Strange noise coming from belt

Hello all,

I'm a happy new Evolve (Carbon GT 2in1) customer with a humble 20 miles on my board so far. After 15odd miles or so, I started hearing a strange sound from the belt(?) on the back left side of my board. I was wondering if someone could maybe help me diagnose and repair the problem?

I'm pretty new to the skateboarding world and know little to nothing about motors/parts/maintenance. I watched the maintenance videos on Evolve's YouTube channel and searched the forums here but I can't find anything about a rubbery sound coming from the belt when the wheel turns.

I've checked that all screws and nuts are tight and even lubed the bearings inside the AT wheel with lithium-based grease but the noise is still there. Below is a video showing the problem:

Dropbox - Evolve_belt_noise.mp4

I found some video on YouTube about car repair that suggested that weird belt noises could be related to tension issues but I don't know how to adjust the tension on an Evolve board.

Does anyone know if this issue is dangerous or bad for the belt/motor/board/me?

Thanks for your time!

 

With the noise happening try to hear where the noise is rooted from. Put your ear up close to the wheel, the motor, the pulley and spin having the noise in action. If you have a stethoscope, put that up to it. You also can make a makeshift stethoscope from a dixie cup which will capture more sound. If you find its coming from the wheel start taking things apart to investigate and narrow down. If not do the below...

Loosen the belt and pull it off the motor pulley. Spin the wheel without any obstructions. Determine if its the wheel area that's the source or not. If not, spin the motor gear and see if any noise is made. If no noise is made, take the AT wheel off. Spin with your finger all the bearings, pulley insert bearing and the two wheel bearings. Ensure they are smooth when rotating.

If you can't find the source, put the wheel back on, spin it, if you can't get the noise put the belt back on, adjust, spin. Sometimes taking things off / on will fix things but it sounds like you already did that.

Also the speed rings and wheel spacers are junk and mush, that itself can cause things to bind like the spacer, bearing, speed rings and make wacky sounds, mostly when the belt puts tension on it. The bearings either in the wheel, pulley, and / or motor could be bad.

I wouldn't ride it until I figure things out if it was me, if that rear wheel locks up it will potentially turn into a fall.

Contact Evolve and let them know you are not happy and that this should not have happened after 15 miles. If you don't they won't know and things are kush.

 

Hi wiztecy,

Thanks for the detailed response. The noise is definitely coming from the belt itself. I took the wheel off and the noise continued. I took the belt off and turned the motor with my hand and the noise stopped. I put the belt back on and the noise came back. I was trying to check the belt tension by comparing it with the other belt by gently pinching together the part of the belt that isn't touching anything but air and I heard the rubbery noise on the affected belt but not from the other one:

Dropbox - Evolve_belt_noise2.mp4

Im going to call or pop by the distribution center this morning since it's literally next door to my work. I'm sure the guys who put the boards together will be able to see the problem immediately.

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it! I'll update the thread again when I know more

 

Note that binding of parts like speed rings / spacers / bearings that are on their way out and going bad can occur when the belt has tension on it. Its pulling things in on both the motor and wheel side. Experiment with loosening the axle nut a bit and see what happens with the noise. Does it go away or stop. If it goes away something is binding or a bearing is going out. Which of course isn't good and could possibly lock while riding.

 

Try smearing some lithium grease on the "teeth" side of the belt. I had a similar noise. Wasn't coming from the wheel bearings or motor but actually the belt. This simply lubricates the contact points between the belt and the cogs which, for me, solved the problem.

 

Hey, I have the same noise coming from my back left, what did the distributor say it was and how to fix?

 

Heya. I took my board back to the distributor in Carlsbad, CA and they were gracious enough to inspect the board for free. After admitting to not being sure what the cause of the sound was, they replaced the belt for me--also for free.

Really awesome group of guys working there. Count me among the highly satisfied customers!

As to your issue, apologies that I couldn't be of more help

 

Hey! Thanks for the reply, i know it's an old thread! So changing out the belt fixed your problem?

I'll give the guys at Evolve Au a buzz and see what they think!

Thanks!

 

Yeah, replacing the belt fixed the problem. The strange rubbery noise was coming from that. I think that the guys in the shop didn't think it was a problem but the noise was obnoxious and it's probably easier to give the customer a belt than to try to convince him that it's not a problem

 

Thats brilliant! Thanks mate!