No, but I've seen plenty of stationary bikes that seemed to be powered by televisions.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Years ago I read an article in which a father had 2 kids that wanted to watch TV so he setup some type load generator to the bike which charged a battery. The kids could either ride while watching TV or ride to charge the battery so they didn't have to ride while watching . I'm sorry but I don't remember and specifics. mike

The "Science World" here used to have them... Pedal like a mofo for a few seconds of TV. Mind you I was maybe 9 when I last saw it, and trying to ride an adult-sized stationary bike. But it can definitely be done.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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Here's one.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/.../sci/tech/324028.stm

oddly enough
I work in media
and was working on a project with Rodale publishing
and remember seeing a contraption where the bike would power the tv.. this is back in the 70s when Rodale was first pushing bycycling fitness

They apparently have one in some "energy house" at UC Berkely. The bike runs everything from the TV to the blender, so I believe I have read.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

It's a small world but just tonight my wife just brought home a $20. crank radio that doesn't need electricity. It has a crank on the front that you turn for a few minutes and then charges the radio to last twenty minutes, at which point you do that again.

I asked her why the heck she would ever buy something like that and her reponse was in case we have a major power failure and need to know what is going on.

Only a woman could think that far ahead.

i think in one of the engineering classes here, they power a tv with an erg(rowing machine).
i like the father/kids deal.

They used to have one at the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology in the 80's. Not sure if it is still there. It might be a great way to force you maintain a minimum power output during a ride, say 175 W. Anything less and the picture dies out :-). Forget about the battery, keep it honest by having the trainer directly generate 110V 60 Hz.

Now THAT cracked me up. There is no doubt that my trainer is powered by my laptop (DVDs).

This does seem like a great idea to me, and honestly, it can't be much of a stretch considering a huge amount of trainers rely on MAGNETS for resistance! Duh! Some coiled copper wire and a couple of leads and you have DC! Pass it through a hardware store battery/cigarette lighter inverter box, and you're running the TV. Or charging your cellphone, laptop, PDA, and MP3 player.

I would definitely buy a new magnetic trainer that has 12V DC output leads... especially if it feels like a fluid trainer.

-Zo

Read the label on the back of your TV, it should tell you how many watts it uses. Please let us know, I'm curious and don't have a TV.

From the LCD computer monitor on my desk, it is 120 volts, 1.5 amps.
The formula for conversion is W = V * A. So for the monitor requires 180 watts.
180 = 120 * 1.5

I just looked at a standard CRT monitor and it requires 2 amps or 240 watts!

I seriously doubt I could power my television. It's not huge, but it's bigger than most computer monitors, that's for sure. Anyway, I watch my laptop because I can't use the trainer in a good position for watching the TV. The AC-DC converter for my laptop says it output 130W. That sounds reasonably do-able - though I've never measured my cycling output...

-Zo

WOW! Tom D, Frank Day and cerveloguy all responded to my little post!! Whodathunk???? If only Mr. Tibbs would chime in, I'd feel like I've lived a full life!

Are there any MBA students out there looking for a product to build and market? Especially someone with a background in electrical engineering, or contacts in that field. Not only can you get rich, but you can help solve childhood obesity and addiction to TV. I envision appearances on Oprah as the savior of the next generation, attendance at the 2005 State of the Union speech as the solver of America's crushing health problems, and even an Nobel Peace Prize because we all know that criminal impules are seriously diminished by a 4 hour bike ride! I'll buy the first model produced!!

Come on guys.., its already been done. Didn't you all see that one ad on ESPN where Lance was riding a stationary bike in the generator room. He powered the entire building... LOL..!

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Paul..

I've actually thought about this one for a year or so and here's what I came up with:

The bike doesn't actually have to power the tv, as few 'average' families can generate enough watts. Instead, let the bike control the flow of electricity to the tv.

If the bike is at rest, the tv doesn't work. When the bike is in use, it flips a switch which allows the electricity to reach the tv.

Sadly, I don't think this idea would ever 'Cross the Chasm' (great book) from first adopters to the general public making it financially not worth it.

This is actually what that experiment referred to earlier did, the kids just had to pedal to turn on the TV, the bike was essentially an on/off switch.

Did anyone look to see how many amps/watts an average TV requires, dammit you've got me curious now.

Yea, on the Flinstones.

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Team Endurance Nation