Lessss
1 MW
Hmm I posted this already but the topic appears to have disappeared. Odd
What is wrong with the C5. To me it looks like a low to the ground recumbent with a fairing and possibly a trunk??
What is wrong with the C5?
- Thread starter Lessss
- Start date
Hmm I posted this already but the topic appears to have disappeared. Odd
What is wrong with the C5. To me it looks like a low to the ground recumbent with a fairing and possibly a trunk??
Different strokes for different folks...
But personally... it looks like a shoe ! :wink:
But personally... it looks like a shoe ! :wink:
xyster
10 MW
lemmiwinks
100 W
Apart from the nerd factor (which is high with any EV, but higher with the C5 unfortunately) I believe they were grossly underpowered and quite expensive too. Range wasn't too awe inspiring either. There's plenty of info out there about them, go here http://www.sinclairc5.com/ and click "My C5 Story" in the left hand pane.
Geebee
1 kW
I quite like the fairing shape and it would be easy to add extra weather protection (I think there was such an option when they came out).
Rebuilt nowdays with a hub motor, option of litium battery, lighten up the shell and make the bike parts more usable ie. more gears and length adjustment.
With the above specs it would be a nice fast compact velomobile and the electric assist could be just that an assist. Or shove a Puma hub in it and it will keep up with cars.
Rebuilt nowdays with a hub motor, option of litium battery, lighten up the shell and make the bike parts more usable ie. more gears and length adjustment.
With the above specs it would be a nice fast compact velomobile and the electric assist could be just that an assist. Or shove a Puma hub in it and it will keep up with cars.
Malcolm
10 kW
Just transferred this from deecanio's thread as I don't want to hijack it. Knoxie mentioned that he was working on a C5.
Malcolm wrote:
Aarghhh. No Knoxie, not the C5!!
I really admire the stuff you're doing mate, but that's a step too far. That creation must have set back the electric vehicle movement a couple of decades in the UK. Whenever I mention electric vehicles (possibly more often than the average person) you can almost guarantee that someone will start cracking jokes about the C5. Clive Sinclair is a very clever bloke, but he really lost the plot there.
Even if you add a Perm motor and a half a dozen LiPo packs and turn it in to a Porsche-eater you've still got one hell of an image problem. Do yourself a favour and stick it back on ebay.
Knoxie wrote:
Noooo I disagree with you there!! the C5 failed for a number of reasons that I cant go in to as there isn't enough board space for it!! ha ha but I really was hooked by them back in school and it is the main reason why I am doing what I do now!! so this is why I agreed to pep this up for a friend.
My friend has 3 of them and uses them for promotional purposes (they are always being used) he runs a gym and uses girlies with his gym logo on the side to distribute Leaflets for the gym in the town, this works really well as people do stop and talk when they see pretty ladies in these strange electric bikes from years ago.
One of the bikes is however a bit tired so I am going to look at it for him and do a few upgrades to get him going quicker.
I think the C5 was a great Idea by a great man, he was poorly advised and didn't listen, I still think they are cool! and I don't care about image at all, I ride a BMX, a 3 wheeler and a crazy electric bike!! I stopped worrying about image years ago
I'm a tinkerer and I love fixing things and improving them, I was flat out last year and its looking like this year I am going to be very very busy indeed if it all pans out.
Granny bikes like Powabyke and cheapo Chinese things with top boxes are what's setting back things mate, oh and our stupid law which is why I largely ignore it.
Id be pretty sure Malc you will want to try the C5 when I have done the business on it!! he he.
Don't get me wrong Knoxie, I love three-wheelers. I've built a couple of tadpole trikes myself and think they're a blast to ride. (I'd love to have a go on that kmx of yours!)
It's because I like three-wheelers so much that I think the C5 is so awful. It went wrong right from the original design brief. If you're going to put all that money and expertise into creating a three-wheeler, then it should look good, perform well and be fun to drive.
