New video shows why we switched to BlendTec pitchers: better ease of use, better pricing.
The BlendTec Wildside + XR pitcher now comes standard with our High Performance Upgrade for Fender Blenders. You can still buy Vitamix brand equivalent pitchers at the time of purchase or after, but they’re more expensive. Plus, we like the BlendTec pitcher better. Great news all around. Thanks BlendTec!
Read MoreKids provided 75% of the energy for our 3-day festival stage at Maker Faire. How? Lots of bikes.
Maker Faire is very family oriented. The largest audience of the weekend was for Magician Bryan Patrick, whose sound needs were ironically minimal.
Since our earliest moments of Pedal Powered experimentation, I’ve been fascinated by how much sound comes from one pedaler’s efforts. I remember a 12-year-old powering my street performance at a charity bike event for an audience of 30-50 people in the early goings. He was into it! Not too hard, not too easy. Great sound out to about 20 feet from the speaker. The ratio of 1 pedaler for every 50-100 people at our events has roughly held as we’ve scaled up Rock The Bike’s full system to do larger events. At the Maker Faire in San Mateo this year, we brought an 18-bike system capable of entertaining over 1000 people, and at most times it was primarily powered by kids.
What can I power with Rock The Bike Generators?
What can I power with a Generator Pro or Electric Fender Blender Pro?
Most common uses:
AC Power — Use our Pedal Power Utility Box or create your own 24V Pedal Power system with a battery and inverter. Our Pedal Power Utility Box is a complete system that features:
- Ultracapacitor (absorbs every last Watt of effort)
- Smart LED pedalometer (shows up to 5 people how hard to pedal. Bigger groups can plug in our Tube Pedalometer).
- 1000W Pure Sine Inverter.
- Protected wiring
USB Only: Our Cell Recharge Circuit and Cell Phone Recharge Desk both are capable of charging up to 8 devices at once.
LEDs (dumb): This low-cost activity is also fun and beautiful when done artfully. Wire 12V flexible LEDs in 24V series, 36V series, or 48V series or any combination of the above. When used in combination, the lower voltage lights turn on first, and the higher voltage LEDs will light only when you pedal fast enough. To prevent overvoltage conditions from damaging the lights, you have to use enough of them that the pedalers are sufficiently tired out trying to keep them on. The rule of thumb is that these lights consume about 1W per foot. Depending on the age group of your event / school / setting, your pedalers may be able to create up to 200-400W of power. If you want to challenge them and keep your LEDs cool, you may have to use that many feet of LED. If you choose 36 or 48V series wiring, this is less of a concern. Measure with a voltmeter and try to keep the LEDs under 150% of their rated voltage, especially for extended periods of time (more than a few seconds). You can also reduce the voltage spikes that the LEDs see by pairing them with a capacitor.
Ask about our LED kits!
LEDs (smart) : sLEDgehammer
Sound : 1 Bike / 1 Speaker
In terms of the above list, what’s the difference between a Roll Up, Generator Wheel, Electric Fender Blender Pro and Generator Pro?
The main difference is the Roll Up and Generator Wheel are capable of working well with 12v systems. The Electric Fender Blender Pro and the Generator Pro can technically be used with 12v systems, but the gearing will likely feel too hard. The Electric Fender Blender Pro and the Generator Pro are best suited to 24V systems.
More on Pedal-Powering LEDs:
The Svelte or Sledgehammer generator wheel or DC Roll up stand produce variable DC voltage. The faster you pedal the higher the voltage. We try to optimise the gear ratio and electrical activity to be around 24volts when pedaling at a comfortable speed. The Load or wattage of your activity (LEDs) will determine the difficulty.
The variable DC voltage of these generators is a good match for custom interactive LED activities and is fun and beautiful when done artfully.
Strips of 12V LEDs can be put in 24V series, 36V series, or 48V series or a combination of these. When used in combination, the lower voltage lights turn on first, and then the higher voltage LEDs. Brightness of the LEDs will increase with voltage. To prevent overvoltage from damaging the lights, you have to use enough that pedalers are sufficiently tired out by trying to keep them on. Keep in mind the age and ability of your pedalers. Rolls of flexible LEDs often consume about 1W per foot. Pedalers may be able to create up to 200-400W of power. If you want to challenge them and keep your LEDs cool, you may have to use that many feet of LED. If you choose 36 or 48V series wiring, this is less of a concern. Measure with a voltmeter and try to keep the LEDs under 150% of their rated voltage, especially for extended periods of time (more than a few seconds). You can also reduce the voltage spikes by pairing them with a capacitor.
The “Off The Wall” generator wheel and Roll Up stand produce a higher variable voltage, closer to that of wall power. LEDs will need a switching power supply, usually with an input of 100 to 240volts, an output that matches the voltage of the LEDs (12v), and sufficient current for the number of LEDs. The interactivity of the LEDs is slightly less because they simply turn on and will not change in brightness, but will stay on over a wide range of pedal speed. Incandescent bulbs can be directly plugged into the Off The Wall and used as a comparison to the LEDs. They require much more energy and are usually less bright, but will glow brighter the faster you pedal. Make sure to match the wattage of the bulbs to your pedalers ability… bulbs can burn out!
Warning: Power supplies and other equipment can be over-voltaged and damaged when load / resistance is not enough and a pedaler is able to pedal really fast, producing a high voltage for an extended amount of time. We are developing a safety circuit that reduces the voltage if it gets over 240volts which may help in some situations.
Read MoreChobani Team USA Spin Class video going viral. Here’s our behind the scenes look.
With viewcounts racking up, Chobani’s Team USA Experience is officially going viral. 30 everyday athletes are introduced into a new environment and invited to pedal to power an incredible spin class that unfolds before them with live music, interactive LED art, and a huge hillside projection. Rock The Bike produced the Pedal Power Spin Class system and the interactive lighting: per-bike LED strips that responded to individual pedaling effort, and a 16′ LED mandala. The 4-speaker sound system was the same we use at our Pedal Powered DJ events and medium-sized concerts. You can see the all important Pedalometer (the light tube that shows pedalers how hard to pedal) and two of our generators: the Generator Pro and the Generator Wheel and stand combo.
Here’s a Behind-the-Scenes look that shows our experience of producing the Spin Class. You can follow the captions and dialogue to see how we recognized and overcame one of our main technical challenges: too much power.
Read MoreBrainfood promotes Nutrition and Health with a Bike Blender
A look at the workshops the Community MVPs have done with Brainfood‘s very own bike blender.
As the President/CEO of Youth Service America said, “The smoothie tasted even better knowing that I contributed to it.”
Brainfood is a non-profit youth development organization in Washington, DC. Using food as a tool, Brainfood builds life skills and promotes healthy living in a fun and safe environment. They are using the Fender Blender Universale Stationary Kit for their workshops.
Read MoreHighlights from Ecochella at UCLA
Ecochella was a student-produced live music event on the UCLA campus that was completely bike-powered thanks to our Pedal Powered Stage. We drove down to LA in a loaned pickup truck, carrying with us a 12-bike system ready for an audience of up to 1000 students.
The size ended up closer to 500, but the cool part was how engaged those students were. We had solid Pedal Power, great music, and a climactic all-up-front closer, the Dustbowl Revival. Hats off to student organizer Rachel Woods-Robinson for wanting to bring a human powered concert to UCLA. Check out the videos below.
Many colleges and Universities produce some type of Spring Fling concert on campus. By involving Human Power, the campuses can take advantage of a huge learning opportunity. Above, a dynamic sign shows how much Wattage has been generated by students so far.
More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockthebike/sets/72157633641398367/with/8813100129/
More videos:
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