sinclair launches world's smallest folding bike



Simon Brooke wrote:

> in message <[email protected]>, Jon Senior
> ('jon@restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk.remove') wrote:
>
>
>>In article <mKbHc.12528$I%[email protected]>,
>>[email protected] says...
>>
>>>Cynical ex-owner of
>>>
>>>Sinclair Oxford 300 calculator
>>>ZX81 - needed bag of frozen peas to stop it over heating. Suffered
>>>RamPack wobble
>>>Sinclair Spectrum 48k (got through four of those before one worked
>>>properly) Sinclair QL (oh remind me - microdrives!) Winners of the
>>>world' cheapest keyboard membrain award

>>
>>A QL. I've got one of those in my flat... keyboard membrane died...
>>the tracks cracked where the ribbon bends to join to the board.

>
>
> I have in my collection several Sinclair calculators, a ZX80, a ZX81, a
> QL, a Z88, and the original prototype of the OPD. Surprisingly, all of
> them still work. I don't have a Spectrum, however.
>

Oh,no!

Not the "One Per Desk" - as in it was (allegedly) cheap enough that a
whole office didn't have to share a single computer. I liked the Z88 -
but not enough to buy one. You don't have a "Black Watch"?



Jules
 
Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:

> Julesh <[email protected]>typed
>
>
>
>>Jules

>
>
>>45 - by the way.

>
>
> Precisely. I am 46...
>


I was bought the Oxford 300 by my parents. It replaced a slide rule and
a set of five figure log tables :)


Jules
 
Simon Brooke wrote:
> in message <[email protected]>, Jon Senior
> ('jon@restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk.remove') wrote:
>
>
>>In article <mKbHc.12528$I%[email protected]>,
>>[email protected] says...
>>
>>>Cynical ex-owner of
>>>
>>>Sinclair Oxford 300 calculator
>>>ZX81 - needed bag of frozen peas to stop it over heating. Suffered
>>>RamPack wobble
>>>Sinclair Spectrum 48k (got through four of those before one worked
>>>properly) Sinclair QL (oh remind me - microdrives!) Winners of the
>>>world' cheapest keyboard membrain award

>>
>>A QL. I've got one of those in my flat... keyboard membrane died...
>>the tracks cracked where the ribbon bends to join to the board.

>
>
> I have in my collection several Sinclair calculators, a ZX80, a ZX81, a
> QL, a Z88, and the original prototype of the OPD. Surprisingly, all of
> them still work. I don't have a Spectrum, however.
>


Ah.. the WumperDesk. It was, sort of, the QL built to a tolerable
quality level. And it had a phone. I used one at my first job. They
were a snip at about 4 times the price of a QL IIRC :)

Pete
 
Julesh [email protected] opined the following...
> I was bought the Oxford 300 by my parents. It replaced a slide rule and
> a set of five figure log tables :)


My dad once offered to help with my homework during my A-Levels. I
explained that I was doing trig. He disappeared upstairs and returned
with his log + sin books. He was somewhat put out when I demonstrated
that my calculator gave me 11 significant figures in less time than he
took to find the right page.

As a peace offering I downloaded a software slide rule for him!

Jon
 
"Alan Braggins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, davek wrote:
> >story here:

>
><URL:http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID

=
> >543638&section=news>
> >
> >or here:
> ><URL:http://tinyurl.com/2dmqx>
> >
> >or here:
> >Briton peddles world's smallest folding bike

>
> The picture at
> http://www.straitstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-07-03/h20.jpg
> looks a bit like a Strida, only with ridiculously small wheels and a less
> plausible looking pedal position.
> I don't care what cunning suspension mechanism is packed in there, those
> wheels aren't going to work anywhere with potholes or kerbs.


He is having us on, that is just a shopping trolley cut in half lengthwise.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com
 
Ian G Batten wrote:


> He's what's wrong with Britain: we hate it when our friends become
> successful, but we love the plucky underdog.


Granted he has gone rather off the rails in recent years with his batty
transport ideas[1], but what he did back in the early 80s must have
played a large part in the growth of computing in the UK, all those kids
(including me) programming on ZX80s and subsequent models.

James
[1] He is not alone, and "solutions" like the segway are so clearly
solving the wrong problem that it is painful to see people churning them
out in wide-eyed (and expensive) innocence.
--
If I have seen further than others, it is
by treading on the toes of giants.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/
 
in message <[email protected]>, Julesh
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Simon Brooke wrote:
>
>> I have in my collection several Sinclair calculators, a ZX80, a ZX81,
>> a QL, a Z88, and the original prototype of the OPD. Surprisingly, all
>> of them still work. I don't have a Spectrum, however.
>>

> Oh,no!
>
> Not the "One Per Desk" - as in it was (allegedly) cheap enough that a
> whole office didn't have to share a single computer.


Yup, that's the beastie.

> I liked the Z88 -
> but not enough to buy one.


I didn't buy one either, I sort of inherited it from an employer (who
had no further use for it).

> You don't have a "Black Watch"?


No, I only collect 'puters. I was given the Sinclair calculators in
exchange for a little website job, and am keeping them as collateral to
exchange for something more interesting.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; this is not a .sig
 
On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 20:52:56 GMT, JohnB <[email protected]> wrote:

>Alan Braggins wrote:
>
>> The picture at
>> http://www.straitstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-07-03/h20.jpg
>> looks a bit like a Strida, only with ridiculously small wheels and a less
>> plausible looking pedal position.
>> I don't care what cunning suspension mechanism is packed in there, those
>> wheels aren't going to work anywhere with potholes or kerbs.

>
>Clearly someone needs to develop the folding wheel.



Easy. Take a wheel. Overload drastically by, say, riding into
something immovable. Wheel folds.


Clearly someone needs to develop a foldable and un-foldable wheel. As
opposed to an unfoldable wheel, obv.


Tim
--
For those who have trouble distinguishing, cynicsm, sarcasm, humour etc,
try mentally inserting smilies thoughout my post until it either
matches what you'd like to read, or what you'd expect me to write.

(Jon Senior urc)
 
in message <[email protected]>, James Annan
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Ian G Batten wrote:
>
>
>> He's what's wrong with Britain: we hate it when our friends become
>> successful, but we love the plucky underdog.

>
> Granted he has gone rather off the rails in recent years with his
> batty transport ideas[1], but what he did back in the early 80s must
> have played a large part in the growth of computing in the UK, all
> those kids (including me) programming on ZX80s and subsequent models.


There is this commonality between all his ideas; that he takes
technology which is useful but moderately expensive, and production
engineers it so that it can be produced extraordinarily cheaply. When
the ZX80 came out it was a quarter of the price of the next computer
kit out there. Yes, when you saw it it was unbelievably cheap and
nasty, but it did do what it said on the tin. Likewise the C5 is
undoubtedly - and by a long lead - the cheapest velomobile ever
produced.

You've also got to give him credit for sticking with the idea of
providing cheap, simple pedal assisted electric transport for the
masses for a long time.

I don't think I've ever bought any Uncle Clive product new, and I doubt
I ever will. But I have some respect for the man.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Due to financial constraints, the light at the end of the tunnel
has been switched off.
 
On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 14:13:56 +0100, Jon Senior
<jon@restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk.remove> wrote (more or less):

>In article <mKbHc.12528$I%[email protected]>,
>[email protected] says...
>> Cynical ex-owner of
>>
>> Sinclair Oxford 300 calculator
>> ZX81 - needed bag of frozen peas to stop it over heating. Suffered
>> RamPack wobble
>> Sinclair Spectrum 48k (got through four of those before one worked properly)
>> Sinclair QL (oh remind me - microdrives!) Winners of the world' cheapest
>> keyboard membrain award

>
>A QL. I've got one of those in my flat... keyboard membrane died... the
>tracks cracked where the ribbon bends to join to the board.


My QL still works. I've even got a 512kB memory expansion. - which is
about a quarter the size of the QL!

