PRODUCT REVIEW

REALLY A BIKE?

The Sinclair A-bike promises unprecedented low weight and a tiny fold for just £199 – is it a folding bike revolution, or a compromise too far? We ride one to fi nd out.

BACKGROUND Sinclair Research seems to have a fascination with personal transport, and the A-bike is the latest in a line of ‘pushing the envelope’ designs. It’s Alex Kalogroulis who is credited as the designer rather than Sir Clive Sinclair himself, but the Sinclair name is undoubtedly key to the marketing and (probably) fi nance. Distribution is via a ‘gadget’ company, Mayhem UK. Ours came with a carry bag with shoulder strap, free when ordering online or £15 otherwise. That is the only accessory as we go to press. The bike itself costs £199 including shipping to the UK. Contact Mayhem to enquire about options for trying the bike, and you can also buy direct from them.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS The bike arrived in a promisingly tiny box, and I carried it home poking out of the top of a single rear pannier – it’s that small. Unpacking it reveals a super-tidy folding package, all chunky dark plastic and shiny aluminium. It looks great. After a quick glance at the instructions it was unfolded (details later) to the characteristic ‘A-frame’ shape after which it’s named. Everything is tidy and very ‘designed’. I dread to think of the cost of the tooling to make all those plastic mouldings… they’ll need to sell a lot of bikes to win that back. Looking at the A-bike as a bicycle rather than a design artefact does raise a few concerns:

24

RIGHT: Sit too long on that saddle and you might just need first aid – and a taxi...

ABOVE: Band brakes are fitted.

􏰀􏰀 The 6" wheels do look awfully small. They have pneumatic tyres with a curved valve stem tucked up inside the rim. They should be inflated to 90psi. I found a shock pump (for air suspension units) ideal – and none of my other pumps would fit. Each wheel has a tinny-looking band brake plus reflectors crammed in each side. 􏰀􏰀 The saddle is just weird, and the shape is clearly the result of its place in the folding sequence rather than any notion of comfort. The seatpost also has fairly limited extension, so if you’re approaching 6' tall you’re likely to run out of adjustment. And the taller you are, the more you’re sitting right over the back

wheel – a recipe for wheelies. 􏰀􏰀 The stem is clearly marked with the rider weight limit: 85 kg. That includes any luggage you may be carrying on your back. 􏰀􏰀 The brake levers are fl exible plastic and are fi xed at (for me) an uncomfortable angle on the straight handlebars. One incorporates a ‘ping’ bell.

But on the plus side, it is extraordinarily light: our scales agreed with the claimed 5.7 kg. It’s also a very neat package, and the stem makes a convenient grip. A female friend picked up the folded package and said that while she’d found other folding bikes just too heavy and awkward to carry, this one would be fi ne.
SINCLAIR A-BIKE

THE RIDE As I’m slightly over the weight limit I rode the A-bike a little bit myself (carefully), but also lent it to several cycling friends as well. Reactions were not generally positive I’m afraid, but with lighter and shorter riders somewhat less scathing than heavier or taller ones. We tried it away from traffi c, and nobody was really confi dent enough to try it in town. The designers do say that this is a short-hop bike, for journeys under two miles, and it’s not comparable in weight, size or price with ‘proper’ folding bike. And also that it shouldn’t be condemned after just a few hundred yards’ ride, as confi dence grows with riding experience. That may be so, but there’s no denying the bike is seriously compromised. There’s a certain level of performance any bike must reach to feel safe in traffi c, and I’m not sure the A-bike makes the grade. The main problems seem to be:

􏰀􏰀 The sticky steering: there are no bearings, just aluminium turning against plastic. So it’s not smooth, and the narrow bars don’t promote stable control. This gets worse for heavier riders. However, when I tried a newer production model at Eurobike it did seem smoother... 􏰀􏰀 The fl exible frame. It’s just not rigid, so pedalling or handlebar motions provoke frame fl ex, affecting the steering and just feeling wobbly. 􏰀􏰀 The saddle. For all who tried it, male and female, the pressure is just in the wrong place. 􏰀􏰀 The band brakes – these arrived set up so loose as to have practically no effect. When tightened to give some ‘bite’ they were then worryingly abrupt, especially on a bike with few reserves of stability. 􏰀􏰀 The double-stage drive, combined with the very small wheels and fl exible frame, didn’t make for an effi cient-feeling ride. The gearing gives a 40" gear, which is about right.

􏰀􏰀 The tiny wheels are sensitive to poor surfaces, and rough textures are almost worse than potholes, which you can usually steer round. But they do roll over moderate bumps OK if you keep your weight forwards. All of the problems seemed worse for heavier riders: perhaps the low weight and size means the bike is simply under-designed for large people. The 85 kg limit is just that, an absolute maximum, and perhaps a ‘recommended weight’ of 60 kg or even less might be in order. Maybe it would be ideal for children?

CONCLUSIONS It’s a triumph of industrial design, and a super-compact folder. But it’s also a seriously compromised bicycle. The lighter and shorter you are, the closer it comes to being useful – taller and heavier riders won’t really fi nd it practical. Could it be really useful for short, light riders? I’m not so sure – it’s

hard for me to say. If you need a short-haul bicycle, need to carry little or no luggage and can live with the ride then it is a uniquely small and light bike – practical on underground, buses and for fl ying to a degree other folders just can’t match. I must applaud the designers: they have made a wonderful folder but it’s a fl awed bicycle. I really wanted it to work – it’s so clever and neat, and cheap too. But sadly, for me (as a tall person), it would just be a gadget rather than useful transport. For others, who knows? Indeed, there is one chap (slight in build, not very tall) in York who’s bought one, likes it and uses it around town to keep up with his wife on a Dahon.

Peter Eland

AVAILABILITY Mayhem: Tel 0870 766 8498 or see www.a-bike.co.uk

THE FOLD

1

2

3

4

5

􏰂􏰂

􏰃􏰃

􏰄􏰄 􏰅􏰅

􏰆􏰆

25