David Butcher: Pedal Powered Generator - Pole Shift Survival ...

Bicycle Powered GeneratorBicycle Powered GeneratorI skim a few Usenet newsgroupsdaily, among themmisc.survivalism andalt.energy.homepower. Frequentlyposters on these two groups willinquire about generatingelectricity using a stationary bikecoupled to some sort of generator.Most replies are to the effect thatwhile it's possible to do this, theamount of power output by such arig when pedaled by the averageperson wouldn't be worth theeffort. I wasn't convinced that thisidea was a lost cause. I decided tobuild one and see how well itworked.Because bikes are made in a range of sizes to match their rider's stature I wanted to build the generator asan accessory which could be driven by any ordinary bicycle. I used to work in a bicycle shop when I was13 and remember seeing the owner, Mr. Hank, ride his track bike on a set of rollers. While I was lookingthrough bike accessory catalogs for rollers that I could adapt to my purposes I came across anothersimilar device called a training stand. While rollers require a lot of skill to ride because there is nothingbut the gyroscopic force of the spinning wheels and the rider's balance to hold you upright, a trainingstand clamps on the rear axle of the bike and keeps you vertical.http://users.erols.com/mshaver/bikegen.htm (1 of 6) [9/12/2004 11:44:23 PM]