Restoring a Sinclair C5
11 comments
·April 27, 2025jdsnape
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!
Lio
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
hackingonempty
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...
tonyedgecombe
I've been pondering getting one of these in my old age:
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.
ggm
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.
webprofusion
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.
bizzyskillet
I think "Recumbent Tricycle" is my new favourite insult
detaro
... why would that be an insult?
zabzonk
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.
LeoPanthera
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.
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 :)