Sinclair C5 - A Great British Failure! (we love a failure!)
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- Опубликовано: 1 май 2021
- The Sinclair C5 trike has pedal and/or electric power and was meant to revolutionise personal transport! Instead, they sold only 8000 of the 14,000 they had built, making it rather a disaster. Despite that, they have cult following today, and might just be more relevant than ever, almost forty years after they were launched.
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Hey everyone, glad you enjoyed the C5s 😁, if you want to see my brother driving it through McDonalds Drive-Thru here’s the link: ruclips.net/video/siqeU0BsOt0/видео.html
Thought the lass in the fiesta was going to rear end the C5
@@lofty7180 Yeah, the lass is actually a guy who used to work where I work 😂
@@williamplimmer oops, my bad.🤭
Oh also meant to say great job Ian, I thoroughly enjoyed watching with your knowledge about them and seeing it gliding down the seafront promenade, even though I already use it almost weekly 👍
Great that it gets used and enjoyed! Love these things 👍
the woman on the mobility scooter was like "why isn't mine as good as that?"
@Simon Hopkin No. The lady may well have thought "why isn't mine as good as that?" but she wasn't "like" anything.
@@MrCuddlyable3
Bonus curmudgeon points awarded!
@@skylined5534 A linguist ventures that the word CURMUDGEON combines a first syllable "cur" (dog) with Gaelic "muigean" (disagreeable person). English dictionaries define CURMUDGEON n. a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas, someone who gets annoyed easily, especially an old person. Trying to guess what motive or meaning an Internet nobody called Skylined has in posting a word that is obscure and insulting would be to waste time on a mental blip fantasy
@@MrCuddlyable3
God, you're tiresomely stupid.
@@skylined5534 not to be one, but I think 'pedant' (someone obsessed with detail and pointing out mistakes) may be the term you seek :)
It doesnt matter anyway. Language changes. '- was like' has been a colloquially acceptable substitute for 'said' or 'thought' for years now (at least since I was in school, and I'm in my forties!)
I suggest our language policing friend change his screen name, since based on this limited exchange he seems about as cuddly as Mr. Grinch's proverbial eel.
Sir Clive was 30 years too early with this. If it was out now, it would be on everyone’s Christmas list.
Agree completely... He was too far ahead of his time ..
I very much doubt that!
Respectfully disagree. The concept was sound, but creating a tiny three-wheeled car was a mistake. The ideals behind the C5 are much better embodied by current e-bikes with better visibility, better comfort, and infinitely better disc brakes. E-bikes are an excellent execution of the concept of personal transportation, the C5 is not.
@@CaptHollister Yes but you’re not acknowledging the fact that, this is way before the modern personal electrical bikes etc, that we see today! The same argument could be used over the preference of a Rifle over a Spear in times of conflict! We’ve moved on and so has technology!
@@TheEverest72 Au contraire. My argument is that because of all the advances in the intervening decades, the C5 would not be on everyone's Christmas list if it were launched today.
I sometimes think that if the C5 wasn't so mocked, it could sell well in today's market filled with e-bikes and e-scooters :)
yes he was about 30 years too early to the market with that, with a LIPO installed those C5 go like the clappers
I suspect you are right. A modern version of this would sell very well indeed.
I think the height of a C5 would always be a problem. But you're quite right, it now looks like an idea that was ahead of its time, but just needed a tweak to the form factor, and better battery technology.
Absolutely. Sir Clive’s only crime was to be so well ahead of his time. I could see fleets of these at park and rides perhaps with the canopy option. Just imagine what mobility scooter regenerative braking could have added. As an occasional Cambridge driver I can see where he was going.
It was very much the forerunner of the mobility scooter really, wasn't it
I remember when I used to own a C5 a few years back and I loved it. I took it out almost every weekend and the steering/ seating position was fantastic (even if I was almost ran over). I spoke to Sir Clive over the phone a year or so ago, and I'm hoping to go meet him when possible after lockdown restrictions ease. I bet he'd like to hear the fact that he still gets praise for the little C5.
Fantastic review Ian.
As Ian powers past a mobility scooter :-) the British Weather was on your side also.
Reminds me of Steph of "IDAC", driving that "Cozy-whatever-it was", smoking by a mobility scooter at 10MPH!
