Building a pedal power bicycle 12 volt generator, ghetto style

[MetroMPG]

I've wanted to do something like this for a while, mostly because I think it'd make for an interesting and cool project.

Goal:

Use my existing bike to generate DC power to charge a battery which I can then use to power various small household AC things through an inverter.

Motivation:

Generally to learn stuff about this stuff. My existing level of expertise with human powered generators is ... as a kid, riding one of my neighbour's bikes with one of those generator-against-the-front-tire powered headlights.

Also, I sit on my butt most of the day. Being able to hop on the bike and feed a few watts into a battery will be a good break to get the blood flowing.

Also also, it's winter, and the apartment I'm staying in has zero insulation. I can either be completely sedentary and crank up the heat up to feel nice and warm, or I can occasionally hop on the bike for a few minutes of pedalling.

Budget:

Haha! Budget? I don't need no stinking budget!

This will be as close to free as possible. Scrounged. Ghetto. Used parts. Stuff I've already got.

So here we go...

Edit: added January 21, 2009... YouTube video of the project's success!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzQiurfsypI