Andy Lagzdins built and documented a pedal-powered air compressor to run the power tools in his motorcycle workshop.
We built a pedal-powered generator and controller, which is practical to use as an energy source and exercise machine in a household – and which you can integrate into a solar PV system. We provide detailed plans to build your own, using basic skills and common hand tools.
The present approach to pedal power results in highly inefficient machines.
The possibilities of pedal power largely exceed the use of the bicycle.
From the 1870s onwards, pedals and cranks were attached to tools like lathes, saws, grinders, shapers, tool sharpeners and to boring, drilling and cutting machines.