1991 Legacy 2WD Ovation  

Another example of a solution looking for a problem.  Two wheel drive bikes would appear to have some advantage climbing or in particularly loose surfaces but the problem is how to attach the two wheels together.  Legacy chose what is basically an oversized speedometer cable driven off the rear wheel by an large bevel cut gear.  The other end of the cable drives another gear attached to the front wheel.  The front fork is 135mm wide to accept a traditional width rear wheel with a freewheel attached to allow the front wheel to coast.  It does "work" since the front wheel is driven by the rear wheel.  Problems include "fighting" the cable drive while turning and the questionable wisdom of large open nylon bevel gears.  It is easy to picture rocks, mud or sticks fouling the system.  The best part about the Legacy 2WD system would be the ability to remove it and use the bike as a traditional mountain bike!

  Click on thumbnails below for larger images:        

 

Frame		Cro-Moly
Fork		Cro-Moly 135mm spacing
Rear Shock		NA
Rims		Kin Lin alloy
Hubs		Sovos
Spokes		Stainless Steel
Tires		Cheng Shin
Pedals		Shimano Deore DX
Crank		Suntour XC Pro
Chain		Sachs
Rear Cogs		7 speed cassette
Bottom Bracket		Tange
Front Derailleur		Shimano Deore XT, top pull
Rear Derailleur		Suntour XC Pro
Shifters		Suntour Xpress
Handlebars		Alloy
Stem		Cro-Moly, internal cable roller
Headset		1 1/8" threaded
Brake set		Suntour XC
Brake levers		Dia Compe SS-5
Saddle		Vetta TT
Seat Post		Specialized
Colors		Red w/ black splatter
Size		20"
Serial #		NA