Since 2007 we've been Pedal Powering music stages, amplifying speeches, and hosting off-the-grid mobile parties for clients including: The Yes Men, West Fest, Greenpeace, Global Exchange, NOW, The San Francisco Marathon, Maker Faire, Central Park, Specialiized Bicycles, the Green Festival, San Francisco Mayor's Office, Virgin Mobile Festival, New Belgium Brewery, Save the Redwoods, Bluegrass for the Greenbelt, and the Ride to Prevent ALS. Please read on as we explain the reasons event producers love our Pedal Powered Stage.

Looking for technical details?

Please read our complete technical spec document. Use the green triangles to expand different sections of the document. Use the back button to get back to this page.

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Check out the latest shots from our Pedal Powered Stage events

Want to be part of the Pedal Powered Stage crew?

Please get on our local events list by joining the SF Cruisers group, and introduce yourself at an event.

Want to get a taste of a Pedal Powered Stage event?

Click play below for highlights from the 2009 Bicycle Music Festival.

Pedal Power is Social.

Pedal power is an ice-breaking, fresh social activity that connects strangers in an electrifying way: working shoulder to shoulder, rocking the party as a team. When it's time for the dancing spirit to bust loose, pedal power's movement gets people moving. Only a hands-on (and feet-on) experience this cool can transform what might have been a merely excellent event into a soul-moving, year-making event.

Musicians and Audiences Rise to the Occasion

Bands love playing through Pedal Power because the audience is already moving at the beginning of their set.

Above: Oona performs on the Pedal Powered Stage at Critical Mass afterparty.  Photo: Aufdencamp.

Biked-in sound = quick deployment and unusual locations.

 Turn the heads of everybody at your event as we magically arrive on cargo bikes loaded with sound equipment, set those same bikes up to power the sound system, then load the bikes back up and vanish, all without consuming any fossil fuels. The fact that we bike the bike, not just talk the talk, inspires participants at your event. 

 Our fleet of cargo and custom party bikes includes the Choprical Fish (complete with onboard neon lights, bumping sound system, and pedal-power capabilities). It can immediately start cranking out tunes as we set up our stage, usually in about an hour.

When you don't need electrical outlets, the whole world becomes a stage! Want to rock the floor of a trade show or a big concert in a city park without lobbying the powers-that-be for permission to plug into an outlet? Want to have your wedding at the end of that pier? Want to rock a concert at the beach, amidst the redwoods, in a wildflower-speckled meadow, on the school playground, on the steps of city hall, or even in-motion with a "live on-bike" performance? With pedal-power, that power is in your hands (and feet)!

PR building blocks

The pedal powered stage amplifies your press coverage! An event with a remarkable sound system gets remarked on by the press, and we've proven that pedal power provides that 'unimpeachably cool-factor' that catches their ears and turns their gears everytime. Stretch your marketing dollar! Let your investment in the sound system work for you twice: onstage and off! Rock the Bike will help your PR effort with multimedia tools: videos, web, photos, tech info, and more.

Note the improved coverage in the TV20 clip below:

Pro Audio sound from names you trust:

Our gear selection includes:

- Mackie 8 channel and Soundcraft 12-channel mixers
- JBL PRX Series ultra-efficient 3-way cabinets.
- Mackie and JBL stage monitors
- Custom 30' snake
- Shure wired and wireless microphones
- custom, one of a kind Soul Cycles -- integrated music bikes with built in neon lighting

See all the technical details in our complete technical spec document.

Even those with the pickiest ears -- musicians -- rave about the clarity and commanding presence of our system. Each year at the SF Bicycle Music Festival we use the Rock the Bike system to amplify 15 different bands ranging in tone from salsa bands with full horn sections, to whispering singer-songwriters accompanied by a ukulele, and broadcast it to hundreds of sonically-spoiled city dwellers in a challenging outdoor urban setting. And every year, we get the party moving with pedal power.

Compromise on volume, not sound quality:

The clipping is right. Raw decibels aren't the only way to measure the effect of the amplified music at your event. Most music fans want the clarity and presence that comes from using professional quality gear, but they can do without the ringing sound in their ears when they're heading home from an event. With a modular system capable of producing anywhere between 75 – 2000 watts, Rock the Bike makes sure that the volume is exactly what you need: no more, no less.

Lower listening levels can be more social, giving people a chance to hear each other talk while still feeling "in the music." 

Rock the Body: Workout for Your Audience

With 53% of adult Californians and 22% of children considered medically obese, and many more people of all shapes suffering from respiratory disease from polluted air, immersing your audience in the magic of bike-culture with the pedal powered stage couldn't be a more considerate or timely gesture.

 
Photo: Steve Rhodes

 Healthy habits gain momentum when friends can move in that direction together. We're all about getting your audience interested in bikes, and often bring extras that they can try out. Our super-duty Mundo cargo bikes can carry riders weighing up to 400 lbs, and are safe and stable. It might help rekindle their long lost bicycle-love.

Sound guys with Soul:

With Rock the Bike  you get experienced Sound guys and MC's who are leaders in the green movement. Quit worrying about coordinating the sound guy, the DJ, the band, the iPod and the 'groovy chill mix.' Our team are all musicians who enjoy interacting with bands, are comfortable making announcements and MC'ing, as needed. We're not just sound guys; we're leaders in the Green movement. We carry plenty of good music with us to keep the event moving during breaks.  Rock the Bike team members have rocked the mic at events such as San Francisco Green Festival, Maker Faire, Bioneers, and other green/ alt-culture events. 

A crew of entertainers at your service.

Inspiration Station:

We want to help you mobilize your audience.

At the Ed-Station we raise consciousness about:

• global warming and its connection to electricity production

• the magic and simplicity of the bicycle/human-power option

• how each of us can make a difference (and have a blast) by riding our bikes more.

  We help people feel ready to rock their bike by offering free bike fitting and advising, encouraging them to take the "2 Mile Challenge," and inviting them to connect with their local bike scene, bike safety classes, social rides, and advocacy through a San Francisco Bike Coalition membership.

Cruiser ride to your event

Create excitement before your event begins by inviting your audience to join an exclusive Rock The Bike social cruiser ride out to your event. People will never forget cruising to your event next to their friends through the streets of San Francisco immersed in a cloud of glowing neon soul-cycles, Marvin Gaye bumping over the traffic noise, feeling high from the community spirit as people on the sidewalk clap their hands and cheer.