Can I buy an electricity generating bike?

The short answer is yes.  You can buy an electricity-generating bike. It's called the RE:GEN, and we're taking pre-orders for...

The short answer is yes. 

You can buy an electricity-generating bike. It's called the RE:GEN, and we're taking pre-orders for 2024 delivery. 

 

Most people understand the concept of a power-generating exercise bike but don't realise its potential. It's because microgeneration sounds...well, too small-scale to be useful in the modern world. Of course, that's the point. Microgeneration means small-scale energy production. It's the kind used in homes and small businesses: solar panels on a roof or small-scale wind turbines, for example. 

But one of the biggest advantages of this type of clean energy generation is that generally, it's less conspicuous and affordable and relatively easy to install and maintain. 

The opposite of micro-generation would be a hydroelectric dam or off-shore wind farm. These can be obtrusive to the landscape and expensive to build and maintain. However, they do produce large volumes of energy. 

It's easy to argue that these two types of energy production are mutually exclusive with relatively little in common. And while it's true you can't put 50-wind turbines in the average suburban garden, you can benefit from both large and small-scale energy generation as a home or business owner. In order to decarbonise the global economy, we must generate more clean energy, so why not use microgeneration more effectively, more regularly, to help support these much bigger energy projects? 

What about human power? 

Energym has developed several products that generate electricity. 

       And

 

Five people in gym wear standing behind a RE:GEN on a green-lit platform

 

The UK has 10 million gym members. Globally, the at-home exercise equipment industry is expected to hit $31 billion by 2025. Imagine tapping into all those workouts and then capturing and converting that energy and turning it into usable electricity. 

It's the benefit of microgeneration: exploiting a form of energy generation that's already happening. Indoor bikes fitted with Energym's technology allow for power generation without the associated economic, environmental, and political impacts of larger-scale projects like nuclear plants, hydroelectric dams, solar farms, etc. Switching to an electricity-generating bike requires no behaviour change on the user's part.

 

How is the RE:GEN an electricity-generating bike?

  • Users exercise as they would on any other stationary bike. The magic happens in the flywheel, where a generator captures and converts human effort and turns it into clean power. This power is transferred and stored inside the Ohm - a portable clip-on battery unit that sits between the handlebars.

  • The Ohm is 100 wH. Once a user has finished a workout, they can unlock the Ohm from the bike and use it to charge electronic devices. Users can also purchase a snap-on extender, allowing multiple devices to charge simultaneously.


    OHM BATTERY

 

  • During the workout, the Ohm is also a live power meter displaying functional threshold power (FTP) within a 5-colour zoning system, so users can easily see when they're exercising efficiently and at their peak. The Ohm is both WiFi and Bluetooth enabled.

  • The bike's electronics are stored in the Enerbox, which sits at the back. Its sleek design has a Lamborghini-inspired air-dissipation fin.

  • Resistance is controlled electronically via handlebar-mounted controls & an In-App manual/automated control.

  • Clean energy generation is tracked via an app. Users can see exactly how much human power they've captured during their workout. 
 

How Much Electricity Can a Bike Generate?

 

  • For the at-home REGEN: Generate and Store up to 100Wh per hour of cycling. One workout is enough to charge 2.6 MacBook Pros, 4 iPad Pros, or 14 iPhones (or Android equivalent). 

  • For the commercial bike (gyms and businesses): Generate and Store up to 250W per hour of riding.

You can watch part 1 of our gym installation in Berlin, Germany. 

 
 

 

Find out more about the electricity-generating RE:GEN home bike by clicking the button below.

 

Experience RE:GEN
Back to blog

17 comments

I think this is great idea. I also think Laura Wall is an idiot for suggesting such a thing.

Matthew

I think governments should make it a law that all gyms are fitted with these bikes and, in fact, all exercise equipment that can generate electricity.

Laura Wall

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.

Join the RE:VOLUTION

Solutions for every setting