>
>Despite this I've got a soft spot for Mr Sinclair. He's a true British
>institution. Despite having the inverse Midas Touch [1] he plods onward
>undaunted.
>
>Jon
>
>[1] Everything he touches turns to sh..


--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk
 
On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 11:04:02 +0000 (UTC), "davek"
<[email protected]> wrote:


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


itv.com gives us this picture of a recumbent that fits into your hip
pocket:

http://www.itv.com/news/1627773.html

but styling it to look like a C5 has got to be a mistake... :)
 
On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 16:05:02 GMT, Simon Brooke <[email protected]>
wrote (more or less):

>in message <[email protected]>, Jon Senior
>('jon@restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk.remove') wrote:
>
>> In article <mKbHc.12528$I%[email protected]>,
>> [email protected] says...
>>> Cynical ex-owner of
>>>
>>> Sinclair Oxford 300 calculator
>>> ZX81 - needed bag of frozen peas to stop it over heating. Suffered
>>> RamPack wobble
>>> Sinclair Spectrum 48k (got through four of those before one worked
>>> properly) Sinclair QL (oh remind me - microdrives!) Winners of the
>>> world' cheapest keyboard membrain award

>>
>> A QL. I've got one of those in my flat... keyboard membrane died...
>> the tracks cracked where the ribbon bends to join to the board.

>
>I have in my collection several Sinclair calculators, a ZX80, a ZX81, a
>QL, a Z88, and the original prototype of the OPD. Surprisingly, all of
>them still work. I don't have a Spectrum, however.


Weirdly, I can't find my Z88. I /know/ it's about here someplace...


I was never a Spectrum person. I wanted a 6502 too much. So I had an
Oric (or two).


--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk
 
Gawnsoft [email protected] opined the
following...
> My QL still works. I've even got a 512kB memory expansion. - which is
> about a quarter the size of the QL!


My pride and joy in the computer relic department is an Acorn Electron
complete with +3 and +5 (IIRC) add-ons. The mini-drive doesn't work and
the whole thing's been sat in the loft for a while so I don't know if it
will still work at all. I must remember to dig it out next time I'm
home.

Jon
 
On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 15:46:03 GMT, Julesh
<[email protected]> wrote (more or less):
....
> The Oxford 300 was a sub £30 "Scientific" calculator - it
>had a memory and trig functions if I recall - and it didn't need
>everything entered in Reverse Polish notaion (this isn't a troll - I
>did once program in Forth and I don't want to do it again!).


Why on Earth not? One of the fab things about the Oric was the fact
there was a decent version of Forth available for it.

>The ZX81
>was a "real computer at under £100" or £70 if you soldered it together
>yourself. The ZX-Spectrum offered "colour" at under £175 - which was
>unheard of at the time. I (and I guess about a million other people - we
>were all crazy then) waited 12 weeks for delivery - which was about
>half the time/cost needed to wait for a (admittedly far superior) BBC
>Model B.


>The QL promised a 32-bit 68000 processor


Surely you mean 16-bit?

>(although I believe
>Sinclair bought the model with the 8-bit data bus so he could wire it
>together with cheap support circuitry),


Just like IBM did with the IBM PC (they used the Intel 8088 - 16-bit
internals and memory addressing, and 8-bit data bus.

>an operating system with a witty
>name, storage that didn't involve cassette tapes, "high resolution"
>graphics and "business-strength" applications for £399. This when PC's
>were about £3000.
>
>I didn't buy a C5. That was a bridge too far on the marketing front.
>IIRC (and this was 20 years ago) it had a double page spread showing
>lots of city gentlemen cruising to a commuter-belt railway station in
>their C5s. Even I wasn't going to fall for that one!
>
>The funniest thing at the time was the argument about the motor. IIRC
>the entire thing was made by Hoover in South Wales and some people
>pooh-poohed it as having a "washing machine" motor. Sinclair came back
>and said that the company also made motors for torpedos. This was much
>better as its obvious these are designed for a long working life :)
>
>
>
>
>Cheers
>
>
>Jules
>
>45 - by the way.


