Thanks Maker Faire! See you next year at the Pedal Powered Stage.

Thanks to the Maker Faire community, bands, pedalers, and crew! Maker Faire was a blast this past weekend. See you next year at the Pedal Powered Stage.

Oona Garthwaite performing on Saturday at the Pedal Powered Stage.

The Maker Faire community provided all the power used to amplify the bands.

Cello Joe performs under pedal power at Maker Faire.

Justin Anchetta performing on the Pedal Powered Stage, framed by the Biker Bar and the Rock The Bike tent.

The Biker Bar was mostly in effect on its West Coast debut. When it worked, it worked very well, and the noise level coming from the gearbox was acceptable, especially mounted as it was on grass.

But there were several mechanical issues, all of which stemmed from spec’ing hardware that was too wimpy for the task of securing the gear box to the frame. The wood screws we chose pulled out of the 3/4″ plywood on Saturday afternoon.

Since we had added between the gear box and the plywood, a shockproofing layer to reduce noise, there was room for the screws to flex and work loose.

We switched to our 2-bike system shown above.

On Sunday, reinforcements arrived. Leif and Idran brought tools and better hardware from Berkeley.

5 Cent Coffee’s Smitty Delacroix taking a Ukelele solo whilst pedaling the Electric Mundo.

Kids pitching in some Human Power on the Biker Bar.

Ideally, you want a guy like Gabe working the knobs for you. by you.

It was the first event where we used a proper pro-sound setup, with the mixer located out in the audience, where Gabe, our sound guy, could make eye contact with the bands and make adjustments as needed. Bands enjoyed better sound quality than any previous Rock The Bike event. We had two JBL PRX535 main speakers, and one JBL EON 10″ monitor, all digitally powered.

Dance party at the end of Maker Faire Day Two. We turned up the mix as loud as two people could pedal. by you.

At the end of the second day, we challenged two pedalers to produce as much power as possible for a 10 minute dance session. It felt like the entire Faire collected at the Pedal Powered Stage to jump and shake one last time before the event closed.

Pedal Powered Spin Art is nice because, unlike music or blending smoothies, little kids can easily pedal it with great results. by you.

We had our West Coast debut of Pedal Powered Spin Art. One of the really nice things about Spin Art is that little kids can easily pedal it. Blending requires more power and for kids, this requires a certain focus. In our Fender Blender video, you can see the look of determination on 8-year-old Arthur’s face as he blends a smoothie. Compare that to the relaxed expression of the girl above. That’s the difference with Spin Art. The level of physical exertion for Spin Art is much lower, so kids can get totally immersed in the Spin Art without needing to think about their next pedal stroke.

The Spin Art station doubled as a bike blender, cranking out ice cold smoothies for the crew.

Mafi makes a sign for Spin Art.

The weekend started with an awesome group ride from Dolores Park. Photo: Dustin Jensen

Cello Joe in effect on the ride. by you.

The weekend started with an awesome group ride from Dolores Park. Cello Joe added his beat to the music from our Soul Cycles.

The Biker Bar was carrying the speakers and several instruments for the bands. The old SLA battery for the Electric Mundo only lasted the first quarter of the ride. After that we had to push up the hills and at intersections to get it started.

Luckily we had strong pedalers with good attitudes. Oliver took it for the last 8 miles.

Justin Anchetta took the middle leg.

Day Two crewmembers heading home from Caltrain. by you.

Each night after the Faire, we took Caltrain back to the City and rode home with loaded up Mundos and Xtracycles.

Gabe of SHAKE YOUR PEACE! leading a singalong.

We got a little dance party going on the Caltrain at the end of Day 1.

Thanks Maker Faire! See you next year at the Pedal Powered Stage.

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