Cycling to work just got even easier with the introduction of a new folding, electric bike.

The A-Bike Electric has been heralded as the “lightest and most compact” electric bike on the market. Our first reaction was: “it looks kind of funny” – but if it saves us from the tube, we’re happy!

The concept came from British inventor, Sir Clive Sinclair – he explained: “We envisage A-Bike as the ideal solution for travelling at both ends of a commuter journey. A typical commuter needs to get from home to local station and thereafter from destination to office or workplace – without anxiety of portability, parking and security.”

He’s been backed by a team based in London, who have been busy modernising the design.

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The bike uses a quick charge 24V battery, which can be plugged in to charge during the day and lasts over 15 miles. The dual chain-drive is encased, too – to prevent greasy hands/white clothing disasters.

Weighing in at just 12kg, it’s made of the same aluminum that meets aircraft standards (eg pretty strong and light) with extra reinforcement. We’re told it folds up in as little as 10 seconds – though we’ve yet to test this.

The bike is available to pre-order via a kick-starter page, with an early bird price of £449 and a standard RRP of £589. The project has already gained almost £7k worth of investment, so we expect to be seeing these scooting around town soon!

Want to shop around a bit first? Here are 10 of the best electric, folding bikes..