--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk
 
On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 17:41:40 +0100, anonymous coward
<[email protected]> wrote (more or less):

>On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 17:30:26 +0100, Alan Braggins wrote:
>
>> In article <[email protected]>, davek wrote:
>>>story here:
>>><URL:http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=
>>>543638&section=news>
>>>
>>>or here:
>>><URL:http://tinyurl.com/2dmqx>
>>>
>>>or here:
>>>Briton peddles world's smallest folding bike

>>
>> The picture at
>> http://www.straitstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-07-03/h20.jpg
>> looks a bit like a Strida, only with ridiculously small wheels and a less
>> plausible looking pedal position.
>> I don't care what cunning suspension mechanism is packed in there, those
>> wheels aren't going to work anywhere with potholes or kerbs.

>
>I think it looks quite neat, but I'll wait for the recumbent version.
>Clearly this cannot be the bike of the future;)
>
>I don't ask that a bike wheel need be able to mount kerbs, but I agree
>about the potholes. I wonder if a nice aluminium skid would save the day
>by helping the front wheel out of potholes? Otherwise it looks a recipe
>for superman impressions and helmet tests*.
>
>AC
>
>* I do not presume to know what the outcome of these tests is likely to be.


I cycle lots of places where there are potholes. I've yet to cycle
/into/ a pothole. I find cycling around the potholes to be a far
superior technique. However, you may feel your kung fu is superior to
my kung fu...
--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk
 
In article <[email protected]>, Jon Senior
<jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> says...
> JohnB [email protected] opined the following...
> > Clearly someone needs to develop the folding wheel.

>
> Easy, just run into kerbs more! :)
>
> Jon
>

The folding wheel isn't a problem, its the folding fully inflated
pnumatic tyre that is.
--
..paul

If at first you don't succeed...
Skydiving is probably not the sport for you.
 
On Fri, 09 Jul 2004 05:44:36 +0900, James Annan
<[email protected]> wrote (more or less):

>Ian G Batten wrote:
>
>
>> He's what's wrong with Britain: we hate it when our friends become
>> successful, but we love the plucky underdog.

>
>Granted he has gone rather off the rails in recent years with his batty
>transport ideas[1], but what he did back in the early 80s must have
>played a large part in the growth of computing in the UK, all those kids
>(including me) programming on ZX80s and subsequent models.


I certainly swapped from civil engineering to electronics and comp sci
off the back of the summer twixt school and uni being spent on a
ZX81...

>
>James
>[1] He is not alone, and "solutions" like the segway are so clearly
>solving the wrong problem that it is painful to see people churning them
>out in wide-eyed (and expensive) innocence.


--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk
 
On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 23:08:19 GMT, Simon Brooke <[email protected]>
wrote (more or less):

>in message <[email protected]>, James Annan
>('[email protected]') wrote:
>
>> Ian G Batten wrote:
>>
>>
>>> He's what's wrong with Britain: we hate it when our friends become
>>> successful, but we love the plucky underdog.

>>
>> Granted he has gone rather off the rails in recent years with his
>> batty transport ideas[1], but what he did back in the early 80s must
>> have played a large part in the growth of computing in the UK, all
>> those kids (including me) programming on ZX80s and subsequent models.

>
>There is this commonality between all his ideas; that he takes
>technology which is useful but moderately expensive, and production
>engineers it so that it can be produced extraordinarily cheaply.


Yes - one of the things that leaps out from the article about the
A-bike is that it's pricing is currently claimed as £160!

For something that folds smaller and lighter than a Brommie, in almost
as fast a time.


> When
>the ZX80 came out it was a quarter of the price of the next computer
>kit out there. Yes, when you saw it it was unbelievably cheap and
>nasty, but it did do what it said on the tin. Likewise the C5 is
>undoubtedly - and by a long lead - the cheapest velomobile ever
>produced.
>
>You've also got to give him credit for sticking with the idea of
>providing cheap, simple pedal assisted electric transport for the
>masses for a long time.
>
>I don't think I've ever bought any Uncle Clive product new, and I doubt
>I ever will. But I have some respect for the man.


--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk
 

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