The Zike

The Zike was perhaps Sinclair's most ingenious gadget to date: an ultra-light electric bicycle (weighing less than 11kg) with an electric motor hidden inside the frame. It has a top speed of 12mph and recharges itself when ridden down slopes. Launched in 1994, it was only available through mail order and cost £499.99.

Unfortunately, the Zike went the same way as the C5, perhaps because people still had vivid memories of that fiasco. In sales terms, it was actually less successful than the C5 - it sold only about 2,000 units (compared to 17,000 C5s) and production, originally intended to be 10,000 a month, was wound up after only six months. Zikes are today collectors' items and can easily fetch £500 second-hand.