I personally think that the C5 is a rather elegant design,although even pedestrians look terrifying from that height. I’m sure you already know that one of the optional extras was a flag on a long stalk to make you more visible to other vehicles and the wing mirror came in handy so you could see the truck before you disappeared underneath it. I think Sir Clive Sinclair went on to produce an electric motor that could be fitted to an ordinary bicycle, years before the power assisted machines that we have today. On a personal note, I’m happy to see that there is still a breeding pair of C5s out there and Weston looks lovely.
@Alfred Wedmore Exactly this. He had a total inability to adapt ideas and would push ahead down his own route. Just like his backing of small CRT's against the new Japanese LCD displays.
Fun fact : I used to work for Lotus in the mid/late eighties and there were a small number of the bare bodies for these (presumably used as mules etc in the chassis development process) and I and my mates from the powertrain dept used to sit in them and have our packed lunches.
Well, it’s a fact!
If this was on sale today especially with a badge saying
ECO, Pure, Or i-peddle or even an Apple logo. It would be a licence to print money.
and death certificates
Unfortunately due to our stupid road laws, they wouldn't be legal today but I suspect you are right! :(
Electric bikes such as this aren't allow to self propel anymore, you can still have older ones that do but new ones built today have to be assist only.
The UK government like to take the fun out of everything :(
@@thebaldconvict True, but they ARE looking at changing the law, and they have already allowed electric vehicles to be rented out by councils as a trial. But loads of people already have electric scooters and other personal vehicles which are illegal, but are common on the pavements. The fact that the items are so popular - depsite being illegal - goes to show how relelvant the conecpt is now, and really how much could be done with the modern battery tech. Sir Clive's idea was that these would be a success and battery tech would advance to allow him to build electric cars (the C10 and C15 had been sketched).
@@imnotamechanic3491 I agree, as the owner of both an electric bike and an electric scooter they are both amazing products but I'm not convinced they are going to legalise scooters or other propelled devices for private ownership.
I hope they do but with the bad press I suspect the trials will either cease as a failure or end up for hire only (in which case my scooter will have new decals haha.
Watch this space I guess, I have my fingers crossed that I will finally be able to ride the scooter without always having an alley nearby to dive down just in case!
They won't legalise anything they cant tax, regulate and insist on a complicated and expensive test for. God, even bicycles invoke the ire of old people in local newspaper letters sections, who want everything possible (including registration, licensing, taxationband insurance) done to discourage travelling by any method other than Range Rover. And unfortunately, demographics mean that said people currently make up the vast majority of the voter base.
Finally a vehicle which makes TWC seem positively luxurious.
Made me smile
@@OAKSEY-wd4vs I aim to please.
TWC has doors......and a windscreen.....and other such luxuries
the world needs electric twk's that's the answer, nearer full size (ish) with electric power, a better city car then many.
@@gazonatrike7005 there actually is such a thing being manufactured! Though I’ve gone and forgotten the name. A relative who uses a power chair pointed it out to me a year or two ago.
Furious Driving Matt will be so Jealous!🤣
I'd rather think it will motivate him to finish his C5 than making him jealous. ;)
Maybe the lack of tea shelf is off-putting...
This one is in considerably better and original condition.
I’ve offered for furious to come and film a car here so he can have a quick blast in it if he wants 😊
@@HubNut at a push I suppose you could get one of those tv trays with the fold away legs and mount it on the C5 over your legs.
I wouldn't recommend it whilst in motion or you could end up with your afternoon tea in your lap.🤣
Now THIS is the proper C5, never mind that Citroen imposter 😛
C5 was ahead of it’s time, would be very popular if updated and re released today, having rode one, yes that steering is a strange sensation
Boom. Made it in to a Hubnut video. 5.23, on the right, looking over shoulder.
Did you recognise him at the time?
@@jacobfoster6773 yep. He was doing a bit to camera though and I wasn't about to wreck that by saying hello!
lol yes I see you😂👏🏻👏🏻
*Fun Fact*
Series 1 Brum children TV show from the 90s.
Brum used a Sinclair C5 motor.
Well done Ian for making this video on the C5. My nephew, Edward Green restores and maintains C5s - he's based in Margate and is kept busy by enthusiasts and users. Now I'm in my seventies I use an electric bike - great bits of kit
You could have orange day glow pennant flags as an accessory so that other traffic could see you. You could also have a grey fitted plastic Mac cover for wet weather protection 👍😎
Ah, like the kind that let you legally take mobility scooters onto dual carriageways! (Or something like that..)
It will always amuse me how there is a headlight...imagine how terrifying a night time drive would be!
I go out on it at night quite often however it must be said I keep to the cycle lanes and promenade as much as possible!