I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I'm with ypedal – it looks like a giant slipper! It's also got the wheels the wrong way round. OK, there are engineering advantages and disadvantages to both arrangements, but aesthetically two wheels at the front just looks better. It's also a lot more fun, as you know from drifting in the snow.
The UK speed restrictions and power restrictions crippled the performance, but that was only because Clive Sinclair chose to follow them. As a result he got a trike that would go faster if you threw away the motor and batteries and just pedalled it.
If he had set out to make a machine that could be licensed as a moped (with power equivalent to a 50cc bike) it could have been a really viable machine.
As a tinkerer myself I'd love to mess around with a C5, but as someone who's sick of seeing more and more SUV's I want to see an electric vehicle with some real street cred that can tempt people to leave the SUV at home occasionally.
Rant over.
Keep us posted on your progress, and watch out for that front wheel. Apparently it's made of plastic that softens when the brakes overheat!!
Malcolm wrote:
Aarghhh. No Knoxie, not the C5!!
I really admire the stuff you're doing mate, but that's a step too far. That creation must have set back the electric vehicle movement a couple of decades in the UK. Whenever I mention electric vehicles (possibly more often than the average person) you can almost guarantee that someone will start cracking jokes about the C5. Clive Sinclair is a very clever bloke, but he really lost the plot there.
Even if you add a Perm motor and a half a dozen LiPo packs and turn it in to a Porsche-eater you've still got one hell of an image problem. Do yourself a favour and stick it back on ebay.
Knoxie wrote:
Noooo I disagree with you there!! the C5 failed for a number of reasons that I cant go in to as there isn't enough board space for it!! ha ha but I really was hooked by them back in school and it is the main reason why I am doing what I do now!! so this is why I agreed to pep this up for a friend.
My friend has 3 of them and uses them for promotional purposes (they are always being used) he runs a gym and uses girlies with his gym logo on the side to distribute Leaflets for the gym in the town, this works really well as people do stop and talk when they see pretty ladies in these strange electric bikes from years ago.
One of the bikes is however a bit tired so I am going to look at it for him and do a few upgrades to get him going quicker.
I think the C5 was a great Idea by a great man, he was poorly advised and didn't listen, I still think they are cool! and I don't care about image at all, I ride a BMX, a 3 wheeler and a crazy electric bike!! I stopped worrying about image years ago
I'm a tinkerer and I love fixing things and improving them, I was flat out last year and its looking like this year I am going to be very very busy indeed if it all pans out.
Granny bikes like Powabyke and cheapo Chinese things with top boxes are what's setting back things mate, oh and our stupid law which is why I largely ignore it.
Id be pretty sure Malc you will want to try the C5 when I have done the business on it!! he he.
Don't get me wrong Knoxie, I love three-wheelers. I've built a couple of tadpole trikes myself and think they're a blast to ride. (I'd love to have a go on that kmx of yours!)
It's because I like three-wheelers so much that I think the C5 is so awful. It went wrong right from the original design brief. If you're going to put all that money and expertise into creating a three-wheeler, then it should look good, perform well and be fun to drive.
I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I'm with ypedal – it looks like a giant slipper! It's also got the wheels the wrong way round. OK, there are engineering advantages and disadvantages to both arrangements, but aesthetically two wheels at the front just looks better. It's also a lot more fun, as you know from drifting in the snow.
The UK speed restrictions and power restrictions crippled the performance, but that was only because Clive Sinclair chose to follow them. As a result he got a trike that would go faster if you threw away the motor and batteries and just pedalled it.
If he had set out to make a machine that could be licensed as a moped (with power equivalent to a 50cc bike) it could have been a really viable machine.
As a tinkerer myself I'd love to mess around with a C5, but as someone who's sick of seeing more and more SUV's I want to see an electric vehicle with some real street cred that can tempt people to leave the SUV at home occasionally.
Rant over.
Keep us posted on your progress, and watch out for that front wheel. Apparently it's made of plastic that softens when the brakes overheat!!
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