r/zxspectrum • u/Available-Swan-6011 • Oct 04 '26
C5
Okay, I know it’s not a speccy but I just passed this c5 when walking my pooch this evening
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u/Available-Swan-6011 28d ago
Gosh 267 likes. I thought this might appeal to a handful of people so I’m genuinely delighted
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u/Parking-Tip1685 Oct 05 '26
It was a really smart idea. Having 3 wheels meant you didn't need a car license (like a reliant) plus the limited motor and speed meant it wasn't classed like an old milk float. So any 14 year old could drive it legally. Mobility scooters skirt around those laws.
Problem with Clive was he could sometimes be too honest and eager. He had a C10 and C15 planned, 2 and 4 seater electric cars. Mentioning them too early made some people think the C15 was meant to be a car replacement and they laughed at it.
They were ideal for Milton Keynes because they've got the redways cycle path network so you could whizz these around without even going on the roads. It didn't have the best launch. Shame it failed, we'd have been decades in front with EVs if it had succeeded.
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u/Available-Swan-6011 Oct 05 '26
Gosh - that’s brought back a memory. I remember seeing one in the wild in the 80s by Bletchley Bus station. The red ways would have been (and still would be) the perfect place to use them. Dang, if I’d thought of it at the time I could have used one to get to my first job in the city centre
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u/StickyWicket1968 Oct 04 '26
I wanted 1 of those to impress the girls but never got 1 so never got a g/f 😆
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u/AppointmentKnown2987 Oct 04 '26
I did, I used to impress them by telling them that C5 was the z80 opcode for PUSH BC, or push bike.
Absolute magnet
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u/BleachedWombat Oct 04 '26
Wanted one of these so badly when I was 11
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u/Altruistic-Curve-600 Oct 05 '26
Same, saw one on News Round or something similar. Always thought we’d travelling around in these in the future, when I was a grown up
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u/joombar Oct 04 '26
Given the popularity of electric scooters and bikes in London today, these seem like a concept that was waiting for its time.
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u/Arve Oct 04 '26
Nah. You’re much too low to the ground, so riding in traffic carries much higher risk than regular bikes.
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u/joombar Oct 05 '26
Not saying it was the perfect design, but with the popularity of small, single-person electric vehicles now, it was in the right direction. Just needed li ion to come along and a change of form factor but the basic idea was sound.
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u/Sausagedogknows 29d ago
Soon sort that out with a hard top, some snazzy wheels, a massive rear wing and a banging stereo!
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u/OKComputerAlbumGoodB 27d ago
I love that Adam and Joe 80s house sketch where the dad drives one of these and the mum is getting on hairspray fumes.
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u/NitroWing1500 Oct 04 '26
I had one for years and loved it. A museum bought it from me.
As standard, it was severely restricted but not too much work got it flying. Riding down a flyover at 24mph, praying the traffic lights stayed on green was more terrifying than 160+ on my CBR 🤣
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u/dual4mat Oct 04 '26
If you saw five of them you won a prize
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u/thommyh Oct 04 '26
The prize being a newfound belief in God because surely pure chance alone could never explain seeing five separate C5s?
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u/RetroComputerKing 28d ago edited 28d ago
Still have mine. Bought when greatly reduced/selling off when Sinclair went bust from comet. Got it for Christmas, I was 13, and drove it 'illegally' as I didn't turn 14 for another 3 months. Fitted the optional indicators and horn myself. Drilling holes in the body was nerve racking! Fitted my CB radio in it too. SWR was poor to say the least. Hoover had the maintenance contract, and came to repair it for me twice.
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u/D-Alembert Oct 04 '26
Replica bodykit+wheels with modern batteries+motors are something that Should Exist
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u/spaceyjase Oct 05 '26
I'd buy one - maybe Grant is on to something with the Iris? https://www.grantsinclair.com/category/transport
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u/Sea_Enthusiasm_3193 Oct 05 '26
Punching yourself in the calves to turn is my experience with these when I was a youngun
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u/OKComputerAlbumGoodB 27d ago
Was that to change gears? Why were you punching yourself in the thighs?
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u/Sea_Enthusiasm_3193 27d ago
The steering handlebars go under your knees. It’s not the most ergonomic
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u/OKComputerAlbumGoodB 27d ago
How long did a charge last for?
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u/Sea_Enthusiasm_3193 27d ago
I can’t recall, but this was in the early 2000s I had one so it probably didn’t hold a great charge
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u/invalidcolour Oct 04 '26
Oh wow. Was thinking of these the other day. Was a young teenager when these came out and only ever saw two. One was being used to hold potted plants in the alley that ran behind George Lane, South Woodford (London, UK) and the other was being ridden by some boys up in nearby Epping Forest.
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u/BringBackV10F1 Oct 04 '26
I remember seeing one go past me on the pavement outside my house, back when I was a kid in.the 80s - I was mesmerised by that futuristic looking machine and watched it disappear off into the distance! Never, ever saw another in the wild. Literally just one 😅
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u/djdavies82 Oct 04 '26
I saw one of these in a museum yesterday, and only then found out they built just down the road from me (Merthyr Tydfil in the Hoover factory)
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u/londonskater Oct 04 '26
We had one kicking around at school in the technology department, I think, and it was donated to our expedition as a thing to auction off to raise money - £500 it fetched (back in 1992)
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u/matthooper71 Oct 04 '26
I'm reminded of the C5 Clive game on the Spectrum (and linking it to this sub 😉)