training and saving money, can it be done? more at 11
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gfd posted 45 weeks ago.
The only one I have seen is the one Lance uses to power ESPN. Booooo! Lame. etc.
If there was one it would be great during the winter. I could heat up the downstairs each morning before my family gets up.
Another creative title. You are leading the league in this category.
"If we help someone else up a steep hill, we get nearer to the top ourselves." ~Unknown~
~Garen~
http://baldhungariantriproject.blogspot.com/
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SerialKiller posted 45 weeks ago.
does anyone nohow a trainer work?
maybe i could figure one out.
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jonovision_man posted 45 weeks ago.
SerialKiller wrote:
is there a trainer that uses your energy to make electricity?
same principle as the old school bike generators.
What's a "bike generator"?
By my math, the amount of power generated would be tiny. Top riders can sustain >400w, but the average rider doing an average training ride would be well below that.
With 1kWh (1000W for 1 hour) selling for < 10 cents, you'd have to do a LOT of riding to make it worth anything.
jono
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SerialKiller posted 45 weeks ago.
a bike generator would be hooked up to the front wheel and when you pedal it would power a light so you could see.
it might be small for one, but it could be a powerful thing (haha i made a punny) if all of us did it.
at the very least it could power a small fan to cool you off.
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krazyfranco posted 45 weeks ago.
Yeah, I have built and used a 'bike generator' of sorts for a physics project (Human Powered water heater) a few years back. Basically, I propped up the back wheel and put a belt on the back wheel of the bike and a generator, so that peddling turned the generator and made electricity, which went through a heating coil to make heat and heated up the water. Pretty fancy.
A couple things to consider: first, as jono said, the power output is very small. Over 20 minutes, we only raised the temperature of the few cups of water about 18 degrees (with two people riding all-out the whole time). Secondly, hooking a bike up to a generator makes it much, much, much, much harder to ride. The faster you try to pedal, the harder it gets - the response is much different from a trainer.
Considering that, I don't think generating heat/electricty/whatever from indoor sessions would be very practical or feasible.
Hard days hard, easy days easy.
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jonovision_man posted 45 weeks ago.
Just googled around, people have actually tried this. :)
Stationary bike designed to create electricity
Someone is even trying to sell it!
According to that second link, "The average rider will produce between 125 and 200 watts using the Pedal-a-Watt". I'll stick with getting that off the grid, thanks. :)
jono
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SerialKiller posted 45 weeks ago.
it isn't all that much, but if you hooked up to your tv it would prevent you from stopping, cuase you just gotta no who killed kenny
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Ironmom posted 45 weeks ago.
When I started biking, the light on my commuter bike was powered by a generator that ran off of friction with the wheel. Boy did that increase the workload on pedaling! Many bike lights sold were powered that way, before batteries and lights got better and smaller. My next commuter bike light used a battery pack that was so big it fit in a water bottle cage. Now mine runs on 2 rechargable AAs. LED bulbs make a huge difference!
As for power generation, it would seem to be reasonably easy to do. You could replace the friction wheel on a trainer with one that is hooked up via a shaft to a small power-generating device like those that are sold for small-scale wind generators. You could certainly power a reasonable amount of LED lights with that. I have a hand-cranked LED flashlight that stays lit for a long time just based on a couple of minutes of cranking.
Then again, why generate electricity when you can make margaritas instead: http://www.bikeblender.com??
Blue Skies, -Robin-
http://ironmom.blogspot.com/
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IthinkIcan posted 45 weeks ago.
Ironmom wrote:
Then again, why generate electricity when you can make margaritas instead: http://www.bikeblender.com??
Yea that sounds like the best idea so far. Either way SerialKiller, I think its a good idea. Even if its just for something basic like charging batteries, powering a fan, powering a light or a small heat source. Might help you stay motivated for trainer rides too.
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J.Michael posted 45 weeks ago.
You could probably get something rigged up to charge your cell phone (we all have one right) If your training for TT's you might be able to slightly charge a laptop......
Tfers could make one for their kids too, have them charge their ipod before laying about the house.
/although, I doubt most triathletes have many obese children......
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
— Winston Churchill
is there a trainer that uses your energy to make electricity?
same principle as the old school bike generators.