Category: diy

Pedal bike with TRON bike lights

Richard MasonerFebruary 15, 20113 Comments on Pedal bike with TRON bike lights

Ingredients:

  • Electroluminescent (EL) wire that glows when AC current is applied to it.
  • An old stepper motor to provide variable AC power
  • An old cell phone charger wired in reverse to convert low-voltage produced by the motor to high voltage required by EL wire.
  • A bicycle
  • Human power

The result: a bike that changes in brightness (and even its color, a little) depending on your pedaling speed, a little bit reminiscent of a TRON lightcycle. In the below video, the TRON bike maker is on a swing bike so it looks kind of funny, but you get the idea.

View full instructions at Instructables, and be careful not to shock yourself with this project. Unless you’re into that kind of stuff.

P.S. Twitter contest deadline is noon. You can’t win if you don’t enter!

Posted In diy | electric

DIY no weld tandem bicycle

Richard MasonerJuly 15, 20084 Comments on DIY no weld tandem bicycle

DIY tandem bicycle

It’s pretty simple really, but see the step-by-step instructions at Instructables.

Basically, you do this:

  • Find two cheap bikes you don’t mind sacrificing.
  • Secure the front fork by drilling holes through the headtube and sticking bolts through so the steerer doesn’t move.
  • Cold set the rear bike’s front forks by spreading them out so they fit over the front bike’s rear forks/dropouts, then put the “middle” wheel in and use the rear wheel axle to hold the whole thing together.
  • Run a drive-side timing chain from the front bike to rear bike’s crankset. The front derailleur is removed, of course, as are both derailleur’s from the captain’s bike.
  • The drive chain is run from the rear bike’s other chainring to the rear bike’s rear derailleur.
  • Cable up shifters and brakes.
  • Ride it and have fun.

Details at Instructables.

Posted In diy