Bespoke Gear

  • Home
  • For Sale
  • For Hire
  • Events
  • Contact Us

Review of 2019

January 19, 2020 By Matthew Little

While I have not been putting many posts on the website recently, I have been very busy with pedal powered projects! In 2019 I worked on 12 large pedal powered projects (not including the hire of pedal powered equipment for events). This included supplying 31 pedal generator units and 7 pedal powered Scalextric systems. I’ve been trying to standardise a lot of kit I supply, but every project is different! I thought I would review some of these projects.

Pedal Powered Drawing Machine

This was a project called “Mr Arkwright” working with artist Jo Fairfax. This used a tandem bicycle with a hub generator to power a water pump. This pumped water through large plastic piping network and powered a drawing machine which mechanically drew an image onto a postcard.

This interactive artwork was installed at Arkwrights Mill in Derbyshire for the summer season. More detailled information is available here and a short video here:

Pedal Powered LED Light Units

I supplied two control units designed to switch on a set of three LED lights as a person pedals. These come on depending upon the energy from the cyclist. These were used for in-shop interactive demonstration.

Not a great photo! But these were built into a promotional stand.

Running Machine LED Lights

This was something I’ve been wanting to build for a while – using a running machine to generate electricity. I added a small generator unit to a roller-style running machine. These were built for an events company to use at sporting related events. These worked very well and generated up to about 50 watts from the runner. The energy generated was monitored and controlled a bank of LED lights which switch on as energy is generated. Information about energy generated and speed of runner was outputted from the control units and read by a computer to display on monitors.

Pedal Scalextric Systems

I built seven different pedal powered Scalextric systems for various different clients. This included three 4-bike Scalextric systems and some with and some without the track. The design for these units is quite standard now. I also supplied some systems with lap-counters and power and energy displays.

Pedal Battery Charger Unit

This was for a farming college where pedal power was used to recharge a lead-acid battery. The battery was then used to power the electic fences at the site. I was very pleased with the information display on this system, which shows power and energy and also has a scrolling bar graph of power to see what has happened in the last minute.

Pedal 240V Inverter Units

I built two pedal powered inverter units for a client. These could run any mains appliance (up to a power rating of about 200W). I usually stay away from mains voltages, as it brings in additional safety concerns. These units were fully earthed and had residual circuit breakers (RCD) on the outputs. These were used to power printers at a promotional event.

So it’s been a busy 2019! I also moved into a bigger workshop with more space for building equipment and for storage.

Filed Under: Bespoke, Blog, Interactive Displays, Pedal Power Tagged With: bicycle generator, human power, pedal power

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Latest posts

  • 4 Bike Lights and Energy Display
  • Pedal Cinema – Southampton Uni 2021
  • Review of 2019
  • Nottingham Green Festival 2017
  • Energy Efficiency at DHL Daventry

About Us

Bespoke Gear have been building interactive pedal-power systems for over 15 years. Doing events and selling equipment to a wide variety of customers in that time we have learnt what works. We design and build high-quality, robust pedal-powered equipment and bespoke, interesting and interactive displays. If you are trying to promote environmental awareness, energy efficiency, getting people fit or just want something thats a bit different for your event then we might have something for you.

Renewable Energy Innovation

Our sister business, Renewable Energy Innovation, works on innovative electrical systems for renewable energy projects. It was through working on renewable enegry projects that Bespoke Gear was started. We needed interesting and interactive displays to explain power and energy to a wide range of people. Hence our first pedal power system was born.
If you require consultancy, design and implementation services for your renewable energy project, then please visit their website.

Tag Cloud

arcola bicycle bicycle generator bicycle power bicycles bike power carnival of cycling challenge Community control cycling display displays DIY efficiency energy energy bike energy efficiency environment environmental generator hanby and barrett human power instructable interactive inverter LED london bike hub magnificent revolution magnificent revolution australia nottingham office pedal pedal blender pedal cinema pedal generator pedal power power raleigh regulator renewable Renewable Energy shunt regulator smoothie bike water pistols

Copyright Matt Little · WordPress · Log in