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 Crispin Sinclair and his team have created the Babel Bike, which
they are seeking to fund via crowd-sourcing website Indigoego.
According to Sinclair, the Babel's protective cage positioned around
the rider, combined with a double seatbelt and host of other safety
features make it very safe.
"The main feature is the safety cage with the seatbelt, and the idea
is that it's wide enough that it won't go under the side of a lorry,
of a modern bus or lorry, so it gets pushed away instead, and also
if you're hit by a car it's effectively the same as a car roll cage.
It's also got on the final version wing mirrors, indicators, hazard
flashers, and a loud horn," said Sinclair.
In large cities like London one of the biggest dangers for cyclists
is being struck by a lorry, often without the lorry driver even
being aware that a collision has occurred. This is usually because
the cyclist has appeared in his so-called 'blind spot'. In addition
to the protective cage stopping the cyclist from being crushed
against railings or another vehicle, the Babel's automatic horn - as
loud as a car horn - alerts a lorry driver to the accident.
"As soon as it's hit it triggers the alarm which sounds like a loud
car horn and that immediately tells the lorry driver that he's got
somebody in the blind spot," explained Sinclair. "One of the big
problems at the moment is that even when you've been hit often the
driver doesn't know and they just carry on down the road."
Sinclair's assistant Esteban Diaz conducted a series of tests in
which a dummy strapped into the Babel was struck in a series of
staged collisions by a 38-tonne goods vehicle. "We hired a lorry and
we placed the prototype. We made the lorry turn and we saw how it
reacts with the safety frame, so the safety frame was made of
aluminium, aluminium tubing, and it turns out that it never gets
underneath the lorry. It always gets pushed away and even dragged
away it never puts the rider in a dangerous position, which is close
to the wheels," said Diaz.
Additional safety features include steel foot protectors,
automatically-activated head and tail lights, plus hazard and brake
lights.
The inventor isn't the first Sinclair to have tried his hand at
designing vehicle. His father Sir Clive Sinclair, who became famous
for launching the Sinclair ZX range of home computers in the early
1980s, launched the Sinclair C5 electric vehicle in 1985, but it
failed to impress consumers. A small open-topped vehicle made of
polypropylen, potential buyers felt exposed to both inclement
weather and heavy traffic. Seven years later he launched the
lightweight electric bicycle Zike, which also flopped, despite
seemingly being ahead of its time.
Sinclair says his father hasn't been involved in the Babel's
development, but admits that growing up with an inventor has
inevitably influenced him. "My father Clive Sinclair is obviously
famous for his computers in the early days and obviously the C5 back
in the 80s," he said. "This particular project has kind of been my
own, but I guess growing up with someone who makes and invents
products and takes it all the way through to production I guess
that's inevitably an influence on the way I've done the business."
The Babel bike will be manufactured in both pedal-electric and fully
human-powered models. It includes a handlebar smartphone mount, and
a security package that includes a Kryptonite U-lock. The
pedal-electric model includes a 250-watt Shimano STEPS motor,
powered by a removable 36-volt 11.6-Ah lithium-ion battery. A full
four-hour charge will allow riders to travel between 50 and 80 miles
(80-129 kilometres). It has a top electric-assist speed of 20 mph
(32 km/h).
A pledge of £2,999 ($4,430 USD) will buy an electric model, while
£1,999 ($2,950 USD) will secure a non-electric version. The bikes
will subsequently be around 25 percent more expensive once the
initial buyers have received their vehicles. A British entrepreneur
has designed what he calls 'the safest bike in history' and hopes
its manufacture could help those currently reluctant to cycle, due
to safety concerns, to get in the saddle.
Crispin Sinclair and his team have created the Babel Bike, which
they are seeking to fund via crowd-sourcing website Indigoego.
According to Sinclair, the Babel's protective cage positioned around
the rider, combined with a double seatbelt and host of other safety
features make it very safe.
[to top of second column] |
"The main feature is the safety cage with the seatbelt, and the idea
is that it's wide enough that it won't go under the side of a lorry,
of a modern bus or lorry, so it gets pushed away instead, and also
if you're hit by a car it's effectively the same as a car roll cage.
It's also got on the final version wing mirrors, indicators, hazard
flashers, and a loud horn," said Sinclair.
In large cities like London one of the biggest dangers for cyclists
is being struck by a lorry, often without the lorry driver even
being aware that a collision has occurred. This is usually because
the cyclist has appeared in his so-called 'blind spot'. In addition
to the protective cage stopping the cyclist from being crushed
against railings or another vehicle, the Babel's automatic horn - as
loud as a car horn - alerts a lorry driver to the accident.
"As soon as it's hit it triggers the alarm which sounds like a loud
car horn and that immediately tells the lorry driver that he's got
somebody in the blind spot," explained Sinclair. "One of the big
problems at the moment is that even when you've been hit often the
driver doesn't know and they just carry on down the road."
Sinclair's assistant Esteban Diaz conducted a series of tests in
which a dummy strapped into the Babel was struck in a series of
staged collisions by a 38-tonne goods vehicle. "We hired a lorry and
we placed the prototype. We made the lorry turn and we saw how it
reacts with the safety frame, so the safety frame was made of
aluminium, aluminium tubing, and it turns out that it never gets
underneath the lorry. It always gets pushed away and even dragged
away it never puts the rider in a dangerous position, which is close
to the wheels," said Diaz.
Additional safety features include steel foot protectors,
automatically-activated head and tail lights, plus hazard and brake
lights.
The inventor isn't the first Sinclair to have tried his hand at
designing vehicle. His father Sir Clive Sinclair, who became famous
for launching the Sinclair ZX range of home computers in the early
1980s, launched the Sinclair C5 electric vehicle in 1985, but it
failed to impress consumers. A small open-topped vehicle made of
polypropylen, potential buyers felt exposed to both inclement
weather and heavy traffic. Seven years later he launched the
lightweight electric bicycle Zike, which also flopped, despite
seemingly being ahead of its time.
Sinclair says his father hasn't been involved in the Babel's
development, but admits that growing up with an inventor has
inevitably influenced him. "My father Clive Sinclair is obviously
famous for his computers in the early days and obviously the C5 back
in the 80s," he said. "This particular project has kind of been my
own, but I guess growing up with someone who makes and invents
products and takes it all the way through to production I guess
that's inevitably an influence on the way I've done the business."
The Babel bike will be manufactured in both pedal-electric and fully
human-powered models. It includes a handlebar smartphone mount, and
a security package that includes a Kryptonite U-lock. The
pedal-electric model includes a 250-watt Shimano STEPS motor,
powered by a removable 36-volt 11.6-Ah lithium-ion battery. A full
four-hour charge will allow riders to travel between 50 and 80 miles
(80-129 kilometres). It has a top electric-assist speed of 20 mph
(32 km/h).
A pledge of £2,999 ($4,430 USD) will buy an electric model, while
£1,999 ($2,950 USD) will secure a non-electric version. The bikes
will subsequently be around 25 percent more expensive once the
initial buyers have received their vehicles.
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reserved.]
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