Quote Originally Posted by carlowens View Post
you do need this assembly with it's radial bearings, i've read others who thought as you did and it was pointed out that the upper end of the spindle where you want to attach a pulley for your belt drive is too flexible on it's own to resist the radial load of a belt drive.
Good point. I am planning on a timing belt set which I would assume needs less radial loading to operate, but I have no experience on the matter.