Chobani U.S. Olympic Experience videos show role of Pedalometer in Group Pedal Power efforts.
The Pedalometer is used to motivate and encourage a team of bikers to pedal together and keep it in the green. When the team needs to put more power into the capacitors to keep the lights and sound going the Pedalometer responds by blinking red at it’s lowest power state. The goal is to keep it in the green! If you go above, the Pedalometer responds by going into flashing white which means you can cool off or relax a bit on the stationary bikes and bring it back into the green. We may have a reward for keeping it or reaching the blinking white level, such as how the sLEDgehammer interacts with participants.
Read MorePedal Powered Presentations at Schools
This photo was snapped [in fall of 2013] at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Elementary school in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. That’s the Principal and EcoTeacher riding the bikes in front of the students at the start of the presentation.
Basic 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.
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Many thanks San Francisco Bicycle Music Festival: World’s largest Human Powered Music Fest.
The 6th Annual San Francisco Bicycle Music Festival was our biggest ever and a milestone for our grassroots Human Powered Music Fest. Many thanks to the bands, fans, and our huge volunteer crew. Any one of the 3 phases of the day would have been epic enough. But we had a beautiful, idyllic daytime music festival in the park, an outrageous mobile party, and a post-modern urban block party all in one day. Daytime: 500+ people in a meadow, enjoying live music in the beautiful sunshine… Followed by a fire-truck dodging, freeway underpass screaming, Fossil Fooling LiveOnBike session, with captain Ariel using no electric assist to pull 3 performers and audio gear weighing 250 pounds on our Mobile Stage… Followed by a street party with an elevated stage, a glowing Bike Tree, and a 3-person pedal powered stage lighting system.
Rupa & The April Fishes perform at Golden Gate Park’s Log Cabin Meadow. Photo: Volker Neumann.
We had 19 pedalers at the peak in Golden Gate Park! Plenty of power for our 10000-Watt sound system to run. In the distance you can see our Pedal Powered Line Array hanging from its bamboo tripod.
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. |
Are there sponsorships and grants available for my Nonprofit?
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.
