Nice! I was in Cromer, Norfolk over the Easter holidays and saw my first C5 in the flesh. It was kinda odd as it seemed to be following me around as it was parked up in numerous places I went during the day, but someone is clearly getting around well on it in a pretty hilly area :)
Always good to see more Sinclair C5 content. My one claim to fame is that I am the person pictured 'driving' a friend's Sinclair C5 on the wikipedia page!
Ha! In the photo it looks like you're going "fast" so I have to ask, how does the handle bar placement feel in terms of comfort and safety? With your arms reaching down it looks as if you are vulnerable to being launched forward because you cant push back with your arms.
Red Dwarf fans can see Lister riding around on his “space bike” in early episodes which is just a Sinclair C5 with some handles and a few other things added on for decoration.
Interesting historically but if you want a real machine you can ride that's fast and comfortable there are commercial velomobiles available now that have been refined over several generations.
Ride as fast as a pro, shade in the summer, shorts and t-shirts in the winter, enough room to go camping or just bring a pie to a party, ass never hurts, and all for the same price as a top of the line road bike...
They look cool; but ultimately I wanted the C5 just because it's a weird piece of technology and history which I like, not really for the practicality of riding anywhere.
Many of them were acquired by a gym chain, and stuck by the side of roads with a flag in them saying "Thor's Gym" or something. Eye-catcher roadside trash.
Although to be honest, it's original 80 AH lead acid battery got the same speed and range as my 1st generation Pure Air e-scooter that I used to commute to work every day in 2022, that's nearly 40 years newer technology, I think it ultimately failed because the market for city bound electric assisted vehicles just didn't exist yet.
Ohmigod - the nadir of British industry (or was that the Sinclair QL). I used occasionally see one of these scuttling around the North Circular in London UK, and I guess I admired the owner for his suicidal bravery, given that the NC is one of London's busiest roads.
Basically, a plastic shell around a washing-machine motor and under-watted battery - you could also pedal it yourself, except you really couldn't. And don't forget the flagstaff so HGV drivers have a chance of seeing you.
It is amazing, and depressing, how the urban legends surrounding the C5 persist, despite the truth being only a quick internet search away.
The electric motor was custom designed for the C5 by Polymotor. The chassis was engineered by Lotus, and while the shell is indeed injection-moulded polypropylene, this at the time innovative method was both strong and light.
The pedals provided assistance on inclines, and were not designed as the primary form of propulsion. For their intended function, they worked well. (See also the German designed “twike”.)
I think it’s sad that we enjoy denigrating commercial failures. Clive was simply ahead of his time. Electric vehicles and alternative personal transportation is a big industry now - the technology to realize his vision simply didn’t exist in 1985.
Absolutely this; I'd go out on a limb here and say the C5 was a technological masterpiece of the time, the range and speed is equal to modern mid-range e-scooters that use far more powerful lithium batteries and far more efficient motors and control electronics, technologically it was fully there. What wasn't there was the market, it was really the only well known vehicle of it's class, so without anything else for people to compare it to, they compared it to cars and motorbikes which of course it pales against.
As for the "you can't really peddle it", I have no idea where that came from, I've so far only used it with peddles and it was absolutely fine, not great, not terrible either, just a heavyish fixed gear bike.
Nice! I was in Cromer, Norfolk over the Easter holidays and saw my first C5 in the flesh. It was kinda odd as it seemed to be following me around as it was parked up in numerous places I went during the day, but someone is clearly getting around well on it in a pretty hilly area :)
Always good to see more Sinclair C5 content. My one claim to fame is that I am the person pictured 'driving' a friend's Sinclair C5 on the wikipedia page!
Ha! In the photo it looks like you're going "fast" so I have to ask, how does the handle bar placement feel in terms of comfort and safety? With your arms reaching down it looks as if you are vulnerable to being launched forward because you cant push back with your arms.
We had a C5 that was donated to my school.
The science teacher replaced the motorbike battery with a car battery… and I got to ride it once.
It was magic. :D
Red Dwarf fans can see Lister riding around on his “space bike” in early episodes which is just a Sinclair C5 with some handles and a few other things added on for decoration.
Interesting historically but if you want a real machine you can ride that's fast and comfortable there are commercial velomobiles available now that have been refined over several generations.
Ride as fast as a pro, shade in the summer, shorts and t-shirts in the winter, enough room to go camping or just bring a pie to a party, ass never hurts, and all for the same price as a top of the line road bike...
https://www.velomobileworld.com/
https://en.velomobiel.nl/
https://www.intercitybike.nl/en/
They look cool; but ultimately I wanted the C5 just because it's a weird piece of technology and history which I like, not really for the practicality of riding anywhere.
I've been pondering getting one of these in my old age:
https://www.icetrikes.co
Not as fast as a velomobile but I don't really care about that anymore. It should cut out the risks of falling off and breaking a hip.
Many of them were acquired by a gym chain, and stuck by the side of roads with a flag in them saying "Thor's Gym" or something. Eye-catcher roadside trash.
Rad. The main problem was that they marketed it to adults, and they should have sold it to kids instead. I would have sold a kidney.
Really. Different marketing, and let's be honest, better battery technology, and this would have succeeded.
Although to be honest, it's original 80 AH lead acid battery got the same speed and range as my 1st generation Pure Air e-scooter that I used to commute to work every day in 2022, that's nearly 40 years newer technology, I think it ultimately failed because the market for city bound electric assisted vehicles just didn't exist yet.
I think "Recumbent Tricycle" is my new favourite insult
... why would that be an insult?
Ohmigod - the nadir of British industry (or was that the Sinclair QL). I used occasionally see one of these scuttling around the North Circular in London UK, and I guess I admired the owner for his suicidal bravery, given that the NC is one of London's busiest roads.
Basically, a plastic shell around a washing-machine motor and under-watted battery - you could also pedal it yourself, except you really couldn't. And don't forget the flagstaff so HGV drivers have a chance of seeing you.
It is amazing, and depressing, how the urban legends surrounding the C5 persist, despite the truth being only a quick internet search away.
The electric motor was custom designed for the C5 by Polymotor. The chassis was engineered by Lotus, and while the shell is indeed injection-moulded polypropylene, this at the time innovative method was both strong and light.
The pedals provided assistance on inclines, and were not designed as the primary form of propulsion. For their intended function, they worked well. (See also the German designed “twike”.)
I think it’s sad that we enjoy denigrating commercial failures. Clive was simply ahead of his time. Electric vehicles and alternative personal transportation is a big industry now - the technology to realize his vision simply didn’t exist in 1985.
Absolutely this; I'd go out on a limb here and say the C5 was a technological masterpiece of the time, the range and speed is equal to modern mid-range e-scooters that use far more powerful lithium batteries and far more efficient motors and control electronics, technologically it was fully there. What wasn't there was the market, it was really the only well known vehicle of it's class, so without anything else for people to compare it to, they compared it to cars and motorbikes which of course it pales against.
As for the "you can't really peddle it", I have no idea where that came from, I've so far only used it with peddles and it was absolutely fine, not great, not terrible either, just a heavyish fixed gear bike.