Generators available from Rock The Bike
We sell two types of complete Generator Bikes, and also generator wheels to install on your bike, in three sizes: 24″, 26″, and 700c. We sell two ratings of wheels: Cargo Strength, or NeverGonnaHitThePavement. If you’re only going to use these as generator wheels, you can get away with a lower-quality spec on the rim and spokes. But if you’re planning to ride to and from gigs, and especially if you’re carrying a load on the wheel, you need our Cargo Strength wheels, rebuilt with downhill mountain biking rims and 12 Gauge spokes.
You can put our generator wheels on any bike. We recommend a bike with a wide size range, low stepover height, and gears.
So what kinds of complete generator bikes do we offer?
Cargo Bike Generators:
The widest, most stable generator we sell, and boasting a very wide size range thanks to its innovative bottom bracket design. A single-speed generator, it’s extremely simple to use.
Generator wheels to turn any bike into a generator:
The most affordable way to access our frictionless generator technology. You simply swap the rear wheel of your current bike and throw it on one of our stable trainer stands. Great for custom bikes like El Arbol above, or for low-cost generators. Still extremely quiet and powerful.
Above: Your bike can now be a generator, every bit as powerful and quiet as the ones we use at Rock The Bike events.
Special lightweight or higher/lower voltage generators:
We’ll consult with you to find lighter weight options for bike touring or specific application.
Want your bike to generate power? Now you can, with a hand-built generator wheel from Rock The Bike. You can also use it to upgrade your Mundo into an electric bike.
These generators have gearing that is optimized for 24V systems but will function on 12V system. In order to use the power you generate, you’ll also need a Pedal Power Utility Box.
Requires 2-3 weeks to build from time of payment. Please specify desired output connector.
What kind of bike makes a good generator for our generator wheels?
- Bikes with a wide size range
- Bikes with good standover height
- Bikes without rear suspension. Suspension (or “shocks”) makes a bike less stable when it’s mounted on a Stationary Stand.
- Bikes with a front derailleur and 2-3 chainrings. These have a wider gear ratio, making it easier to find the right gear ratio.
Cost:
700 c – $450 (not suitable for cargo use) or $425 as add-on to Fender Blender Pro purchase.
26″ – $525 (suitable for cargo use)
24″, 20″ – $525 (not suitable for cargo use.
Rentable: Yes
In the Box:
- Wheel with Generator Hub (in selected size)
- Rectifier cable with 2′ lead to wheel and 20′ cable for the DC output.
- 7-speed freewheel with 11-tooth cog for highest voltage range, or 1 speed on Electric Fender Blender Pro
Festival Grade Pedal Powered Stage
2 Bamboo Tripods for elevating precisely arrayed speaker clusters / 16 bikes / Stage lighting / AC power.
The Festival-grade package is both sonically and visually rich and serves as a prominent landmark at your event. Designed for the largest audiences, with large tripods angling the loudspeakers at distant rows. Beautiful at night.
Crowd Size: 500-2500
Setup Time: 3-4 hours
Crew size: 8
Getting it there: The entire sound system can fit on 6-8 cargo bikes and cargo trailers. Terrain will affect exact choice of roadie gear. Please consult with us!
Generators: We recommend 5 Mundo 500, 1 Boda Boda, 4 RTBGen, 2 Electric Fender Blender Pro, 4 generator wheel and stands.
Event space: We recommend a 12 x 24 stage. Additional space for Pedal Power generators, approx. 8×20.
Storage space: All gear will fit into a 10×15 storage space. Please see our storage recommendations for more info.
Lighting: Includes Stage Lighting panels for night events. Tripods have integrated lighting.
AC Power rating: 1000 W, Pure Sine Wave.
Audio Gear: 2 * Modified JBL PRX 635 mains, 2 * Modified JBL PRX 612 monitors, 2 * Modified JBL PRX 618XLF Subwoofers.
Budget: $49000 +-
Options / Upgrades:
You supply:
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Pedal Powered Stage packages from Rock The Bike
In this post we will simplify the world of Pedal Powered Stage gear into 4 simple packages: Small, Medium, Large, and Festival Grade. After producing over 150 Pedal Powered music events, we have created a dependable, reproducible system are are ready to simplify the process for you.
Small |
Medium |
Large |
Festival Grade |
|
One Bike / One Speaker. Our simplest system, by no means wimpy! A great demonstration of Pedal Power, and an amazing tool for up and coming artists. |
4 Bikes / 2 Speakers / AC Power. This is the smallest system we offer that can truly power up a live band. |
10 Bikes / Subs / Mains / Monitors / 1000W AC Get hundreds dancing. |
16+ Bikes / Subs / Elevated mains / Stage lighting / AC Visually bold, sonically rich, and beautiful at night, a true festival offering. |
| 100 People | 250-500 | 500-1000 | Up to 2500 |
| $3100+ | more info | $13950 | more | $27200 | more | $54000 | more |
We recommend you read and answer the survey questions posted on this page: http://www.rockthebike.com/basic-questions-to-consider-when-crafting-your-pedal-powered-stage/
This will help you clarify your target audience size, crew size, etc.
We also recommend you read and see the following posts and videos before diving in to the packages above.
What: Here’s a post that explains the components of a Pedal Powered Stage. Here we describe the basic building blocks of Pedal Power: Generators, Loudspeakers, circuits, etc.
Why: Check out Fossil Fool’s TED talk and other interviews on our About Us page to get the motivation for Pedal Powering music events. It’s about teamwork, community building, fun, and replacing gas generators.
