Bicycle Generator
Safety Warnings
Warning: Secure Bicycle Mounting
Warning: Hot Bulbs
Purpose
A volunteer pedals a bicycle connected to a generator to light an array of bulbs, giving students a visceral sense of the mechanical effort required to generate electrical power. Adding more bulbs increases the load, demonstrating energy conservation and the limits of human power output (~75-100 W sustained).
Figure 1:
Complete setup: bicycle on trainer, switch box on bench, and parallel-wired bulb array with mixed CFL and incandescent bulbs.
Figure 2:
The bulb array with mixed CFL and incandescent types at different power ratings. Bulbs are wired in parallel and can be switched on in any order.
Figure 3:
Detail of the Ascent Mag trainer showing the rear wheel contact with the roller that drives the generator.