Gates Corporation, maker of the Gates Carbon Drive™ belt system, and Schindelhauer Bikes have partnered to launch the world’s first belt-drive fixed-gear racing team: Schindelhauer-Gates.

The seven-person Schindelhauer-Gates team will race in the international Red Hook Criterium series, Germany’s Rad Race events and select track bike crits and road races in Great Britain, the United States, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. In May, the team will compete in the first Fixed Gear World Championships in Berlin.

“The Schindelhauer-Gates team is an opportunity to showcase the high performance of our belt drives in an exciting, spectator-friendly sport with a growing global audience,” says Todd Sellden, director of Gates Carbon Drive Systems. “Schindelhauer was an early adopter of the Gates Carbon Drive system and we are proud to be an integral part of their brand and lifestyle.”

“Schindelhauer’s aesthetic and brand identity are deeply rooted in Berlin’s street scene, so it is natural for us to be part of this growing international fixed gear criterium culture,” says Jörg Schindelhauer, co-founder of Schindelhauer Bikes. “At the same time Schindelhauer is attuned to the technologies that make bicycling simpler and more fun, which is why we use Gates Carbon Drive on all our bikes.”

The team consists of five men and two women from Germany and Switzerland: Mianzi Rei, Martin Morgenstern, Claudia Weiss, Adrien Merkt, Dylan Longridge, Roland Trauzold and Yvan Morf. Rei is a well-known competitor in the Berlin fixie scene and the subject of the film, “My Legs My Gears.”

Schindelhauer-Gates recently competed in its first race, at the Berliner Fahrradschau’s “Last Man Standing” and “Last Woman Standing” Rad Races. Rei finished second in the women’s competition, delivering the fastest lap, while Weiss finished seventh in the women’s race. Morf made it into the men’s finals and finished fourth, while Longridge finished seventh.

Track bike crits feature racers on fixed gear bikes who complete multiple laps around a fast, technical and spectator-friendly course. By competing in these events, Gates and Schindelhauer hope to showcase the strength and high-performance attributes of Gates Carbon Drive within the racing community, and grow awareness of the clean, quiet and low-maintenance qualities of Gates belt drives among everyday city bicyclists.

Consisting of two lightweight sprockets and a high-strength belt embedded with carbon fiber cords, Gates Carbon Drive™ is a low-maintenance, chain-replacing technology from Gates Corporation, the global leader in automotive and industrial belts. Clean, quiet, light, and strong, Carbon Drive requires no greasy lube, weighs less than a chain drive and will not stretch. Due to its low maintenance and ease of use, Carbon Drive is a technology that can get more people on bikes. Gates Carbon Drive is featured on more than 200 bike models from more than 100 brands in 2015.