Does anyone remember the Sinclair Zeta?
In 1999 I moved to Hastings and lived at the foot of a steep, unrelenting, mile long hill which went from 50 to 425 feet above sea level in a bit under a mile. it was the precursor to any bike ride I wanted to take.
Along came the Sinclair Zeta, somewhere over 100 quid and I bought one. It was awkward to fit and rather Heath-Robinson in nature, with Yamaha lead acid battery and power transferred to the wheel via a roller, like an old style dynamo with function reversed.
I couldn't wait to try it out. I charged the battery, made sure it was all in AOK order and set off up the hill.
It was utterly, totally useless and a complete waste of money. The power level was so low that you couldn't tell whether it was on or not - unless you were on the flat, where it would push the bike along at such a low speed that you could hardly balance. But if you pedalled, the assistance was swamped by the power of your own legs.
I'll never understand how they had the nerve to put it into production let alone sell it to anyone. When I think about my Kalkhoff, which will whistle up such hills in 5th gear, it reminds me that some things are not cheap at any price! And of how technology has marched on in a decade.
In 1999 I moved to Hastings and lived at the foot of a steep, unrelenting, mile long hill which went from 50 to 425 feet above sea level in a bit under a mile. it was the precursor to any bike ride I wanted to take.
Along came the Sinclair Zeta, somewhere over 100 quid and I bought one. It was awkward to fit and rather Heath-Robinson in nature, with Yamaha lead acid battery and power transferred to the wheel via a roller, like an old style dynamo with function reversed.
I couldn't wait to try it out. I charged the battery, made sure it was all in AOK order and set off up the hill.
It was utterly, totally useless and a complete waste of money. The power level was so low that you couldn't tell whether it was on or not - unless you were on the flat, where it would push the bike along at such a low speed that you could hardly balance. But if you pedalled, the assistance was swamped by the power of your own legs.
I'll never understand how they had the nerve to put it into production let alone sell it to anyone. When I think about my Kalkhoff, which will whistle up such hills in 5th gear, it reminds me that some things are not cheap at any price! And of how technology has marched on in a decade.
