As if you needed another reason to ride a bike instead of drive, now your pedaling can power your cell phone! The technology, which as been developed by Motorola and others and implemented at such events as the Coachella Music Festival’s Energy FACtory, turns out to be quite simple, so simple in fact that you can make your own! Whether attached to the handlebars as a docking station (as in Motorola’s example) or attached directly to a generator connected to the bike, this is a great example of human power being harvested as viable, usable power. What’s next, bike powered TVs and laptops?
At Coachella, the bikes were part of the festival’s Energy FACTory, a series of interactive exhibits and stations that educated visitors on energy generation and conservation. The bicycle generators were created by Brad Whaley, who had 10 days to create all 24 bicycles for the festival. He has now posted the instructions on his website as to how you can build your very own bicycle generator. All that you need is a regular bike, a car alternator, a belt, a trainer to fix the bicycle and a few other items.
+ Coachella Bike Generator Cell Phone Charger
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