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...
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.
The science teacher replaced the motorbike battery with a car battery… and I got to ride it once.
It was magic. :D
zabzonk•9mo ago
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•9mo ago
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.
crashtestdev•9mo ago
As for the "you can't really peddle it", I have no idea where that came from, I've so far only used it with peddles and it was absolutely fine, not great, not terrible either, just a heavyish fixed gear bike.