A modern take on Sinclair's C5?

[kitebuggy]

So I saw a real C5 yesterday in town - I'm sure this only happens in Cambridge! - and this had me wondering:

- Considering the advances in electric motors, regenerative braking, batteries, energy efficient lights, carbon fibre and CAD/CAM design;

- Coupled with a more energy-conscious, environment and climate-friendly green agenda;

- Increased discretionary spending on two-wheeled vehicles, typically only used for short journeys;

- And finally, being in the 21st century...

... isn't it about time that someone recycled this idea and tried it again?

 

[Ted]

Renault Twizy seems to have done that with none of the terrible safety concerns of the C5

 

[kitebuggy]

That's the idea, though price point and size are bigger than I had in mind. The C5 would be at sub-£2k in today's pricing, I'd estimate - the price of a very decent bike.

 

[kitebuggy]

And other than being short in stature, what where the safety concerns of the original C5 when it was released?

 

[Minz]

Being almost lay down in a vehicle with the strength of a condom alongside the wheels of a juggernaut on a dual carriageway would have some safety concerns for me.

But, on a dedicated cycle path away from traffic then maybe.

 

[kitebuggy]

Yup, but not much different than being on a bike - or even a moped, for that matter. Still, for short urban commutes, this does seem a possible market gap for someone to fill.

 

[Ted]

I remember thinking what a good idea they were when they first came out until I saw a feature with one being driven by I think Stirling Moss on the road and realising what a death trap it was.
Low, slow, flimsy, hard to see, not really a surprise it was a flop.
Nearly a great idea though.

 

[Giantvanman]

... isn't it about time that someone recycled this idea and tried it again?

Sinclairly hope not. Times five.

 

[kitebuggy]

To be fair, I guess this user group would not be the target customer demographic.

 

[BTB 500]

Technology has moved on ... the logical successor is probably the G-Wiz, which is at least a bit more visible.

 

[grober]

To be fair they were crap and dangerous with it. Had they been any good there might might have been a place for them in pedestrian precincts-if such things existed in the 80's where they might have undergone a process of role reversal. Instead of being the "target of opportunity" for larger vehicles on the open road they would metamorphose into "stealth bombers" mowing down hapless pensioners who wouldn't hear them coming. A clever concept which ultimately took no account of the real world they were supposed to inhabit. Fatally flawed design- so no we don't want anything like that again. :fail Sorry
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[Charles Morgan]

I remember having a Sinclair calculator, a ZX81 (with a dodgy chip that miscalculated pi so a circle looked like a rugby ball - I am certain the shady maths master who sold it to me knew) and a ZX Spectrum bought from the Sunday Times which had a keyboard that died section by section, minute by minute since the time I took it out of its box. So even if the C5 had been a good concept, which it wasn't, the average owner would have died under the wheels of an Allegro as the Sinclair made bits died at the least good moment.

 

[BTB 500]

Yes I had a Sinclair scientific calculator, although I remember we had to use slide rules as well.

 

[boxbrownie]

Yup, but not much different than being on a bike - or even a moped, for that matter.

IMHO it is quite different, it's like those bl00dy "recumbent" bikes, so low as to be sometimes invisible to car drivers, and those silly flags they fly do not make up for a 20stone Lycra clad cyclist viewed through the rear view mirrors.

 

[balge]

Perfect for Cambridge.

 

[boxbrownie]

Perfect for Cambridge.

Yep, the silent electric buses can squash three visiting Professors in one trip to the town centre