Is Your Fender Blender Pro Seat Sliding Too Much?
This bulletin addresses issues with seat post sliding performance. A correctly functioning seat post should be easy to slide up and down with one hand. If there are positions where it gets stuck, please see the three sections below.
1. Check which bolt you have: Check if the anti-rotate bolt behind the seat post is a domed button-head type. We’ve found that this design of bolt can cause issues with sliding performance. Even if your seatpost is sliding fine, we’d like to send you the replacement.
Get a replacement: Contact us and we will send you a replacement that doesn’t scratch the seatpost slot. Contact info below.
2. Deal with existing scratches: Check for scratching and burrs around the groove on the back of the seat post. You may notice that the seat post gets stuck as it slides into the frame in specific areas where the seat post is heavily marked or scratched.
Fix: Requires a sanding tool such as emery board, file, or sandpaper. If you would like us to send you one, please contact us, info below.
- Remove the seat post from the bike. The hex key that comes with the bike will be needed to remove the anti rotate bolt.
- Sand around and in the groove to remove sharp edges and burrs. Avoid breathing the dust. For the best sliding performance, you must take the rough spots all the way down. If your seatpost is really chewed up and you would prefer a fresh start, contact us for a new post!
- Immediately clean up any dust with a wet paper towel and wash your hands after completing the process.
- Repeat sanding as necessary.
3. Chatter: Seat Post chatters when sliding down and needs precise manual guidance in order to slide; especially when the seat is extended to a higher number, like 9 or 10.
Fix: Lubricate the seat post with a silicone-based grease. If you would like us to send you some, please contact us, info below. How to apply the grease
- Raise the seat post all the way up and clamp in place
- Apply the lubricant onto the post near the top, middle, and bottom to form 3 rings, about the size of a rubber bands
- Spread the lubricant over the whole seat post with a small piece of paper towel, napkin or rag (approx the size of a credit card)
- Slide the seat all the way up and down five times
- Using a fresh paper towel, wipe off the excess lubricant
If these or other performance issues are happening to your Fender Blender Pro, please contact us for support: 1-(888) 354-2453 techsupport@rockthebike.com
Read MoreBasic questions to consider when crafting your Pedal Powered Stage
The technical needs of a Pedal Powered event vary greatly depending on audience size, venue, and power needs of musician’s devices. The questions in this post will help you to know what features are most important for you, and how much power you’ll really need. Please answer these questions and email us using the contact form. Also, please check out some of our recommended packages to see systems intended for different crowd sizes: https://oldsite.rockthebike.com/pedal-powered-stage-packages
Above: Shake Your Peace! performs during the Bay Rising Tour on their Pedal Powered Stage crafted by Rock the Bike.
- In your mind’s eye, how many people are taking in the music at your ideal event? Audience size is the most important factor in knowing how many loudspeakers, generators, and circuitry to get. Are you aiming for school assemblies? Street performing? A festival stage?
- Who is pedaling to generate power at your events? Is it competitive cyclists? fit adults? the general public? teenagers? kids? How family friendly are your events? Doing events with kids means you’ll need more bikes! The reason: Kids love to pedal but can’t generate much power. Also, they need to use bikes that are sized accordingly. If you want to do these events, you need to plan ahead so kids can participate.
- What style of music do you want to amplify? Or do you have a specific band your are planning to work with? Are you a bandleader? If so, what is the instrumentation in your band?
- Indoor vs. Outdoor? In your mind’s eye, where are your Pedal Powered events taking place?
- Do you want or need to be completely off the grid? Off The Grid means that you are completely independent and not relying on power from any other source. Some people just want to demonstrate Pedal Power, but are doing so in places where there ready access to wall power. Perhaps they don’t mind using some wall power and some bike power. This can be a way to decrease the number of bikes in your system, but still offer people the chance to create power with their bodies. For example, if you want a Bike Powered Cinema, you could power the loudspeakers with bikes and the projector with wall power. Other people want to make a statement by using NO power from the grid, or they are trying to bring a concert to a natural setting or park where there is no built-in power at all. They’ll need to be completely off the grid. What is right for you?
