Clive Sinclair peddles world's smallest folding bike

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Zipped into a bag, it looks like a large umbrella. Unfolded, it plies the streets like any other bicycle.


The "A-Bike" is the brainchild of British inventor Sir Clive Sinclair who made history in the 1970s by developing the world's first pocket calculator. He described it as "the world's smallest, lightest foldable bicycle".


"My original thought was that if you could have a bicycle that was dramatically lighter and more compact then ones that exist today, you would change the way in which bicycles could be used," said Sinclair.


The mini-bike, unveiled in Singapore this week and set to go on sale worldwide in 2005 at a price of nearly US$300 (162 pounds), is built for riders as heavy as 112 kg (247 lbs) and is height-adjustable. It takes about 20 seconds to fold or unfold.


Like the U.S.-made Segway scooter, the idea was to find an innovative way of navigating congested cities.


Its wheels are a quarter the size of those on a regular bicycle, but Sinclair promises a smooth and sturdy ride for most cyclists. "You require no extra energy to ride the A-bike and it can go up to 15 miles per hour (24 kph)," he told Reuters.


Constructed mainly of plastic and with pneumatic tyres, the 5.5 kg (12 lbs) bicycle folds into a package of less than 0.03 cubic metres (1.1 cubic ft) and is expected to go on sale in the United States, Britain and Japan in the second quarter of 2005.


Sinclair also invented the first pocket television in 1984 and the futuristic C5 electric tricycle in 1985. He said he hopes the bicycle will attract yachtsmen, urban city executives, campers or anyone needing transport for a short trip.


Research and development started five years ago in a collaboration between Sinclair's UK-based Sinclair Research and Hong Kong's Daka Designs.


Daka chairman Pat Ma said Singapore was chosen to launch the invention because of its prosperous population and compact size. In addition, Daka is to list its shares in the city on July 16.


"Singapore has a small controlled market and it's a city that uses mixed modes of transport," Ma said.


Other foldable bicycles on the market include the 8 kg (17.6 lb) Handy Bike, which sells for around US$200, and the JD Bike, which weighs 8.5 kg (18.7 lb).


Choo Chee Kong, chief executive of SBI E2-Capital, which is lead managing Daka's initial public offering, said he had already been approached by five groups in Singapore to distribute the bicycle.


Sinclair, awarded a knighthood by Margaret Thatcher's government in 1983 for leading what was seen as a renaissance in British industry, says the next step for the A-bike is to add an electric motor in a few years.