SINCLAIR AT IT AGAIN

[gammaray]

ABIKE.jpg

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[RetroTechie]

I can only imagine Sir Clive isn't much of a cyclist himself...

The design is ingenious, no doubt about that. But imho it severely lacks in the "practical" department:

a) What is the point of an electric folding bicycle, really? For short distances or combination with public transport, you just want to shed as much of the weight/size as practical. If even a 1 or 2 km. ride to/from station is too tiring, then walk or get a taxi. For pull-from-back-of-car uses, the 'last mile' isn't long enough to warrant the electric add-on. For longer rides, get a regular bike with (or without!) all the features you desire.
A successful Kickstarter campaign in this case only proves there's enough people interested in buying such a bike. Not necessarily that it's practical in day-to-day usage.

b) Those wheels are waaayy too small. Which is a serious safety hazard on pothole-ridden roads like you have in London. Or any road with a big enough hole in unexpected place. What's more: in folded state, they sit in such a way that you could have >2x bigger wheels without increasing size of the folded package.

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People have been cycling mostly on 26-28" tires for good reasons... Downsize those wheels when you want, but no more than necessary.

As for Sir Clive's quote above: no people won't. You get on, start pedaling, and steer. Like any other bicycle. Everything else is a matter of where you're riding, preferences, and practical limitations (not to mention cost).

[1024MAK]

Some years ago, near the middle of Bristol city, a pothole blew out the nearside front tyre on my car!

So a bicycle like this would be very vulnerable to badly maintained cycle paths and roads.

Mark

[PokeMon]

Yes - be careful using that bike.

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[gammaray]

I think this grating can be used to make a wheel into a Mobius band quicklike... Now to try it.