Reminds me of the "Roses of Success" inventors' song on Chitty Chity Bang Bang - the line Alexander Graham knew failure well; he took a lot of knocks to ring that bell!
.... relates to the C5 and the other legendary designs you mention 🙂
Great video! If you ever find yourself in northern Denmark then I have a mini-el (the C5's Danish cousin) that I would be happy to lend for a test drive
I put a pair of those big apple tyres on a bike of mine to replace what, I thought, were a reasonably fast rolling pair. The difference was unreal, it feels like I'm being pushed up hills!
What a retro blast from the past!! It is great to see you driving the Sinclair C5 and having a great time & that you had fun along the way, plus lovely weather too.
Surely this will be your most-watched video soon, C5's are so interesting
I mentioned Clive sinclair in your video last week with the other c5 and you started a new week in the other c5! Wow
witchcraft
They are such cute little vehicles, I can see the logic behind them, however I can also understand why they didn’t revolutionise city transportation!.
I knew someone who owned one. His had a little flag on a long stick mounted at the rear. This helped improve its visibility in traffic. But as someone else said. Not a lot.
He rode on because he had lost his license. One disadvantage was that he needed to bring it in the pub to stop it being pinched. Something that did happen in the end. The battery went flat while on his way home from work. He left it at the side of the road. Walked to a phone box. Phoned a friend who picked him up in a van. Unfortunately by the time they reached the breakdown spot the C5 had been stolen. We did wonder if had been an insurance job.
The Mallory Park race track had some. Don’t know what happened in the end but for a few years they resided in a building next to the hairpin.
The C5 looks as though it could be used for scooping up pedestrians.
My Grandads factory used to assemble these in West Moors, Dorset! As a little boy I was lucky enough to be able to drive one - I couldn’t reach the pedals as I was too short... Couldn’t really see where I was going either but could press the ‘go’ button and could see round the side of the fairing.
I remember the hype in January 85. By April that year they were selling them reduced from £400 to £100. Nobody wanted them even at that price. One pulled out in front of my bike one day. They are low down even when you're riding behind. Best blocks for plastic wheels are the soft compound BMX brake blocks which suit mag wheels. Clive Sinclair owned a Bond Bug. Hence the shape similarity.
I loved this video and the way you shot it. The Sinclair C5 was way way waaaayyy beyond its time. Look at all the ridiculous electric scooters there are floating about the streets now, imagine if Sinclair had found a way to make a pay as you go hire system for these back in the day? Well, that would have still been a disaster as cykling in he UK in the 1980's was even more dangerous than it is now, and a Sinclair C5 on those roads would never have survived. My brother and I found a place we could hire some on a private track made in a car park in Cornwall back in the mid 1980's. The chap basically ran them like a seaside go-kart ride. I remember them being very smooth, comfortable and fast, but I was 12 or 13 years old at the time and its now over 3 decades ago. Thanks for the great memories and another fun video :-)
Firstly loved this Video, reminds me of when I went to see one, on display, in a Rumbelows believe they were £400 in 1985! If I remember correctly, the seating position was supposedly a "natural" position the body takes when sitting with the legs outstretched, the arms/hands simply placed either side of the hips! Hence the position of the handlebars. My father lives in Weston-Super-Mud! so I know it well, so must congratulate you for being able to navigate those things on Weston Promenade on a (busy) Sunny afternoon! But the Promenade is an amazingly billiard flat surface that goes on for miles. My two daughters enjoy travelling up and down Weston Promenade riding the modern day equivalent of a C5.....a "hover board" with go-kart attachment (single-wheel at the front)!
it was brilliant watching everyone turn around when you went past them!
Always draws attention when I go down the prom!
Like recumbent bicycles, I wouldn't ride one on the road (given the attitudes and incompetence of many drivers now - all it takes is one lorry driver on his phone and you're roadkill) but they would be perfect for the growing bike infrastructure in cities. I bet riding one around the Netherlands would be a wonderful experience. Very much an idea ahead of its time, that deserves another look now that battery tech has advanced so far.
Great video Ian, well done. The camera in front works so well!
They gave one away in a raffle at our school. I was GUTTED when I didn't win it. I bought loads of tickets :(
Darn, really unlucky :(
Fantastic, thanks for showing us this. Mocked at the time but of course it was to be 30+ years before we'd again see something pedalled with battery assistance, and today's e-bikes are hugely successful.
Great video 📹 the horn sounds like my washing machine. I think they were ahead of their time. Nice day at sunny weston super mare.
