was against shaft drive; in his classic 1896 book "Bicycles and Tricycles", he wrote "The Fearnhead Gear ... if bevel-wheels could be accurately and cheaply cut by machinery, it is possible that gears of this description might supplant, to a great extent, the chain-drive gear; but the fact that the teeth of the bevel-wheels cannot be accurately milled is a serious obstacle to their practical success". In the United States, they had been made by the League Cycle Company as early as 1893. Soon after, the French company Metropole marketed their Acatane. By 1897 Columbia began aggressively to market the chainless bicycle it had acquired from the League Cycle Company. Chainless bicycles were moderately popular in 1898 and 1899, although sales were still much smaller than regular bicycles, primarily due to the high cost. They were also somewhat less efficient than regular bicycles: there was roughly an 8 percent loss in the gearing, in part due to limited manufacturing technology at the time. The rear wheel was also more difficult to remove to change flats. Many of these deficiencies have been overcome in the past century. In 1902, The Hill-Climber Bicycle Mfg. Company sold a three-speed shaft-driven bicycle in which the shifting was implemented with three sets of bevel gears. While a small number of chainless bicycles were available, for the most part, shaft-driven bicycles disappeared from view for most of the 20th century. There is, however, still a niche market for chainless bikes, especially for commuters, and there is a number of manufacturers who offer them either as part of a larger range or as a primary specialization. Notable examples are Biomega in Denmark and Brik in the Netherlands. Comparison of shaft vs chain Shaft drives operate at a very consistent rate of efficiency and performance, without adjustments or maintenance, though their efficiency has been lower than that of a properly adjusted and lubricated chain, possibly because of insufficiently precise machining or alignment of the bevel gears. Shaft drives are typically more complex to disassemble when repairing flat rear tires, and the manufacturing cost is typically higher. A fundamental issue with bicycle shaft-drive systems is the requirement to transmit the torque of the rider through bevel gears with much smaller radii than typical bicycle sprockets. This requires both high quality gears and heavier frame construction. Since shaft-drives require gear hubs for shifting, they accrue all the benefits and drawbacks