Where: You can do it anywhere, but outdoor music events are the best settings. Our system uses cargo bikes to carry all the gear to events. Then we convert the cargo bikes into generators. See photos of past events:
Who: Your crew should include strong cyclists, outgoing ‘coaches’, techs, and performers. See pictures of the Rock The Bike crew in action.
How: Call us to get an estimate going for your gear package. We ship almost anywhere and specialize in building gear you can learn quickly and use dependably. You can also come to a Rock The Bike event and learn from us directly. Typical lead time for a Pedal Powered Stage is 6-8 weeks.
The Medium Pedal Powered Stage puts teamwork at the fore. 4+ people work together to power a live show.
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Medium Pedal Powered Stage
Gosh, I wish this one had a better name. It’s an awesome demonstration, great bang for your buck.
4 Bikes / 2 Speakers / AC Power
250-500 people
Cost: ~ $13950
Also known as the SHAKE YOUR PEACE! rig. This is the smallest system we sell that allows you to truly power up a band. This option provides AC power; most bands have at least one performer who needs AC power for their instruments (amps, keyboards, effect pedals).
Crowd Size: 150-300
Setup Time: 30 minutes
Crew size: 4
Getting it there: 2 of the bikes are cargo bikes. 1 tows another.
Event space: Generators will take up about 12 x 8. Recommended stage size 10 x 14 including loudspeakers.
Storage space: All will fit in 5 x 10.
Lighting: Stage lighting panels can be connected directly to a bike or the included Utility Box.
AC Power rating: Comes with a 600 Watt pure sine inverter capable of delivering 1200 Watt surges in power. However, for practical purposes, AC power will have to be less than 200 Watts (continuous) for a successful event.
The gear / What you get:
Budget:
Options / Upgrades:
You supply:
Crowd Size: 100 to 250
Setup Time: 1 hour.
Crew size: 4
Budget: 12K
Optimized for what types of performances? Bands without many AC Power instruments.
Other notes: With a Medium sized Pedal Powered Stage, you need to be conscientious about what types of bands you work with. Specifically, instrumentation.
The gear:
We recommend:
Generators
2 Electric Fender Blender Pro
2 Mundo generators (upgradeable to Electric Cargo Bike):
3 Generator wheel + stand (upgrade any bike)
Circuitry: Split-Rail Utility Box with integrated 600 Watt AC inverter.
Pedalometer: 4′ tube, visible across a wide area.
Barebones downgrade:
No Pedalometer tube.
Bass upgrade:
Get a subwoofer.
Required additional gear purchase / sourcing:
2 speaker stands.
Modified JBL PRX 635 Loudspeaker with built-in Dubla and single Ultracapacitor brick.
All cabling included.
$5000
Substitution: Pedal Powered DJ Booth. Add 1-2 subwoofers. Keep only 1 monitor. Now you’ve got a righteous rig for dance music. If you’re working with a great DJ, your audio needs will be different than if you’re planning to Pedal Power bands.
Read MoreLarge Pedal Powered Stage
Be at the forefront of the Pedal Power movement. Make history. The large Pedal Powered Stage includes enough loudspeakers, generators, circuitry, and interconnects for you to entertain a 1000-person audience, or larger. ‘No compromise’ sound for performers, thanks to ample monitors and AC power. The experience of playing on a Large Pedal Powered Stage is about the same as playing on a conventionally powered stage. To the audience it also feels and sounds like a medium-sized festival stage from a major festival.
Crowd Size: 300-1000
Setup Time: 2-4 hours
Crew size: 6
Getting it there: The entire sound system can fit on 4-6 cargo bikes. Use of cargo trailers will help reduce the number of roadies needed! Also, terrain will affect how much each roadie can haul.
Generators: We recommend 3 Mundo 500, 1 Boda Boda, 2 RTBGen, 1 Electric Fender Blender Pro, 3 generator wheel and stand.
Event space: We recommend a 10 x 20 stage. Additional space for Pedal Power generators, approx. 8×20.
Storage space: All gear will fit into a 8×10 storage space. Please see our storage recommendations for more info.
Lighting: For nighttime events, we recommend 3 stage lighting panels, plus additional decorative elements like speaker grill lighting.
AC Power rating: 1000 W, Pure Sine Wave.
Audio Gear: 2 * Modified JBL PRX 635 mains, 2 * Modified JBL PRX 612 monitors, 2 * Modified JBL PRX 618XLF Subwoofers.
Budget: $27200 +-
Options / Upgrades:
You supply: 3 bicycles for the Generator Wheels, mics, mixer, snake, audio cables, speaker stands.
Read More
Basic questions to consider when crafting your Pedal Powered Stage
The technical needs of a Pedal Powered event vary greatly depending on things like audience size, venue, and power needs of musician’s devices. Over the past 6 years Rock The Bike has Pedal Powered events large and small. In this post we’ll try to help you arrive at what type of Pedal Power system would make the biggest impact for you.
Above: Shake Your Peace! performs during the Bay Rising Tour on their Pedal Powered Stage crafted by Rock the Bike.
Please consider and answer these questions:
- Outdoor v. Indoor. Doing anything in an outdoor space requires more power, as there are no resounding walls. What are the spaces you wish to use as venues? Do you have a photo of one of the events you host?
- Will you be doing nighttime events? Is there always light available? Do you have a need for Pedal Powered Lighting?
- What is your main motivation for doing Pedal Power?
- Audience size. How many people are in the crowd at the events you envision Pedal Powering?
- Do you need to provide AC power? Examples of why you’d need this include: charging cell phones, charging laptops, powering a mixing board, powering a power tool as an example of Pedal Power.
Read More