Comments on: Exercise Bike Generator Demonstration

By: lizzy

lizzy — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 19:40:30 +0000

I’m getting 12 volts when I pedal and the inverter is turning on when nothing is plugged into it, but the second I plug in a lamp into it, I get a low voltage error and nothing happens, even if I’m still generating 12 volts. any suggestions?

By: marcus

marcus — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:15:09 +0000

The new exercise bikes that I see around probably wouldn’t work, because there isn’t an exposed roller to mount the pick-up shaft and sprocket on. I think this bike was at least ten or twenty years old. Check out flea markets, thrift stores, Freecycle, garage sales, etc. and you might find something similar. Or maybe you can mount an actual old bicycle on a stand and start with that.

By: motorcycle gear

motorcycle gear — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:54:27 +0000

I’m looking for a bike? like this to? make my own generator. Is this bike frame something unique?

By: marcus

marcus — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 18:35:29 +0000

Yes. The kids regulate the voltage by watching a voltmeter. It doesn’t work all that well, but it probably gets the point across better than a battery and regulator setup would allow. (Pedal faster, more volts, and vice-versa.)

By: lizzy

lizzy — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:56:52 +0000

are you hooking the motor up directly to the inverter?

By: kenzo

kenzo — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:15:48 +0000

another great article where stationary bikes are used to generate energy! I’ve seen quite a lot lately but I have been fascinated on the different concepts where they have taken this like what this article dogengine.com/us/used-stationary-bikes.php (go at the bottom of the page and read “Stationary Bikes Used For Generating Energy”) states the summary of the different concepts used in generating energy using bikes.

By: marcus

marcus — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:04:51 +0000

True, parasitic generators aren’t so good on a riding bike, especially now that battery-powered lights can be so efficient. It takes a lot of energy to overcome wind and rolling resistance, and, as you say, to climb hills. All that energy is usually wasted on a stationary bike, though, so it makes some sense to try using it. The kids using this rig don’t have much trouble cranking out 100 W or more for short periods. I’ve heard of folks using a similar rig (with a regulator and battery) to power their kids’ TV, video game, or computer; as incentive for exercise. I seem to recall that top cyclists can generate several hundred watts for extended periods. (YMMV!)

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:44:36 +0000

My first bicycle as an adult had a built-in dynamo generator in its front hub and an included light. It was only 2.4W; I can’ t imagine powering much more than that. In fact, the light wouldn’t even work going uphill, so I had to purchase a 10W halogen light so that I wouldn’t be riding illegal at night.

By: marcus

marcus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:55:20 +0000

Sorry I didn’t reply to this before. I got distracted. As pictured here, there’s nothing very special about the setup. The motor is wired directly to the load. For a serious application, you’d want to add a storage battery, at least. This would be wired in parallel to the load. If there’s any chance of exceeding a safe operating or battery charge voltage, you’d also want some sort of voltage regulation. That’s a problem I carefully avoided, though.

By: Green Energy DIY Fan

Green Energy DIY Fan — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:43:04 +0000

Hello Marcus,
Thanks for this cool blog entry. Care to post some drawings on the setup of this power generator? I plan to do the same at my school on a science fair, and this is exactly what I have been looking for.
My other plan is to do the same but with a smaller solar panel, so kids can see how powerful these things are.
Cheers,
George