reagle
100 W
Dave Jones over on EEVBLOG just did a test drive/teardown video on Sinclair C5- a funky bike with assist from the mid eighties.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS6q27VOTOk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS6q27VOTOk
Sinclair C5 teardown on EEVBLOG ;)
- Thread starter reagle
- Start date
Tom L
1 kW
The chassis looks a bit stuffed. All the spot welds have popped.
meanunclebob
1 mW
I remember those. 500W motor and actually it was not pedal powered too. A bit long of a video for now but will watch later. Hopefully he gives it some ooomph.
dnmun
1 PW
i could not listen to it. that guy's creepy voice and the way they acted so weird was sickening so i cut out right away.
meanunclebob
1 mW
100volts+ said:
I remember them as the hundred buck computer.
Tom L
1 kW
dnmun said:
He took acting lessons if I remember correctly. To try and help bring some energy to his videos. It worked. The guy is a self made electronics star. 136,555 subscribers and 40K+ views a day. I find his videos entertaining and informative. He does have a very distinctive style though. Weird? Nah, just Australian mate.
I've seen Portlandia. You guys are dead set weird.
dnmun
1 PW
i have never seen portlandia. i see the people all the time but never the tv series.
when you see one guy riding a double tall bike down the street you realize how much safer it is to be seen by cars.
then you see two or three more, and then you realize there is a herd of them.
with flashing leds in the spokes.
this is a place where people do art on their cars, on their house and all too often on their face too.
the old part of town is like a totally different vibe from the suburbs. lotsa young people come here from all over the country to be part of it. kinda amazing actually. people ride bikes like in europe, even old folks.
electric cars abound. prius capital of the US i think. i just had the post office lady tell me there is a new ebike shop up on 39th and powell. duh.
when you see one guy riding a double tall bike down the street you realize how much safer it is to be seen by cars.
then you see two or three more, and then you realize there is a herd of them.
with flashing leds in the spokes.
this is a place where people do art on their cars, on their house and all too often on their face too.
the old part of town is like a totally different vibe from the suburbs. lotsa young people come here from all over the country to be part of it. kinda amazing actually. people ride bikes like in europe, even old folks.
electric cars abound. prius capital of the US i think. i just had the post office lady tell me there is a new ebike shop up on 39th and powell. duh.
meanunclebob
1 mW
Well, I finally got around to watching the video and it was interesting. I don't remember them having pedals. Not sure what the problem is supposed to be with anyone's voice but I did find it kinda silly to be keeping them stock for the most part. I'd save the original parts and upgrade. If it only weighs about thirty kilos (I think that's what he said) it should be able to handle the extra battery and a newer motor/controller combo. Oh, and brakes and maaaaayyyybe even a seat cushion.
Tom L
1 kW
His original video on them (a teardown & test drive of two restored ones): http://youtu.be/xS6q27VOTOk
Hillhater
100 TW
The C5 was just another Sinclair "folly"
He had a few good ideas ( he was one of the first to make calculators and personal computers accessible to everyone way back in the 1970's).. and he also made some of the first Ebike conversions (ZETA)
.... but the C5 was just a POS bad idea ! :?
He had a few good ideas ( he was one of the first to make calculators and personal computers accessible to everyone way back in the 1970's).. and he also made some of the first Ebike conversions (ZETA)
.... but the C5 was just a POS bad idea ! :?
zombiess
10 MW
I really like Dave Jones videos. A lot of them are VERY informative. Tear down videos are great to learn about designing for manufacture. I've learned a lot watching his videos.
Hyena
10 GW
I had a ride in one of these on the weekend. The owner brought it to me with a huge heavy car battery and it cruised away with a nice light lipo pack a fraction of the size
They're a bit of a gimmick, I'm not sure what you'd really actually use it for. I kind of want to get one and hot it up in my usual fashion but short of buzzing around in it for the first 10 minutes and to give other people test rides I can't see a reason to own one. You certainly wouldn't replace a bicycle with it and would be run over in short order if you tried to ride it on the road around traffic.
There were a number of design issues aside from the "why?" factor but overall not too shabby for something nearly 30 years old.
The motor output felt stronger than 250w and when I threw a watt meter inline with it it pulled 750+ watts before melting the andersons. It was only afterwards when thinking about it that 750w+ from a half charged can battery is 70 odd amps which is a fair bit!
Safety first
They're a bit of a gimmick, I'm not sure what you'd really actually use it for. I kind of want to get one and hot it up in my usual fashion but short of buzzing around in it for the first 10 minutes and to give other people test rides I can't see a reason to own one. You certainly wouldn't replace a bicycle with it and would be run over in short order if you tried to ride it on the road around traffic.
There were a number of design issues aside from the "why?" factor but overall not too shabby for something nearly 30 years old.
The motor output felt stronger than 250w and when I threw a watt meter inline with it it pulled 750+ watts before melting the andersons. It was only afterwards when thinking about it that 750w+ from a half charged can battery is 70 odd amps which is a fair bit!
Safety first
JennyB
1 kW
I tried pedalling one once, a long time ago. No gears, short, flexy crank and a LOT of hard work. The motor could apparently get you up to 15 mph if there isn't a hill in the way. 
But before you laugh too hard, some folk modify them for drag racing and get up to 150 mph and 0-60 in five seconds.
Here's one at Santa Pod:
[youtube]FfI5A0EDLEk[/youtube]
But before you laugh too hard, some folk modify them for drag racing and get up to 150 mph and 0-60 in five seconds.
Here's one at Santa Pod:
[youtube]FfI5A0EDLEk[/youtube]
