Bikes have been a popular way of transportation and recreation for many years, but they’re also an increasingly interesting DIY project! Whether you’re new to bike building or a seasoned veteran, there’s no shortage of news, parts and projects that can inspire your imagination. In these blog posts, we’ll dive deep into trends in the world of biking; from custom designs to engine-powered inventions and much more — get ready for some truly awesome things! Plus, learn about tips for getting started with small bike-building projects around your home. So strap on those gear helmets and join us as we explore what makes biking great today!
German maker Thorsten Wilms wanted to add a nice headlight to his new bike, but a couple of cables got in the way of a clean installation. He ordered a new clamp to compensate for the cables, but it ended up positioning the business end in the opposite direction. So he did what everyone with […]
Cool wearable tech from Irene Posch of Fashioning Technology. The wool gloves have conductive fibers knit into the fingertip and palm areas. Making a fist closes a circuit and lights up the LED arrows on the backs of the hands. 3V coin cells are accessible, but concealed, at the glove cuffs. The conductive thread in […]
Spotted at the recent Cedar Rapids Mini Maker Faire by Steve Hoefer. Looks like a piece of hardboard with a circular hole in it, lined with bike chain, to make an improvised “ring gear,” with variously-drilled chain gears and sprockets that roll around inside it to guide the pens. A similar idea was published by […]
Eric Hagan of ITP demonstrates “Cycle”, a stationary bike that’s mechanically connected to giant wheel with scenery sculpted upon it’s circumference.
JaxPaboo, AKA Pat Booth of Odessa, FL, wrote an Instructable showing how to hide a bike key inside the fork of the bike, using a wine cork. (I wonder if painting the cork to match the frame would be a good idea?)
Worldwide Cycling Atlas produced this excellent video about Maya Pedal Asociación, a Guatemalan organization which has been repurposing bicycles into machines since 1997. Created because of the expense and scarcity of electricity in the municipality of San Andrés Itzapa, their Bicimáquinas are pedal-powered pumps, blenders, threshing machines, and washing machines. They’re doing great work and […]
MAKE pal Dino Segovis brings us this handy tutorial on running a stepper motor in “reverse,” i.e. turning the shaft mechanically in order to generate electrical power, instead of the normal usage. He writes: Any electric motor will also output a voltage when it’s freely spinning. Stepper motors are much better at this because they […]
