BikeGen

BikeGen is a small power generator, mounted to a bike, that recharges two AA batteries while you ride. The batteries can then be used to power the lights on you bike or you can take them out and use them in your other electronic devices. BikeGen also has a standard car 12v power outlet that could be used to recharge your Ipod or cell phone.

This is an updated version of my original Bike Generator. The first version served its purpose but was fairly limited. BikeGen, is better in almost every way and here are some of the reasons why:

1. The generator motor is now mounted with more rigidity to the rack instead of the frame.

2. The friction drive wheel is mounted to the motor with a clamping coupler and now runs on the braking surface of the wheel and not directly on the tire.

3. BikeGen recharges two AA batteries instead of powering the headlight directly, so the lights stay on even while your stopped.

4. Two AA batteries are used to power both the head light and the tail light, which means I don't have to bother buying AAA batteries for the tail light.

NOTE:Please read my Bike Generator Instructable and follow the steps about building the the circuit board before attempting to build BikeGen.

Step 1 Get the Tools

Here is the list of tools I used to construct BikeGen.

Hand Tools
File
Hacksaw
Vice
Vicegrip
Utility Knife
Sissors
Allen Keys
C-clamp
Hammer

Electrical Tools
Soldering Iron
Solder Sucker
Solder
Flux
Heatshrink Tubing
Wire Strippers
Multimeter

Fabrication Tools
Torch
Dremel
Drill
Drill Bits
Center Punch
Tap Set

Measurement Tools
Calipers
Ruler

Tools You Need to Have
Magnetic Tray
Helping Hands

Comments

[stevo69nz]

I flagged the idea of a generator and have gone solar, connected to batteries that inturn power my lights a night, the usb for charging my mp3 player is currently being sorted, photo's on the way :-) cool as idea(any sort of charging system), especially if you are on your bike a lot

[greezus]

 so clueless about electronics...wish i wasn't, but it's one of those things that i just don't get. ugh!!! was just checking out yr previous 'ible, and together these are great!!!

it does everything i want it to do- especially for touring by bike, but i just feel lost. maybe it has something to do with being left handed, although i doubt it. i probably just got dropped on my head as a baby too much :)

thanks for making this though!!! hopefully i can find a friend that understands this better than i do...

[Kid Ninja]

Would it be possible to charge one of those batteries that they use for the little tyke cars?  You know like those battery powered trucks kids ride in.

[rpvanpatt]

 hey just quick question, would it work if I just took the circuit and switch directly to a car output? 

[TOCO]

 where did you get the car outlet?

[dbc1218]

radio shack

[TOCO]

I purchased one jan 16 when I had to go get some diodes and stuff.

[knektek]

does your generator produce pure dc? if not use a super cap in parralel to your inputs on the generator (+ and -), pedal for a bit and then turn on. result = saw tooth sine wave.

[robmeofmyboredom]

Could i use a capacitor instead of double a batteries and then would i be able to hook up one on the front wheel as well without feeling too much drag? My friends and i are aiming for a bike that outputs 12volts from two sources at least. So i guess my question is can it power computer speakers and an ipod charger haha we want to be able to ride around with some tunes

[toaignika]

you could make two and put one on each side of the back wheel

[robmeofmyboredom]

why didnt i think of that... so much easier...

[seandogue]

(removed by author or community request)

[dbc1218]

I recently rode about 15 miles with this and never noticed any extra load on the bike. It makes a humming noise but I couldn't really hear it over the wind. I plan on measuring the current, I'll let you know.

[volto]

Why not just power the lights directly from the generator, and skip the batteries?

[dbc1218]

Thats how my first bike generator worked but then when you stop the lights go off. Plus I'd like to be able to take the headlight off and use it as a flash light.

[josephcherng]

why not mount the electronics on the rack? or elongate the whole setup to fit on the seat tube or under the saddle?

[dbc1218]

right now I'm using two switches to control the charging and the lights so I needed to mount it up front. I would like to build a single circuit that would keep the batteries charged and keep them in the lights themselves and have no switches so all you would do is hook up the lights and go, but I'm working on a few other projects and this has to go to the backburner.

[T.R.]

How long does it take to recharge AA batteries with this setup?

[dbc1218]

I recently rode about 15 miles while charging the batteries the entire way. They went from completely dead to just under their rated voltage. This was about one and a half hours of riding at a steady pace as well. The charger for the batteries said it could charge these batteries in two hours when plugged into a car so I think this is pretty decent performance. So it can fully recharge the batteries but its probably better suited for keeping them charged.

[james.mcglashan]

an you please add a easy pdf of it all but with a stepping motor with the type of 0h4018s2015 so i can do it on my bike lol would you be able to make an easer circuit for it and please add how to add a usb port and can u rember that it is only 15V 0.5A. and how do i tell witch wire is witch when there are 2 browns, and i need to kno how to work each wire as there is 6 of them and not 4. how can i make a generator with theese.

[james.mcglashan]

(removed by author or community request)

[dbc1218]

In theory it could propel the bike as well as generate power, but it would be so under powered it wouldn't be worth it. I don't think the friction drive would work though, you would have to connect the motor to the wheel with a chain probably. Check out the Bonix hub motor kits, they have a really nice regeneration function to recharge the batteries when you ride as well as power the bike.

[imakethings]

can it charge 4 AA batteries?

[dbc1218]

As I built it, it will charge 2 AA's, which is what I wanted to power the lights. But you could use a charger like this Energizer 15 Minute Charger to charge 4 AA's because it has the car power outlet option. Just plug it in the outlet on BikeGen and charge all six batteries at once. I don't know how long it would take to charge them though.