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 […]
This colorful bike rack made from old bike frames was spotted in New York City by a BikeHacks reader. According to him, they were made by a local metal fabricator in Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. What an excellent way to put scrap frames to good use!
Mounting a digital drum controller on an exercise bike may seem silly, at first, but personally I consider it one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. It makes what used to a be a tedious chore into something joyous—more like dancing or marching in a drum line than “working out.” To use […]
A short film about Bill Holloway and Mauro Hernandez, of Masterworks Woodworking who “salvage condemned city trees, then build beautiful bicycles out of them.”
While on a trip to Mendoza, Argentina, I came across a man sharpening scissors using a bicycle to power his grinding wheel. It’s a clever lo-tech combination.
Peter William Wagner bounces across the fairgrounds at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011, delighting everyone whose path he crosses. The big purple eccentric-axled bike has two inflated all-terrain wheels that can also function as flotation for the aquatic parts of the annual Kinetic Grand Championship in and around Arcada, California, where this “whim-cycle” has appeared for the last six years. Even Peter’s baby granddaughter enjoys the ride.
My friend Karen Nazor send me a link to this video of animations being created, phenakistoscope/persistence of vision-style, on bicycle wheels, using paper cut-outs in the spokes. Really nifty.