- Related. What is your main motivation for doing Pedal Powered events in your community? Examples: Have fun, get involved in music events, raise environmental consciousness/bike excitement, encourage healthy lifestyles, publicize a commercial offering. It helps us to know why our customers are interested in Pedal Power, and it may affect our gear recommendations.
- Are you planning to bike it there? Biking it there requires more crew, gear, and experience than loading a truck, but can be enormously gratifying. Check out these photos to see if this inspires you: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockthebike/sets/72157622547485971/
- Will you be doing nighttime events?
- Do you already have a crew? Are you interested in leading a crew? Doing larger events with the general public requires a crew, including specific roles like Sound Guy, Roadie, Coach, Tech, MC and more.
Read More
Fender Blender Pro blends up smoothies and cocktails and can even grind coffee
The Fender Blender Pro is up to the task of ice crushing and quality blending. Check out all these great videos of it in action!
Read More
What are the elements of a Pedal Powered Stage?
Pedal Power Generators:
Above, two Mundo 500 generators in use at the Eugene Bicycle Music Festival. The rear wheel is elevated off the ground so that you can pedal in place and generate power.
You will need enough bicycle generators that the pedaling effort per person is approx. 50-75 Watts. Based on our experience at events, 50-75 Watts is the amount that an average audience member can continuously provide. You should also have ‘ringer pedalers’ in your crew. Ringer pedalers are strong racer or everyday commuting cyclists who can contribute up to 4 times more than an average pedaler. Whether you’re relying on ringers or the GP (General Public), you’ll need to provide enough bikes that the effort can be shared.
| Number of Pedalers | Estimated Crowd Size Possible in an Outdoor Location |
| 1 | 200-500 (with One Bike / One Speaker) |
| 4 | 500 |
| 8 | 500-1000 |
| 12 | 1000-2000 |
| 20 | 2000+ We haven’t had enough chances to test at these power levels. |
Interactive Pedal Powered Lighting Rigs
Let us bring our years of experience with Pedal Powered lighting to craft something special for your event. For fun or education (or both), the possibilities are endless!
The latest example of our interactive lighting: New York Power Authority at the 2019 State Fair:
Read testimonials from our previous clients.
The sLEDgehammer
The sLEDgehammer, an interactive Pedal Powered lighting rig. More LEDs light up when you pedal harder, converting your peak power output on an efficient bicycle generator to beautiful light. Click here to watch the video!
The sLEDgehammer’s display can be customized for your event, like a one-person powered courtyard installation (above), or as a group-powered display, like the Christmas Tree at Boston Winter below!
Powering LEDs with Rock The Bike Generators
The Svelte or Sledgehammer generator wheels 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.
More Light Displays
Above: Illuminated sign for Tourism Vancouver. Powered by a Generator Pro and the What Watt?! system, which tells you exactly how much energy you are creating as you pedal. (If you are interested in ordering a What Watt?! or finding out more about it, call us!)
Above: Lines of light come from the generator bike, extending further (up to 300 feet) the harder you pedal.
Above: More lines of light on our 18′ tall Bamboo Tripod.
Above: Pedal Powered Stage LED lighting: 1 pedaler per panel.
Above: The large light-up Wattage Display shows the instantaneous power use of our Pedal Powered Stage. It averages readings to show you the power use over the last 5 seconds.
Above: the pedaler gets illuminated in this “Dance With Lance” challenge, in which riders go head to head with a powerful sound system. Each rider takes a turn pouring their all into the sound system while a DJ keeps great music going. The crowd roots on the pedalers, who last as long as they can.
The Light Bike
Above: Sir Richard Branson pedaling the Light Bike comparison station at the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore, 2008.
Switching back and forth allows the pedaler to feel the energy savings of CCFL bulbs over traditional incandescent bulbs.
Soul Cycles
We have integrated Pedal Powered Lighting into several of our custom Soul Cycle rigs, including El Arbol, the Bike Tree:
The Blue Whale:
If you’re looking for applications to use Pedal Power, there are two main types: Mechanical and Electrical.
Mechanical applications generally have the advantage of being simpler, cheaper, and with simpler maintenance. They include Bike Blending and Spin Art.
Electrical applications are more limitless. The options include, but are not limited to, audio amplifiers, AC Power, and light.
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