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A bike for non-slackers

Belt Drive Bike promises no slacker

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi
Hammacher Schlemmer

While it won't go over with the biking cognoscenti who prefer a polished Italian-made drivetrain, the occasional leisure cyclist may find this a fun toy along the lines of the suitcase bike.

Hammacher Schlemmer is selling a chain-free 3-speed called the Belt Drive Bike for $500

As it says in the name, the bicycle has a lube-free Kevlar belt in lieu of a bike chain. The company claims that its lightweight and grease-free belt system needs no tension adjustment, and will not slack or slip.

Ergonomic adjustable 9-inch seat, 19.75-inch aluminum frame, and 26-inch tires with stainless steel spokes and alloy hubs and rims make up the rest.Might be a cute bike to leave at your parents' summer house...Or your own summer house for our dot.com millionaire readers out there.

You can always get some spokey dokeys or a deck of cards and a clothespin to make your bike sing while it charges down the hill.

If, alas, there is no summer house anywhere in your orbit, then you probably don't need to spend $500 on a non-slacking bicycle just to tool around on.