Trek's Belt-Driven Single Speed

Mix a carbon-frame road bike driven by a carbon-composite belt and you end up with a super quiet, super light single-speed bike. You also get Trek’s unique and drool-worthy District Carbon.

Weighing 20 pounds, and costing $3,360, the District Carbon is one of only a few belt-driven bikes in Trek’s fleet. Not to mention one of the coolest-looking single-speeds on the market.

While 20 pounds is heavier than I expected from a carbon single-speed, according to Trek, the bike wasn’t produced with its lightest components for a reason: to let the consumer upgrade if he or she wants. That way the price — still quite high at $3,360 — doesn’t go through the proverbial ceiling, Trek said.

Trek hit the belt-drive market relatively early compared to many other major manufacturers. Its high-end carbon bike — built with Trek’s “Optimum Compaction” low void carbon — is based off of the company’s high-end road bike, the Madone.

The carbon fiber is heat- and pressure-treated in a way to increase strength and decrease microscopic gaps between carbon layers, the company says.

The Trek District Carbon, which comes in 50, 54, 56, 58 and 60cm frame sizes, is currently available. With primarily Bontreger components, a nearly all-black stealthy look, and an almost maintenance-free belt drive, the bike is bound to make eyes blur. www.trekbikes.com

—Ryan Dionne