>> Also see my Spin Bike Pedal Generator plans <<

Why would anyone want to build a pedal generator? There are many reasons.

To be prepared for the next hurricane that takes power out for days, weeks or longer

To supplement your off-grid system

To have one of the coolest interactive science fair projects

To be more environmentally friendly and create a smaller carbon footprint

To have a backup plan should terrorists or nation states take out our power grid

To be prepared in the event of a zombie apocalypse (ok, a bike generator probably won’t help in this case – but add a set of the key electronics in your Faraday box will help should we see a Starfish Prime type attack)

Or like me, a fair weather mountain biker, you want turn your efforts on an exercise trainer in the off season into tangible outcome (in addition to better health). For me, that outcome is a charged cell phone, tablets and other mobile devices, and a satisfaction that I contributed, if only in a small way, to preserving the earth we live on.

Whatever the reason, you’ve come to the right place for an easy to build, efficient bike trainer generator. In this post, I will provide step by step instructions and all the information you’ll need to source the parts for this project. I’ve always had an interest and fascination with alternate energy and human powered energy in particular. As a fair weather mountain biker, I find pedaling on a trainer or spin bike in the off season uninspiring, and often think “what if I could harness some of this energy”, or “I wonder if I could power the TV I’m watching” while I pedal. I wonder no more.

I’ve checked out many pedal generator products on the market as well as in the DIY world and found the commercial products for sale were too expensive, and the DIY projects were often really complicated and/or required you to take your bike apart to hook it to the generator. My first attempt at a pedal generator was expensive to build, although not extremely complicated. So I set out to design a low cost and easy to build bike generator that you just drop in your bike when you want to generate electricity, allowing you to easily take your bike for a ride when you are not.

I built this bike generator so I could charge my iPhone and other mobile devices while I get a workout. If I want an easy workout, I’ll just charge my phone and a battery pack or two. If I want a more challenging workout, I add more stuff to charge, or power a fan or TV!

Some things I’ve charged or powered with my bike generator, and the typical watts they require:

Some people have a need or desire to charge a 12 volt batteries, and this bike generator will do that if desired, but I would suggest that direct charging/powering is more efficient due to losses in charging lead acid batteries (15%), so putting 100 watts in gives you only 85 watts out. Read more about this in my blog post:

https://www.genesgreenmachine.com/direct-charge-g...