Ever since I saw Fifteen Million Merits (A Black Mirror episode), a terrifying dystopian future produced by Charlie Brooker where everyone has to use exercise bikes to produce the countries energy, I have wondered how much energy one person could produce through pedal power. The Siva Cycle Atom is a clever little device created for this very purpose, to store clean kinetic energy and reuse to charge your iPhone, Android Phones, GoPro, bicycle lights, GPS, Bluetooth speakers basically any USB charging device. Essentially this is a portable battery pack which can be used like any normal external battery pack that can be charged up at home and then taken out on the go. The added extra that makes The Atom special is that you can attach it to your bicycle and charge it up on your daily commute, mountain ride or any cycling adventure. The Atom uses a lithium-polymer battery pack (rated for 2-4 years of use from the manufacturer)  and is housed in a weather proof case that will withstand up to 25 mph speeds. It is compatible with fenders (may need a small 5mm spacer), racks, panniers and most frames.

For someone like me who uses a knackered old hybrid just to get about on the resistances created by the Atom wasn’t an issue but if you are concerned with what it feels like, whilst in full generating capacity, you are riding with your tires at 70 psi instead of 90 psi, or pedalling up a 0.3% grade hill. I managed to attach it to the bike without too much hassle and without a tool, it took me about 10 minutes which means it would take a normal person less than 5 minutes. I love that I can plug my phone in whilst I’m cycling meaning if I am using GPS my phone won’t be dead when I arrive at my destination, but you may need to consider what sort of cyclist you are, the average cyclist rides at about 9-10 mph but with The Atom you will get roughly 1% charge for every minute you ride at 12 mph, so that means approximately 1 hour 40 mins ride at 12mph to charge a smart phone from 0-100%. On the whole I was impressed with The Atom, there are elements that could annoy the more hard-core cyclist (my brother in law being one of these picky types) like the resistance and even the noise it makes (I tuned out but my brother in law said it was annoying) but that aside it encourages me to cycle harder as I can see the direct impact it has whilst charging my phone up and anything that is trying to produce clean electricity gets a big tick in my book. RRP $199.99

4.5 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Easy to install

Produces and stores a good amount of clean energy

Can charge devices on the go

Donates one Atom for every 10 sold

Cons

Adds resistance to the ride (this is how the energy is generated)

Makes a noise