ADE

I have always wanted one, and even though they are way out of my league (and my budget) I still like to hear about the stories and opinions of others. Are they any good? How much easier are they to use? stuff like that.

2manybikes

They have been around for years, they don't sell well. They are not as good as a one wheel drive bike. They have been tested and reviewed in bike magazines.

Google "Christini" Not sure I spelled it right.

mlh122

yep Christini i think is spelled right

https://www.mtbr.com/reviews/manufacturers/8510/

mtnbiker66

Do they have a front gear railer?

hopperja

If you live in the pacific northwest, Black Diamond Bike Shop has a Christini demo you can take out to Lake Sawyer (approx. 35 miles of prime singletrack).

Landspeed7

Is there a front wheel drive bike? I didnt bother searching, but I just thought of the idea, not sure about riding wheelies with that one though...

mlh122

i've never heard of a front wheel drive bike, just the awd ones. i don't see why no one has done it, it'd be neat to see. might have some good qualities too

Repack Rider

I have scanned the literature for the Legacy Two-Wheel Drive bike and posted it on the Weird Bikes page of my website.

Scroll to the bottom of the page. The problems of the two wheel drive system didn't become apparent until someone built one.

ranger5oh

Id like to try one... but I have to say I am really skeptical of its benefits

FlatFender

Penny Farthing (SP???) bikes are front wheel drive.

Blazinall91

OK, bikes have remained rear wheel drive for a while for a reason. Think about it, if a bike being all wheel drive was so much better than the current status quo, you'd see racers jump on the all wheel drive band wagon.

THOUGHTS ON THIS-with the money you'd spend on an all wheel drive bike you could buy yourself a regular bike with a good "gear railer" and decent parts.

Doug5150

Your commentary is a bit incorrect:

"...Two wheel drive! What a concept! It's going to take over the mountain bike world, or at least it was in 1991. Wha hoppen? Well, one thing that happened is that it didn't work very well. If the front wheel and the rear wheel turned at different speeds, it broke. But the brochure was beautiful...."

The part in red is not true. The bike had a freewheel-front hub that the gear was mounted on, so that the front wheel could turn faster than the rear (such as when turning normally) but was prevented from turning slower than the rear (in low-traction situations). The article even says as much.

I never owned one, just remember test-riding them at a LBS back then. The bikes were not real desireable, $250 Wal-Mart stuff with the 2WD thing added on, the two models this place got in were $360 and $400.

...The cable system did work. I remember that it was difficult to spin both tires, even mild-tread tires in mud--as long as you were pedaling the bike just kept going forward. But overall the system had a couple practical problems--one was that the rear end of the cable was always engaged with the rear wheel, so you could always feel the drag of spinning the cable (this was a major drawback, IMO). The other was that the gears were plastic and most-likely would not have withstood a lot of dirt and torque for very long.
~

Repack Rider

I got that info from an incident that took place at Interbike, when someone spun the pedals and got the wheels up to speed, then hit the front brake. The mechanism that kept the front wheel from turning any slower than the rear exploded.

Of course, that was done on a stand, and not under real-world conditions, but the news got around pretty quick, and didn't do Legacy any good.

lucky2bhere

Hi. I own a Legacy Ovation 2WD. Most of the stuff said about it binding or exploding comes from the early prototypes. The last proto - one I own - has a "clutch" in the front drive unit. While the setup is not perfect, it actually works well in sand and loose rocks. More a crawler than a brawler, though. With crossover tires, it's a go-anywhere bike with just a bit more mechanical drag than normal, though it's acceptable if you spend more time off road where it is sometimes surprisingly good.

Greyryder

Somebody tried that Legacy style 2WD on an aluminum framed BMX dirt jumping bike, back in the late 90s. One bike, two bad ideas.

floating dutchy

Tell us more, I just cannot see the concept working for where I ride or my riding style, But I'm always open to different ideas.
The concept is well worth talking about.

Looigi

It's been done/attemped many times going way back. It's something that offers advantages only under very limited conditions/circumstances, kinda like a Rokon 2x motorcycle. But under the large majority of situation most encounter its cons far outweigh any pros.

https://www.rokon.com/1_2_About-Rokon.html