What follows is an explanation of the key elements of a Pedal Powered Stage. If you are ready to buy individual components, please see the Pedal Powered Stage products section of our online store. If you’d like a custom quote for a Pedal Powered Stage, please start by emailing us with the answers to our Pedal Powered Stage questionnaire.
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.
How many?
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.
In order to make Pedal Power fun and inspiring, your goal should be to have the lowest ‘overhead’ possible. Overhead is how much Wattage your system draws when no music is playing. Using energy intensive devices like rack-mount audio gear, subwoofers, large guitar and bass amps, laptops, and lights can add significant Wattage to your system’s overhead. If you already know what devices you want to run, start by measuring their Wattage with a Kill-A-Watt. Having a lower overhead means that more of your pedalers’ energy goes into music, not keeping devices on.
If you are planning to use our Modified JBL PRX Loudspeakers, you can follow this table to estimate the crowd size possible for a given number of pedalers. These numbers are for danceable levels of music and assume a favorable overhead.
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.
Look for a bunch of music lovers on Saturday who plan to pedal — not peddle — on behalf of live musical acts.
Thanks to $10,000 in tourism grants, the University of Oregon Bike Program has been able to purchase equipment for this year’s Bike Music Fest that will help support live music acts by pedal power. The Bike Music Fest, which is incorporated into the Willamette Valley Music Fest, happens Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The larger music festival will continue until midnight.
Fun, accurate, motivating, and visible from anywhere in the venue.
The 3′ tall Pedalometer is an amazing help at Pedal Powered Stage events. This precisely calibrated system uses color-coded LED lights to display pedaling effort. Different colored sections correspond to dangerously low, dangerously high, and ‘sweet spot’ voltages. Your sound engineer and audience will know it’s time to kick up the pedaling when the LEDs blink red, or to cruise when white.
Compatible with all Rock the Bike Pedal Power Utility Boxes and can be made to work with a Pedal Power Stage of your making. As part of a Pedal Power Stage purchase, it will be calibrated to your gear. If you already own the Pedal Power Stage, we’ll ask you a few questions about your gear to ensure it is calibrated (please call 1-888-354-BIKE).
Our classic Pedalometer design in which a fan blows a beer can is now up-to-the-second with an LED display, but we still can’t forget the vintage version…
Bike Blending in action at Longfellow Elementary’s Spring Carnival
Our Nonprofit Discount Program grants awards of 10% off your purchase and 15-20% off the rental of Rock the Bike gear to a limited number of nonprofit or educational applicants per quarter and has a simple application process.
Creating a system yourself can be a great team-building experience but has a serious learning curve. Working with Rock The Bike will get you up and running much more quickly and with higher quality components. You’ll be able to put your focus on organizing events much sooner.
Let our experience work for you. We’ve been Pedal Powering music events since 2007. This will translate to less frustration and more empowering moments when you use our gear at your events.
We would be happy to assist you in customizing a quote for your Pedal Powered Stage. Please note that the items in this category are often made to order. Please help us help you by giving us enough time to do our best work.
If you aren’t sure if you want to purchase or rent, you can check out purchasing prices with the “BUY” button below, or you can contact us for rental quotes HERE, or email info@rockthebike.com