VPI Belts Black vs Clear


I've never yet used a black belt on my HW-19, and have read some over at the asylum, that the newer black nitrile belts leave much to be desired.

I understand LP gear still sells the clear belts as well as a "Tranquility" Belt.

When I used to buy the clear VPI Belts for my HW-19, they always said on the bag for the Aries 1 as well, but on the LP Gear Site, they list a seperate clear belt for the Aries 1, and it cost less than the belt for the HW-19? Anybody know the deal on this, and is the clear belt still the winner? I know the clear belts discolor, and ne talc'ing, but I'm more concerned about performacem and longevity. Mark
markd51
Hello Bob, Yes, I have heard of the Boiling trick, and I might try this myself one day, but would like to have at least one new spare on hand just in case.

I reckon Lacee the trick is not to boil too much, that you'd want the Belt "Ala Dente" lol Perhaps Harry should've actually named his Tables "Spaghetti Drive"?
How many times I've thought of that over the years that the Belt looked like a piece of Pasta.

Getting back to some serious though about this, I have read posts about the Nitrile Belts aging-cracking sooner than the clear ones, and also that they seem to pick up a memory set after a period of non play, and that they Table's Belt would act quirky for the first 30 seconds, or so until after a few revolutions would lessen the belt memory.
Mark
I have both, the original clear belt that has the connecting lump and the newer black belt.
I can't say which is better, but that's because I use both of them on my Scout and it works quite well. Try it out for yourselves and report back.Other tables use mutiple belts so I thought why not try it.
Now the boiling tweak sounds interesting,but I am leery that too hot a temp might stretch the belt out of shape.
Before you buy any new belt, have you tried boiling the old one for about 30-60 seconds, drying then re-talc'ing? VPI recommends doing this annually to the clear belts.

Enjoy,
Bob