Jeff Abrahamson
Mon, 12 Jan 2004 08:21:49 -0800
There was a company in the early 90's pushing a two-wheel drive
bicycle. They had a film showing it going through mud and snow almost
up the bottom bracket, and it handled reasonably well. Another bike
with one wheel drive couldn't even stay up in the stuff.
I tried the demo they had. It took some getting used to, as the front
drive train restricted a bit how much you could turn the front wheel.
It was also able to go backwards, which was weird. I don't remember
how that worked, I don't think it was fixed gear.
It was a pretty cool bike, but quite expensive.
BTW, there's a Christini on eBay now for only $1,495 starting bid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3652658848&category=7297
-Jeff
On Mon, Jan 12, 2004 at 09:32:59AM -0500, Jeffrey FRIEDMAN wrote:
> [145 lines, 1084 words, 6836 characters] Top characters: eitosrnh
>
> Christini rolls ahead with two-wheel-drive motorcycle
> Peter Van Allen
> Philadelphia Business Journal
>
> A Philadelphia bicycle maker, hoping to do for bikes what all-wheel
> drive did for cars, has found an unexpected market overseas.
>
> Christini Technologies Inc., maker of two-wheel drive Christini Bikes,
> is now in a dozen countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan,
> Israel and parts of Europe.
>
> The company, founded in 1999 and profiled in a year-long series in the
> Philadelphia Business Journal in 2000, didn't sell its first bicycle
> until August 2002. Yet increased demand is expected to propel the
> mountain bike maker into the black by midsummer.
>
> "Right now, we're where a lot of startup companies are -- with a
> product on the market. But we started from scratch at the R&D phase,"
> said Steve Christini, 32, who founded the company with his brother,
> Michael, a patent attorney.
>
> Christini projects sales of $200,000 for the year just ended, based on
> the sale of 200 bikes and miscellaneous parts. For this year, Christini
> expects sales to hit $800,000, based on sales of 500 bikes, parts and
> bikes sold through a licensing arrangement.
>
> By the standards of the $6 billion bicycle industry, those numbers may
> be peanuts. But Christini Technologies' three models of bikes, which
> typically retail for $3,000, are targeted at the hard-core mountain
> biker -- someone who will spend big bucks for gear.
>
> At bike-rating Web site, www.mtbr.com, some reviews of Christini bikes
> said the additional technology means additional weight, which can be a
> detriment for speed-conscious bike racers. But, overall, riders praised
> the bike for its added traction.
>
> Michael Adcock, a bicyclist from Cardiff, Calif., wrote of a Christini
> bike: "The bike felt smooth and responded better than my other mountain
> bikes have in the past. The bike tracked incredibly well in the loose
> stuff ... I'm still very impressed with this product, so if you want
> incredible traction [and] want to be set apart from the rest of the
> crowd, then this is the bike for you."
>
> Bikes are hand-built in Christini Technologies' loft-like industrial
> space at 421 N. 7th St. in Philadelphia. The space, which houses both
> offices and workshops, is filled with prototypes of both bicycles and
> motorcycles driven by both wheels.
>
> The technology works something like an all-wheel drive car. When the
> bike is on flat, dry pavement, most of the power would, like a typical
> bike, come from the rear wheel. But on an uphill stretch, or in mud, the
> power would shift, with the front wheel applying more drive. Power is
> provided by a network of internal driveshafts and gears, something like
> the innards of a clock.
>
> There are no other two-wheel drive bicycles on the market. But the
> competition for buyers of high-end bikes is fierce.
>
> Competitors include Santa Cruz Bicycles, which is based in the
> California town of the same name; Ramona, Calif.-based Ellsworth
> Bicycles; Tempe, Ariz.-based Titus Cycles; and Klein Bikes of Waterloo,
> Wis.
>
> "Our sales strategy is to find shops that sell those lines," Christini
> said.
>
> In the United States, Christini sells bikes in about 15 shops --
> including, locally, Evolution Pro Bike, in Buckingham, Bucks County. It
> hopes to be in 30 to 50 shops a year from now.
>
> It's a niche market: Even Christini's competitors manufacture fewer
> than 10,000 bikes a year, he said. But what the bikes lack in volume,
> they make up for in price. These are the Ferraris of their class.
>
> High-end mountain bikes are often customized for individual buyers by
> dealers. Prices vary widely, even for the same models, based on the
> weight of the bike and quality of components like derailuers, brakes and
> shock absorbers. Retail prices for a high-end mountain bike range from
> $2,500 to $6,000.
>
> Perhaps for that reason, the bikes have been a big hit in countries
> where outdoor and extreme sports have a widespread following: Down Under
> and in countries like Spain, where the Christini bikes were splashed
> this fall across two bicycling magazines.
>
> Separately, it has a licensing arrangement with Daimler Chrysler to
> distribute a two-wheel drive bike in Europe under the Jeep name.
>
> Christini Technologies has gotten this far with the help of angel
> investors and grants from Ben Franklin Technology Partners. In the same
> way word-of-mouth helps attract customers, it can also draw investors.
>
> An adviser, Louis Padulo, former CEO of University City Science Center
> who was on the Ben Franklin Tech board, introduced the company to David
> S. Boyer, former president and CEO of Limerick-based Teleflex Inc., a
> maker of cables used in boats, automobiles and aircraft. Boyer became
> both a significant investor and valued adviser, coming in two days a
> week to discuss manufacturing and business practices, Christini said.
>
> "It's harder to find investors now, but investors are wiser," he said.
>
>
> For the future, Christini has been working to apply the same two-wheel
> drive technology to motorcycles. A proposed arrangement with ATK USA, a
> Centerville, Utah-based maker of motocross motorcycles, fell through a
> year ago because Christini Technologies would have had to finance the
> venture. Such a startup would cost $10 million, Christini estimated.
>
> Christini, who has an engineering degree from Villanova University,
> spent considerable time in the past two years as a salesman, pitching
> the technology to some of the largest motorcycle manufacturers,
> including Honda, Yamaha and BMW. Each has shown interest, he said, but
> not enough to invest in or buy the technology.
>
> Christini thinks motorcycles potentially could be an even greater
> market, since domestic sales are about 10 times that of bicycles.
>
> Last year, Yamaha launched its own two-wheel drive motorcycle, based on
> its own technology.
>
> "Yamaha has been in R&D since 1985. We're the only other functioning
> [two-wheel drive] motorcycle," said Christini, who spends about half his
> time developing the motorcycle prototype.
>
> Christini is not concerned that Yamaha came out with the technology. In
> fact, he thinks it will drive interest from Yamaha's competitors, which
> might come back to Christini.
>
> "It validates everything we've been doing for the last four years,"
> said Christini, adding that he's grown used to doubters. "Everyone says,
> 'If it's such a great idea, how come no one else has done it?'"
>
> Now they have, and Christini wants to be right there with them.
>
> "The motorcycle helps the bike," he said. "People will say, 'If it
> works this well on the motorcycle, maybe this bike thing isn't so crazy
> after all.'"
>
> http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2004/01/05/story4.html?t=printable
>
>
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Jeff
Jeff Abrahamson <http://www.purple.com/jeff/>
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