I have ridden the C5 and the Zike, both competent machines for the era, the C5 was a bit unstable in tight turns, as stated in the video lower than a snakes shadow, but the Zike was a great concept, literally decades ahead of its time. Go on Sir Clive, give us another great product.
In the ZX Spectrum Assembly Language, there's a programming instruction called 'Push BC' (push bike!). The Hexadecimal number (base 16) for that instruction was 'C5' ((12*16)+5=197). Now you know how it got its name
They should have labelled the throttle MOV
I remeber these well. Excellent camera work here. The tracking shots and POVs bring the whole experience to life. Great day for it too
Tracking shots were all me 😁
Great video I'm from Merthyr and remember them being launched. I knew someone who used to work in the Hoover factory and he said that they were told to take many of the unsold and incomplete C5s just up the road to the mountain side where they were buried in the landfill that was operating at the time. How ridiculous is that.
I'm glad you brought it up, because watching this the first thing that came to mind is that these are early e-bikes. In my neck of the woods, Covid lockdown has caused an explosion in the sale of e-bikes as people, including my wife and I, find them ideal for local errands. 35 years on, the tech is far superior as you might expect, but the overall concept of the C5 was sound.
Phenomenal video as always, but even more phenomenal camera work there; joy to watch!
My tracking shots turned out better than I thought they would 😁
This is like the ideal place for them. I still think they'd feel unsafe on the public roads but as a vehicle for going up and down the prom they'd be great.
Yeah it is great fun, just have to be careful not to hit anyone when it’s busy
Would be great to see what the reaction was if they where released today with modern electrics
Yeah, sell this today as a luxury alternative to an electric bicycle, with a decent range (guess you could easily get 80 miles out of it with a modern battery), a quality seat, a nice tablet as a dash and maybe a foldable top in case it rains. Have it produced by Apple for double sales numbers.
Check out the Carver Earth EV. It's a modern take on a C5. Http://Carver.earth
@@NigelPond €9,980!??!?!?! ouch
@@TheGramophoneGirl yeah, it's not cheap
@@NigelPond From door to door with a smile!
Also let down by english weather, there was an optional raincoat and covers to keep the rain off the driver and vehicle, but it doesn't look like much fun.
Excellent video. Reminded me how much fun they are. I must get my Sinclair C5 out from the garage as I've not used it in ages.
Brilliant video Ian 👍 there still cool looking all these yrs on always wanted one
A shop I worked for in the 1980s had one in for sale when they were new. We had to give it away as a prize in a raffle just to get rid of the thing in the end !
Did you went there with your C5 to see a C5?
I did!
@@HubNut I knew it !
Wish I’d have seen you, you’re in my neck of the woods for a change
Looks like you had some good fun on your day out in WSM 👍
A fun video Ian ! Great use of a unique opportunity. I remember the magazine articles from the 80s on these.
I knew folks who bought the Sinclair computer.
Thanks well done !
Rich&2carnivoris kittys
🍖🐈⬛🐈🇺🇲❤
I really must fix my C5, I used to drive it to the school I worked at during uni, the kids loved it! Good summary of it, really no car will come close to attracting to the amount of attention a C5 does, there is no suspension (I have the seat mat - think camping mat thickness, and that does save your spine!), but its great fun to ride. I never found it daunting to drive in a 40mph limit - due to its unique nature I found that people tended to gie it a lot more room that they would when I rode a bike - although the width is fairly similar. The rear brake is a proper drum and packs good stopping power - the problem was it only braked the right wheel so an emergency brake meant veering to the right (toward traffic!). There was an estate with cycle lanes near me which was nice to drive round - except the appalling turning circle (I recall i could just about do a 180 on a 2 lane road), which meant I needed to get out every time the path stopped abruptly and crossed a road.
i wanted one of these so badly when i was a kid,but they were really expensive.Still love to have one.
Outstanding video. Well done.
They used to hire them out in weston. I remember hooning about in one of those in weston in the late 80's. They were great and fun.
I remember seeing a part of the sea front cordoned off with a load of them to hire and wondered if it was in Weston. I think it was a year or two after Sinclair had been forced to sell his business to Amstrad so they were already a bit retro.
A good alternative to donkey rides.
I think mine (the one in the video) was one of the ones that used to get hired out in Weston. It’s a November 1984 so it’s a pretty early one
Great video which made it look fun to drive. I don't recall the original adverts giving that impression.
It shouldn't have been promoted for road use.
Great fun, thank you! Perhaps the museum you visited can adopt a pair for the ride experience!
