Bringing Pedal Power to your event increases the fun and participation while decreasing the use of diesel generators, extension cords, and batteries. This instantly gets your group moving, breathing, and active. People are more likely to loosen up, enjoy themselves, and learn something new when their body is engaged. Our most popular activity — and the most accessible starting point for anyone interested in Pedal Power — is Bike Blending.
We’ve spent the last 8 years developing Pedal Powered activities that help everyday people experience their power to make change. From 1-bike stations like Bike Blenders to 20-bike concert systems where groups have to work together to enjoy a shared result, Pedal Power rocks! We do the hard work of engineering products and systems that are safe, dependable, educational, and fun. You bring in your local community and group and share the gift of human power with people for the first time.
Please read on to see the different Bike Blenders and our full array of Pedal Powered activities!
Fender Blender Bike Blenders
Stir up a scene at your event! Use your bike blender to produce a smoothie booth at a Farmers market or festival. It’s self-contained, and easy to run with one or two people. Sell smoothies to generate income at your event, or give them away or as a thank you or “Hello.”
Students will watch the mechanisms of this unique contraption in amazement, and will want to get on and make a smoothie for their peers. It’s a great teaching tool: you can lead lessons about physics, energy conservation, nutrition, health, and fitness.
We offer three models of bike blenders to fit your needs: Fender Blender Pro, Fender Blender Universale, and Fender Blender Xtracycle. For a wider variety of gourmet activities, get a High Performance upgrade on any of these.
A proper smoothie booth will need a table and at least a 5 x 10′ space for the bike and crowd. Ingredients will cost between $0.25-1.00 per serving, depending on serving size and whether you go organic. If your goal is pure fundraising, we hear that flavored ices are the cheapest way to satisfy a sweet tooth. Since it doesn’t require electrical power you can easily make a smoothie stand anywhere–indoors or out.
Above: 6th – 8th graders crank out Pedal Powered Sorbet (see below) and Bike Blended Smoothies after a school assembly.
We now offer full customization for your Fender Blender Pro. Promote your brand, organization, or school with a wheel wrap and custom frame color.
Pedal Powered Concerts and related gear.
Pedal Power music events, speeches and press conferences, or off-grid parties. Bands love playing on a Pedal Powered Stage because the audience is already moving at the beginning of their set. Organizations, towns, and cities love to speak through a Pedal Powered microphone to send a clear message about going green and the power within the community. Fans get to support the musicians or speakers and help contribute to the show.
Our Pedal Powered Stage gear is also great for school assemblies. Middle school students will be tall enough to pedal the assembly, while Elementary school students will enjoy watching. Have an unforgettable assembly at your school while teaching students about physics, how energy is made, and the benefits of bicycling.
What does a Pedal Powered event feel like? Check out this highlight video from the 2012 San Francisco Bicycle Music Festival:
The easiest way to get started with Pedal Powered Music (or speech) is with a One Bike / One Speaker system from Rock The Bike. One Bike / One Speaker has the simplest setup time of any Pedal Powered Stage system. Check out the video. Here’s an example of what’s possible with a One Bike / One Speaker system: a Pedal Powered press conference on the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall featuring the environmentalist Bill McKibben.
Pedal Powered Spin Art
Some people prefer a non-food activity because there are no permits required and the materials do not spoil.
This activity is compatible with any Fender Blender purchased since 2009. A belt (visible in the prototype above) takes power from the wheel and transmits it to the spinning platter within the drum. Pedal Powered Spin Art connects to a Fender Blender without tools, allowing you to expand your range of possibilities. The drum also comes with its own adjustable length table legs, allowing you to do Pedal Powered Spin Art anywhere.
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Leave your attendees with a lasting memory from your event! Spin Art is a great activity for kids. Spin Art is the easiest of all our activities to pedal in terms of physical exertion. It’s not a race, you just need to keep the platter spinning. Fast and slow both have their effects on the resulting artwork. The artiste can communicate what they want from the pedaler, including when a piece is finished and it’s time to see it stopped. Kids 10 and up will enjoy powering the experience for others; kids even younger can be the artiste. Spin Art is colorful, creative, peaceful, and inspiring. The process of making spin art is visually stimulating; people often stick around to watch many others take a turn. and always gets an audience.
It’s quick to set up and easy to do; all you need in addition are paint, paper, and a table for drying! Stamp your logo on the blank paper (or letterhead).
Leftover supplies will last from one event to the next, as long as you save them properly. You’ll need Tempra paint and squeeze bottles (above), as well as paper and some type of drying system (either lots of table space or string and clothespins). You can use a stamp or sticker to leave a permanent imprint on the paper. It may be pinned to a wall for years afterward making your logo or message a permanent fixture in someone’s room.
Spin Art is not just for kids; adults are equally excited to take part in the Pedal Powered version of this classic activity.
Ice Cream Bike
Two unrivaled crowd pleasers, ice cream and Pedal Power, combine in this engrossing event activity. Serve up Pedal Powered Ice Cream and watch community match unfold.
Pedal Powered Ice Cream is great for events with kids, who will be fascinated with the mechanical workings and delighted with the tasty results. Kids as young as 10 can pedal the bike and handle the level of exertion required. Activate their minds and bodies as you combine local ingredients with their good clean Pedal Power. It takes about 20 minutes to make a batch. People take turns; it’s not a race. The whirring and stirring noises from the machine are pleasant and won’t get in the way of teaching moments along the way, oohs and aahs. At the end you check for doneness by slipping the belt off the pulley, and popping the steel cannister open. You can expect soft serve-gelato consistency. By mastering the freezing process, in which you combine ice, salt and cold water to create a sub-zero bath around the cannister, you’ll be able to achieve a more dense, spoonable ice cream.
Built on a Fender Blender Pro frame, you can tow the Ice Cream Bike behind any bicycle using our trailer kit.
An Ice Cream Bike is a hit at events year-round, indoors or out. Fairs, concerts, conventions, gala dinners, trade shows, food cart gatherings, and summer camps. Satisfy the specialty dietary needs of your audience with low-fat alternatives like frozen yogurt or dairy-free recipes such as sorbet. Team up with a local dairy, egg, or berry farm and you might find a low-cost or sponsored source of ingredients along with an opportunity to co-promote their foods. If you’re serious about doling out sweet treats at your event, the Ice Cream bike can pump out up to 6 gallons of ice cream an hour! (Ask about our new 2 gallon size upgrade.) You’ll be nurturing them with calcium too.
Pedal Powered Light Activities
The state of the art sLEDgehammer harkens back to the classic carnival sledgehammer game, except here the challenge is to put your peak power output into the pedals of an efficient bicycle generator. Crowds will form to watch the display of human strength, and impromptu competitions erupt in cheers and celebrations. The sLEDgehammer can be set up as an event activity or as a semi-permanent custom install in a large space. The circuitry is robust enough to handle the momentary burst of power that people will summon when motivated by a challenge as cool as this.
This activity is visible across a wide space, so people from across a room or plaza will be able to see. Click here to watch it in action.
Rock the Bike’s LED Stage Lighting Panels are a simple way to get your audience involved. Throw light on the crowd and performers at your event. Give pedalers the chance to set the mood with unique color combinations.
Above: Sir Richard Branson pedals an early Rock the Bike light activity at the 2007 Virgin Mobile Festival.