A new product to charge your mobile device while biking

biker2010
biker2010 Posts: 2
edited October 2010 in Workshop
Dear all,

When you want to go on a bike ride and bring your iPod or mobile phone with you, but it has no power... do you reluctantly leave your device at home or do you delay your bike ride? Do you commute to work on your bike and want to charge a mobile device while you ride?

We (a few students at Columbia University) are developing a new product (tentatively called "iCharge") that attaches to your bike to harness the energy of wheel rotation to charge your mobile devices. We would appreciate if you can go to https://columbia.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID= ... aJeiMzWJG4 and fill a 2-minute survey to share your preference on product development. Thanks a lot in advance!

The options we would like you to consider for the iCharge are:

A) Number of mobile devices (i.e. iPod, mobile phone, GPS) that can be charged at the same time: 1 or 2

B) Color: Black or Matches color of bike

C) Conventional cycling device such as front and back light, speedometer, odometer, rpm, cycling time

D) Weight: 1lb, 1.5lb, or 2lb

E) Price: $100, $150, or $200

Comments

  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Don't take this the wrong way, but I think D) and E) need rethinking. Not many cyclists would lash an extra 2 lbs to their bike unless they can eat or drink it, and I think $100 is a bit steep for a phone charger. Can you not simply adapt a hub dynamo? I think several epic long distance cyclists have used this kind of arrangement to charge mobile devices on the go
  • vorsprung
    vorsprung Posts: 1,953
    If I wanted to do this I would connect a "Busch & Muller E-Werk Dynamo Powered Device Charger" to my generator hub

    Keef66 mentioned the weight. The E-Werk is an extra 53 grammes if you already have the hub

    See http://www.bumm.de/docu/361e.htm
  • dmch2
    dmch2 Posts: 731
    Or get a solar one for £10 from maplin
    2010 Trek 1.5 Road - swissstop green, conti GP4000S
    2004 Marin Muirwoods Hybrid