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.