To keep the bike steady I dedicated a bicycle trainer to the project. On the left side of the wheel, I attached a fixed cog, which spins in the direction of the chain as long as the wheel is turning. On the side that's driven by the pedals, I used a freewheel, which rotates the wheel when I'm pedaling but allows it to keep spinning forward, without the chain moving, when I'm coasting or pedaling backward. The chain on the right is driven by the pedals, while an added chain on the left spins the motor. I found a combination single-speed/fixed-gear bike that worked well, thanks to its ability to hold a cog on either side of the back wheel. Plus, he adds, "I like that the project has a lot of room for customization." "The exercise component was what made the project engaging," he says. He thought it would be a low-cost, fun way to provide students with engineering experience. While interning at an educational startup in L.A., Saul Lopez developed the idea as a way to bring environmental technology projects to schools. I found a lot of the build details on Instructables, the online project-sharing community, where user saullopez52 had done basically what I had in mind. And, finally, I added an inverter to convert the battery's DC current into an AC current, which is what's needed to power anything you'd normally plug into a wall outlet, and to store power so you can use appliances even when not pedaling. I used the motor (now, operationally, a generator) to charge a 12-volt lead–acid battery. To skip ahead a bit, I ended up rigging my bike to a 24-volt, 200-watt electric motor, which I modified slightly to generate electricity instead of doing mechanical work. Besides, I was curious to see what the project involved. Realistically, this wouldn't do much to cut my utility bills (or carbon emissions), but it would give my indoor riding a sense of purpose. By driving a generator with the movement of the back wheel, I figured I could run a lamp or charge my phone. This got me thinking about how I could use my pedaling to produce electricity. But riding to nowhere has always felt pointless. I'm a cycling enthusiast, and when the weather is bad I use a bicycle trainer in my apartment.
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