They do have at least one...
Fascinated by these ever since seeing one in Coventry transport museum. Now trying to work out if I could get hold of one and, more importantly, hide it from my Wife 😋 Nice to see you out and about, looks like fun! All the best!
Very interesting! Largely considered to be a joke of car, but in retrospect it was actually a super-clever recumbent tricycle.
Great fun and really interesting, thanks for posting :) did you see - I think it was on salvage hunters the restorers or some such who had one and modernised it with better batteries and motor and the think it about 60mph!!!!
I could have saved Clive Sinclair millions by telling him to bolt the electric system from the C5 to an ordinary bike frame. I'm sure that would have sold very well
9:00 is an epic moment 🤣
Ian you blew those shopriders away! I was hoping for a drag race between the two c5s mind you
I wonder if anyone has fitted a more efficient and powerful motor could be really really fun.
Tried one out in the 80's but had trouble reaching the pedals as only 5' 2.5" with shorter than normal legs to body ratio. This made steering very awkward as one was touching the handlebars when extended. An adjustable seat would have been a vast improvement. A sale lost.
Great review Ian! Good camera work 😊
Thank you, (I’m the tracking shot C5) 😛
Hi,
l recall at the time all the hype before it was released. When l first saw it l couldn't believe my eyes and thought what was Sinclair ever thinking of!!
Keep up the good work and stay safe.
I've been hoping you'd try out the C5 for ages! Nice one Hubnut :D (Added after watching....) WANT!
Nice, I saw you both testing these. Didn’t notice it was hubnut lol
My goodness, not 1, but 2! Now I feel old at 46, never ridden one. 👍🇬🇧🏴
I live not far from where these were first built. Sadly, the building is no more and ironically a Halfords stands in its place. My Sister, being a member of the young journalist club at the time, was one of the first to drive one on the day it was launched. Unlike the others, she gave it quite a good review in her newspaper column saying it was a vehicle for the future when oil runs out!!
Great video your best review yet!
9:00 Should have done a drag race 🏁
awesome i would love to get my hands on one and do some modifications mainly new technology battery and motor always loved these things
Brilliant. I also have a C5 and love it.
Recumbents as the C5 are still a niche market. And no possibility to adjust to the drivers length will ruin your knees after 5 minutes of pedaling. A complete desaster even today. But what fun it must be to ride one :-D
He was ahead of his time - how many electric bicycles are there now for sale. That said, the execution was somewhat questionable 😂
It was a shame that battery technology sucked at the time otherwise he would have been the Tesla of his time.
@@phillipsmiley5930 it’s well known that battery density limited range.
@@phillipsmiley5930 obviously the power limit limited maximum speed and hill climb. But it doesn’t inherently limit range the same way, and therefore the range was more due to weight from battery density. If you have a 1kWh battery you can get 4 hours at a 250W power limit. If you could fit in 4kWh instead, even still with a 250W limit, you could get 16 hours of output instead, and correspondingly 4x the range. But the density of the batteries limited the total Wh capacity while being light enough for the 250W limit. In that sense, if the power limit were higher, then you could afford to put more weight in the vehicle, but battery density has fundamental weight limits even outside of regulations (like the rocket equation). Diminishing returns kick in, and you don’t get as much increased range even when you add in more Wh, because you need even more W to counteract the down force from the extra mass. Lead-acid batteries have a really low point of diminishing returns, even electric GM test cars from the ‘70s with no power limit just couldn’t go very far because of battery density. Trying to do any better on a tiny bike wasn’t going to happen with their battery chemistry.
Great video.. I just missed out on 1 of these last year.. gutted
Awesome channel. Just hit the sub button 👍
I was the proud owner of a Sinclair ZX81 with a 16K RAM pack back in the day. ;¬)
I have owned recumbent bikes. A three wheel Trice and a Peer Gynt.
On the Peer Gynt two wheel the steering was under the seat.
I missed out on a unboxed C5. The C5 is as relevant as ever.
Lo26 Same bike I have modified good for 25mph 10 amp 48v 500w motor. 30miles range. When I got it 10 miles. Modified gearing ratio, high pressure tyres up from 40psi to 90psi (still want to try racing tyres 110psi.) Removed unnecessary weight and pedal assist. Fantastic. I could upgrade to a 14 amp battery but I like getting the most from the least. The battery pack is light and cheaper than Bosch equivalent good 700 charge cycle. Carry a spare battery you have a range of 60miles. A battery is approx 250 300 pounds verses the more expensive Bosch.
