"Nick Hull" wrote: (clip)BUT there is an idler pully that bears on the
outside of the belt. Will this cause any trouble?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There is a possibility that the segmented belt will not like the reverse
bend that the idler pulley produces. But what is the risk? A broken belt?
If a link on the segmented belt lets go, you can replace it and still use
the belt. THEN you will have to go through all the work you were hoping to
avoid. Or, if it lasts quite a while before breaking, you could keep
fixing it, and avoid the hard work indefinitely.