Friction drive thumb|left|160px|A side view of a compact friction drive wheel (Merlin Tree HitchHiker). The flyer is on the upper right. This type of treadle-driven wheel does not use a drive band; instead the flyer is directly friction-driven via a rubber ring in contact at a right angle to the flat surface of a solid drive wheel. One example from New Zealand dates to 1918, and a very few other models using this drive method have been manufactured since 1970. These wheels are extremely compact and less fouled by outdoor dirt than drive-band wheels, but they are quite uncommon.
Friction drive thumb|left|160px|A side view of a compact friction drive wheel (Merlin Tree HitchHiker). The flyer is on the upper right. This type of treadle-driven wheel does not use a drive band; instead .the flyer is directly friction-driven via a rubber ri?ng in contact at a right angle to the flat surface of a solid drive wheel. One example from New Zealand dates to 1918 and a very few other models using this drive method have been manufactured since 1970. These wheels are extre,mely compact and less fouled by outdoor dirt than drive-band wheels, but they are quite uncommon.