I recommend the hub motor as opposed to the Crank cadence motor. The harder faster you pedal the power is metered. The Lo26 is a bit dim witted in power take off. 5 different power settings. All or nothing in delivery but once used its simpler less expensive. I keep to settings 1 and 2 as gearing is short. Hilly where I live.
Lo26 from £650 to £700. Verses the Bosch £1,500.
My bro gave me his Lo26 Chinese Ebike I wanted to hate it but it really us a fantastic cheep surprising durable bike. You do have to go over the bike. Bearings are tight from factory I adjust proper. The front wheel bearings are way to tight etc.
Trice ice Recumbent is efficient I'd be hitting 40mph coasting with no faring. Add a 700c wheel with a motor. Using a 10amp hr 48v 500w motor. I reckon I'd better my 30 mile range than on an conventional Lo26 using farings etc.
I feel electric cars should take the cycle car approach they are simply too heavy.
Remember cycle defensive but respect the traffic at the same time.
They did sell a high visibility mast for the back and even custom fit cushions, I still have the original brochure. I have ridden one on the road once and it was very scary, cars can barely see you and lorries will not see you at all. I think the current modern equivalent is the electric scooter obviously they are still currently illegal to use on the roads, but then the C5 only came about due to a rule change on motorised vehicles.
They appear to have the same per-mag motor as used in Philips washing machines of the time. Last one I saw was in a Philips "Slimstar 850".
Sir Clive Sinclair was years ahead of his time with this C5 design. Today there are similar cars being built all over the world now that time and technology have caught up with Sir Clive's design and made it viable. Perhaps he could now update it and make a 21st century version?
A bike hire shop in Rothesay had some of these but, unfortunately, just north of the shop was a slight rise and the hirers were disinclined (ha ha) to pedal, so their range was very much curtailed. And a supervisor of mine, a serial collector of stationary engines, weird machines, etc had one which he put into police livery for a laugh.
Magnificent. Rightly likened to such as the Austin 3 litre and Citroën SM. it's quite possible that Sir Clive Sinclair had the future in his hands.
The C5 is certainly better looking than a Tesla. Probably better built by Hoover as well. Excellent Ian. They didn't sell well in Ireland because it rains quite a lot here, that was a weak spot on C5s and bicycles as well of course.
I think it could do with one of them flags stuck on the back. 👍😁
As a kid I really wanted one of these!
The C5's were way ahead of their time. Quite futuristic, but a bit held back by technology.
I think if they would be launched today, with a bit more modern tech, they would be quite popular.
At 8:30 you can hear kid say "look at that!"
I hired one in Millport in the 90's I think. Was great fun on a small island :)
Hi Ian, great video I bet you really enjoyed that, And you got quite a few heads turning,I bet the hublets, would like one.go ok d video as all ways keep it up,
I first saw one of these on a cruise around the Greek islands that my parents took me on in the 80's. The captain of the ship had one and he would always race past all the passengers walking away from the ship to arrive at the nearest bar before us.
I think the best combo would be to drive a reliant robin for more road based driving, then if you wanted to hop onto a path and admire the scenery, get an ice cream, take the C5 out, seems like a perfect little country exploring combo to me! You can race through pedestrians as if it were on the road but not get arrested, 15mph of fun! My great Nan at the age of 99 lives in WSM, i remember walking across the beachfront quite a few years back, definitely a lovely place to visit.
I only recall seeing on C5 being driven on the road. This was on a busy roundabout near Stockwell tube station in the very early Eighties. Its driver had a look of determined terror on his face as he tried to negotiated traffic consisting of buses and large lorries, his head on a level below their axles. The only other time I have seen C5s was as a kiddies ride on Herne Bay seafront.
it struck me that Sir Clive had unwittingly got into the assisted suicide business.
I'd love to have a go on one. I'm off to research modern electric recumbent bicycles now!
Ah Weston Super Mud... what a great way to get up & down the sea front!
Love this video, I so anted one when they were first released in 1985 but they were over £400 althoug the price did crumble after a few months. One day I will find one local to me on Ebay that I can ride/drove home
Brilliant, and a perfect day and location for it 🧡👍
That brings back memories my mates father used to have a couple back in the day they're ok until the battery ran out trying to riding back was hard work still good fun when you were a kid👍
I've loved these things ever since i was a child. Never owned one, though... Never even drove one!
Superb video thanks
A really nice video. I have a C5. Great fun. Obviously no use in traffic but in quiet areas and cycle lanes superb. ☺️