Question for Razorback: How well have you been able to correlate belt temperature to belt failure or belt life? In other words, after I win this belt temp monitoring system, if I keep the belt temp below X degrees, will my belt last significantly longer than my typical 300-400 miles?
Good Question! While it's hard to pin down a magic number to avoid, our research/testing shows that at temperatures over 200-225° heat damage will begin to cause your belt to lose life. Once your belt reaches temperatures that extreme - it will lose elasticity when it cools as a result of thermal degradation. Overheating your belt means your belt will stiffen and cracks may form once it cools. At this point, the next time you ride - the belt will heat up faster and reach higher temperatures. And it snowballs from there. You also have to consider duration of time spent at temperature when figuring heat damage/belt wear.
So in a nutshell, if you keep it below 200° you should be getting the maximum amount of life from your belts.
Another thing you have to consider, is that with our gauge - you'll be able to monitor the condition of your belt as it ages. If you notice your average temperature has consistently increased to a point where it is 50-60° higher than originally (with the same kindof riding) you know it's probably time to change it out or have a spare ready. If you see your current temps skyrocket 60-70 degrees instantly - that's a sign your belt is about to completely come apart.
Plus there's the tuning side of things. Using belt temperature as a sign of efficiency, you'll be able to see the exact change in load that any modifications have on your belt. You don't have to trust whatever feels good when you can see if your belt is heating up faster/reaching higher temps as a result of your latest work.
Anyhow, hope this answers your question - I kinda just unloaded there for a bit, so just let me know if I can clarify anything.
Good luck in the giveaway! And upload a few more pics to boost your chances if you want! Thanks Jim.