Do they make bicycle-based generators?

I've wondered about this before, but I rarely give it much thought anymore. I think the last time I got reminded of this concept, except for today, was when I last watched the sci-fi flick "Soylent Green." Many of you may not be aware of that movie, since it is fairly old. In a thumbnail, it involved a collapsed society and a government that resorted to feeding the people with something they called Soylent Green. This green stuff was composed of dead humans albeit there has got to be better ways to recycle dead bodies, destroyed economy or not. Anyway, when some of the people found out about this, all hell broke loose and Charlton Heston was on the move, as usual - with or without his famous empty laugh, it doesn't matter. But to get to the point, there was some old guy on there that played his father in that film, and during the movie it showed him on a bicycle-based generator setup. Basically, the lights started getting dim in the house and he would pedal away to generate the electricity needed to power the primary electrical devices like light bulbs, etc. Dang, talk about an economic crisis!

Anyway, the concept is rather simple. Sort of like a rat in a cage turning a wheel to generate electricity, but I think it would be really neat if they sold bicycle-based generators in a rampant fashion. A lot of the people would get some much needed exercise along with feeling more like they are earning their keep by generating some free electricity that is driven by human input/effort. I mean, even if it only amounts to powering a few light bulbs, would it not be cool to exercise and produce electricity for your home all at the same time? I think that notion would not only be enough to motivate the ones that are on the fence of laziness, but would also motivate the ones that are on the verge of buying an exercise bike or treadmill, for example. Anyway, it was just a thought... I'd market this product and/or promote it, if it was in my inventory, just saying...

Update (2021): Well, it has been a few years since I posted this, so I thought it would be a good idea to drop down a few more tidbits. They still make an abundance of fuel-based generators, but we're starting to see more and more that come from solar power. The wind-based systems are still not as common for typical homes, but in certain areas that have more frequent wind, it is still an option. As for the bicycle-based generators, I don't really see a market for this yet, as for a fully functioning, pre-built bike with all the accessories.  However, there are parts you can buy separately to build your own. Even Amazon.com has a product at the moment called "K-TOR Power Box 20-Watt Pedal Generator" that can charge a 12 volt battery and comes bundled with a 12 Volt Charger and a rechargeable flashlight with integrated USB. I think you can also buy a 50-watt version, as well. I also seen some other ones, but they were hand crank devices instead of foot pedals. They did have one product that was especially for a bicycle generator, but it was too pricey for my liking.

Since we know you can buy all the parts needed for this style of generator, you can determine if it's worth it. I'll provide a highly detailed web page that will explain how to build this.  First, let's get to the link that provides excellent instructions: Bike Generator : 30 Steps (with Pictures)

Now, when it comes to whether it is worth it or not, that is up to you. However, going by the data from a few other websites that have calculated this, the bicycle-based generators do not sound very efficient. 

One source claims that an hour on the bike generates around 0.11 kWh, and the typical home uses 30 kWh of energy per day. So, an hour of cycling would only provide about 0.37% of the energy needed for 24 hours. I must say, though, electricity usage varies greatly from home to home, as a family of 5 with tons of appliances and electrical gadgets, lights, etc., will require an enormous amount more power than some single guy living in a small house. Plus, who says you can't use the bike generator for more than an hour per day and/or what if you pedal faster? However, going by that first calculation, a person could save more money by not using those Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets than they could by using this bike; ha!

Anyway, the link I provided above gave a few different numbers, as for power output from a bicycle-based generator, which was: "a beginner will probably produce an output of 100 Watts. A healthy person with good stamina will produce about 200 Watts and a professional cyclist will produce 400 Watts. That is the average output they can produce for one hour." Well, to put it in perspective, if you can only generate 100 watts per hour, that means your light bulb will most likely be going out shortly after you quit pedaling. You better make sure those bulbs are LED; ha! Do I still like the idea? Yeah, it's pretty cool. I'm sure there are other ways to build this style of generator to conduct more electricity (it might be harder to pedal, though), but the typical setup will be lackluster when compared to other generator options that use fuel, solar, etc. Dang, I just realized that this update is way bigger than the entire original post from a few years ago...

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