http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3662320301&category=7297
Anyone familiar with this?
T
I’m no expert, but the other day I was sitting in the local bike/coffee shop and this fella walked in with a copy of a original doc from 1902 for a patton on a shaft drive bicycle. Pretty interesting stuff.
This guy was restoring one of his own 1900 shaft drive bicycle.
Shaft drives have been around for 100 years or so. They are still used in some bikes (such as the one you linked to) and in a handful of motorcycles. They generally don’t work as well mechanically, i.e. they can have greater drivetrain losses than a chain driven system. That said, Major Taylor rode one with great success in the early part of his career.
They also tend to be heavy, expensive, and difficult to service.
The one advantage they do have is that they don’t get your right pants leg dirty when you’re riding in dress pants.
Most if not all BMW motorcycles are shaft drive, so I don’t know about them “not working well mechanically”. Having said that, it’s more of a novelty on a bicycle rather than a performance thing. Dig the Sturmey-Archer though! 
Hadn’t seen the shaft drive bike before but have seen (and ridden) a bicycle with an automatic transmission. What a pile of junk that was.
Jim S
I once saw a 2 wheel drive bike in a magazine (Bicycling, I think?). Rear was std chain drive, and it had a flexi-shaft running up to the front wheel. Don’t know how it rode, but I do recall something about it being VERY heavy. Guess the benefits didn’t outweigh the drawbacks… (no pun intended)
I didn’t say they are guilty of “not working well mechanically”, I said “they generally don’t work as well mechanically”. The fact that 90% of the motorcycles on the market today, including all GP, Superbike, and Supersport bikes, use chain drives should tell you something. BMW isn’t pushing the envelope, they’re pulling it backwards.
Danish shaftdrive “Biomega” bike - with Bamboo tubing. But you can also get normal Alu-tubes if this is too exotic!
Yes - they do sell these !