Originally Posted by
mlmack
For most normal machine/motor configurations, a stretch belt shouldn't add any extra wear on the motor.
Stretch belts are likely so prevalent, because no one knows where to go to get a regular one, and wouldn't even know what size to get if they did know where to go, and the stretch belts are what are available at JoAnn's and WalMart.
Actually, stretch belts do add a bit of extra work to the motors. They're not preferable to other belts for that reason.