cruise opens new opportunities to specify Gates systems in a broader range of bikes. It supports brands that want to offer the practical benefits of the company’s technology while maintaining an accessible product position. The result is a solution that helps bring belt drive solutions to more riders without compromising the qualities that have made the technology attractive: cleanliness, durability, and ease of ownership.
Versatility for everyday use
Where rider demands increase, Cruise Plus offers an enhanced performance profile. With improved durability, wider compatibility, and extended service life, Cruise Plus is designed for more frequent everyday riding.
This makes it a versatile option for OEMs developing bikes for regular use, practical mobility, and for riders who expect dependable performance over time. Cruise Plus bridges the gap between accessible belt drive technology and more demanding usage patterns, giving bicycle brands a flexible solution for a wide range of applications.
For riders, the benefit is straightforward: a drivetrain designed to support everyday reliability with reduced maintenance requirements. For manufacturers, Cruise Plus provides a strong platform for building bikes that combine practicality, durability, and long-term value.
Engineered for urban mobility
With Commute, Gates Belt Drive introduces a product range focused specifically on city environments and modern mobility needs. Primarily designed for mid-motor e-bike systems up to 75Nm, Commute is suited to urban bicycles and e-bike applications where all-weather reliability, simplified maintenance, and cost efficiency are key requirements.
Urban riders expect their bikes to perform consistently in changing conditions. They also expect ownership to be simple. Commute addresses these expectations with a drivetrain solution developed for daily mobility, supporting OEMs in creating bikes that are reliable, clean, and easy to live with.
For the growing urban and e-bike segments, Commute gives brands a focused Gates Belt Drive option that aligns with the practical demands of city riding.
From product innovation to market-ready bikes
The launch of Cruise, Cruise Plus, and Commute marks the next step in Gates’ development of application-specific drivetrain solutions. Successful product innovation is not only about the technology itself — for OEMs, the value also lies in how efficiently that technology can be integrated into bicycle platforms and brought to production.
"Combining our expertise in materials science, product development and high-volume production with a deep understanding of bicycle applications, we are advancing the next generation of bicycle drivetrain solutions," says Tom Pitstick, president, Americas and global mobility at Gates. "The new sprocket families enhance our tiered performance belt portfolio, providing our OEM partners with more options to bring additional belt driven bicycles to their lineups."
Collaboration across the globe
Across Europe and the globe, Gates works directly with OEMs to support the specification and implementation of belt drive systems. This support helps manufacturers select the right solution for the right application and manage the development process from concept to market.
In Germany, Austria, Benelux and Switzerland, this work is strengthened by the company’s long-standing collaboration with Universal Transmissions. For more than 15 years, Universal Transmissions has supported Gates Belt Drive customers with technical expertise, integration support, and regional market knowledge.
The new sprocket families provide our OEM partners with more options to bring additional belt driven bicycles to their lineups”
This partnership gives OEMs in the region access to bundled expertise from a single source. From early development questions to system integration, Universal Transmissions helps brands reduce complexity and implement Gates Belt Drive systems across a wide variety of bike designs.
The collaboration underlines the importance of regional expertise in bringing advanced drivetrain technologies to market. While Gates continues to drive product innovation, partners such as Universal Transmissions help ensure that those innovations can be successfully applied in real-world bicycle development.
This year also brings an additional milestone for Universal Transmissions, as the company celebrates its 20th anniversary. It reflects the company’s long-term role in supporting bicycle brands and technology partners in the DACH market.
Eurobike
At Eurobike, the focus for Gates Belt Drive is firmly on what comes next. With Cruise, Cruise Plus, and Commute, Gates is expanding its product portfolio to serve more riders, more applications, and more OEM requirements. Supported by its European network and its established collaboration with Universal Transmissions in DACH and Benelux, the company is helping bicycle brands bring the next generation of clean, durable, and low-maintenance mobility to market.
This article is sponsored by Gates.
