Repack Rider

RCMoeur 

Mr. Kelly: When you started this thread I looked through my files to find my information on the Legacy 2-wheel-drive bicycle, as I was asked to write a review of it for my club newsletter by its local distributor (back in the early 90s). Thank you for being more organized than I am.

When the distributor asked why the review did not appear promptly after I returned the test bike, I think my response was "If you can't say something nice..."

RCMoeur 

That looks about as useful as an equalizer hitch for a bicycle trailer.

obrentharris 

@Repack Rider thanks for saving all this bicycle foolishness from quietly skulking away. What a collection!
There's a fellow in Woodacre/San Geronimo near the Conifer Fire Road gate with one of those Legacy 2 wheel drive bikes. I've only seen him riding it around his own yard.
Brent

madpogue 

Come to think of it, a sway hitch might have helped me last year. I extended the drawbar (?) on my old cargo-converted Burley so I could haul a 9-foot kayak. It worked, but there was indeed a LOT of sway. The solution was a folding kayak that fits in an un-modified trailer.

Does anyone have literature on the Autobike? Friend of a friend had one about 15 years ago, and one just came up on the local CL recently.

The Golden Boy 

Repack Rider and Wildwood

I didn't see this thread until today... Just last night I was talking about my experience with a Swing Bike... A friend had one- he was magic on that thing. He could do pretty much anything an ordinary person could do with the seat pivot all swingy- he had total control of it. We'd been out riding around- and I asked to ride the Swing Bike on the way back to his place. We're trucking around, I'm riding with one wheel on the curb and one on the road... I'm thinking I'm pretty damn good at this... and then we went downhill... I probably was fine for a quarter of the hill, and then it started wobbling, and once it started wobbling, I couldn't stop it and I face planted. Last damn time I'm ever getting on one of those death traps.

styggno1

I used to do this a lot. It was the only way we could give my brothers hunting dog a thorough workout. Just walking or running with the dog gave him nothing. He was well trained in "bicycling" and never got distracted by game or anything elese while we were out biking. He just kept on running and pulling. He was such a happy dog and I miss him. The new hunting dog is of a totally different kind and he does not like this at all. His favourite exercise is swimming...and balls.

Repack Rider

I think you may have confused the Swingbike with the Super Trick Cycle.

RCMoeur 

I seem to remember the Swingbike had springs near the frame hinges and a standard drivetrain, both not apparent on the STC. But a similar concept.

Thanks for posting the STC info and the others. Some amazingly, um, "innovative" ideas there...

Repack Rider

Why walk when you can Le Run?

Rick_D

Seldom has the phrase "Whole new experience" seemed more like a threat.

At least it promises little, if any added friction losses from all those new drive gizmos.

RCMoeur 

Oh, there were definitely noticeable friction losses...

Tusk

Incinolet - an electric toilet for ALL of you needs. I have four of them in service on our cranes.

bikingshearer 

I had one and actually used it for a while. It was nothing more or less than a calibrated bubble level. I called it my Pain-O-Meter.

It worked, more or less, but in practice it was not all that great. First, you had to dial in the set-up so that you got an accurate reading from your seated position. (Mine went on the handlebars.) In practice, it had to be set up a tad off level to account for the angle of viewing. Once you took care of that, it proved less than optimal in actual use. If you stood on the pedals, goodbye any semblance of accuracy. It was not particularly easy to read on the go, as the bubble would move forward or backward with any and all accelerations and decelerations, regardless of grade. Only if you were maintaining a constant speed did it give a discernable reading. It was mainly a novelty, not exactly useless but not particularly useful, either. At least it didn't cost much.

bikingshearer 

This thread is a catalog of examples of the old saw: Just because you can do or build something doesn't mean that you should.

The Golden Boy 

Whoa. That thing is nutz.

The Swing Bike I'm referring to was like the one RCMoeur desrcibed- as Wildwood posted in https://www.bikeforums.net/23000059-post39.html

Those had springs- the one above... no spring. Wow.

Sactown_Albert 

AKA, the catapult.

https://cyclingindependent.com/a-cur...-the-****bike/

Repack Rider

awac

Chinese got there first with wind power and cargo bike!


https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011...eelbarrow.html



Rear end crashes must have been very common…..

awac

Have a look at this website.

https://www.lowtechmagazine.com

Colorado Kid

The Funniest product that was shown at Interbike (This was back in the 80s) was "Pig In Bottle".) Lead was poured into a Water Bottle-somehow.) to make you work harder on the hills. I wonder if they sold any?

campfire

I have a Lectric cargo bike that tends to develop a death wobble in the steering. Compared to correcting the geometry problem, adding an aftermarket stabilizer seems like an easier/lazier way of solving the problem. So I could imagine a small market for such items.

But, yes, I agree it's a bad idea.

campfire

Having never ridden one...what were the problems with this system? Was it just the extra drag? Did it have some negative effect on handling? Something else?

RCMoeur 

Short answer: a lot of added complexity for no noticeable net benefit in traction or performance - and in fact lower performance than a comparable MTB due to the added weight and drag.

I suppose someone could find a trail on which 2WD might possibly be of benefit, such as a 20+% grade with loose rock and scree (a trail of this type exists less than 2 miles from my house), and in such places it's easy for a standard 2" MTB rear wheel alone to lose traction. When I tested the Legacy, I lived elsewhere, and was not aware of this trail. But this presumes a rider could apply weight/vertical force to the front wheel in a manner that would prevent it from slipping and skidding (which would be a Bad Thing).

A different solution (wider rear tires / "fatbikes") has appeared on the market, which has seen much wider adoption as it offers other benefits in addition to traction.

Repack Rider

No collection of this sort would be complete without the most bogus bicycle product ever to have soaked up millions from investors.

That would be the Alenax, with the "Transbar" drive system, pictured here. As bogus as it looks, I found out from just one ride that it is even more bogus than I had already thought. Yet it appeared at multiple trade shows, with expensive brochures, and foxy models in Spandex riding stationary versions in the enormous booth.




Here is the sales pitch.