Gates Carbon Drive off-road experience? I am planning on a new bicycle and one idea is a Fat bike with the corresponding Rohloff and a Gates carbon drive. I am using Rohloff's for more than 10 years and know what to expect. I am absolutely new to Gates carbon drive and I am unsure, whether these can be recommended on MTBs or for off-road usage. I've heard that dirt is a problem. However, the problem, according to corrsponding stories, is chiefly acoustics, i.e. sequaky noise. I've never heard that the drive would break or not perform as intended.

Do the pros of a carbon drive system still outweigh it's number of drawbacks, even when when the latter is increased due to off-road usage?
The main problem I see with Gates Carbon Drive on a fat bike is that you have to have a frame that "breaks" in the rear triangle to accommodate threading the belt. Have you checked to make sure there's a frame available that supports fat bike tires and also supports breaking the chainstays. As far as off-roading goes, that would create a potential weak spot in the frame. Although I"m sure any quality bike manufacturer would account for that when building such a frame.