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smart bikes / trainers should provide this
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ability to make that power you generate functional....

https://tomsfinds.energymfit.com/a100-001-i1
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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Agreed all Pelotons should be converted ASAP.
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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The economics are, at best, marginal.

Residential power is about $0.13/kwh

You have to ride at 200W for 5hrs to generate 1kwh

An inverter (to convert the DC power to something you can pipe back into the grid) would add ~$200 to the retail cost of a trainer....if not more.

Given the above, it would hit break even after ~8,000hrs of riding. The typical work year 40hrs/wk is 2,000hrs.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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Titanflexr wrote:
The economics are, at best, marginal.

Residential power is about $0.13/kwh

You have to ride at 200W for 5hrs to generate 1kwh

An inverter (to convert the DC power to something you can pipe back into the grid) would add ~$200 to the retail cost of a trainer....if not more.

Given the above, it would hit break even after ~8,000hrs of riding. The typical work year 40hrs/wk is 2,000hrs.

1kwh is a pound of coal.

If Zwift alone has 5,000 concurrent users, that's 1,000 pounds of coal that's not used to make electricity per hour.
24,000 lbs of coal not burnt per day
50,000 lbs of C02 not released into the atmosphere.
Every day.

I talk a lot - Give it a listen: http://www.fasttalklabs.com/category/fast-talk
I also give Training Advice via http://www.ForeverEndurance.com

The above poster has eschewed traditional employment and is currently undertaking the ill-conceived task of launching his own hardgoods company. Statements are not made on behalf of nor reflective of anything in any manner... unless they're good, then they count.
http://www.AGNCYINNOVATION.com
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [xtrpickels] [ In reply to ]
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xtrpickels wrote:
Titanflexr wrote:
The economics are, at best, marginal.

Residential power is about $0.13/kwh

You have to ride at 200W for 5hrs to generate 1kwh

An inverter (to convert the DC power to something you can pipe back into the grid) would add ~$200 to the retail cost of a trainer....if not more.

Given the above, it would hit break even after ~8,000hrs of riding. The typical work year 40hrs/wk is 2,000hrs.


1kwh is a pound of coal.

If Zwift alone has 5,000 concurrent users, that's 1,000 pounds of coal that's not used to make electricity per hour.
24,000 lbs of coal not burnt per day
50,000 lbs of C02 not released into the atmosphere.
Every day.

Yes, that what is saved. To get that, every smart trainer would need to have the ability to feed power back into the grid. There is no efficiency of scale (every additional user requires an additional trainer/inverter).

My point is that exercise equipment doesn't have these regenerative features because the economics don't support them. Reducing emissions is a laudable goal, but there won't be much market appetite for negative ROI solutions. Right now even positive ROI solutions like home-based solar and EVs are slow to get traction due to long payback periods.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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On the other hand my body is giving of so much heat that I can turn my heating down or off for as long as I am training.
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [mikemelbrooks] [ In reply to ]
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My trainer is in a 11 by 7 foot room with a single window. I have a fan on the wall, a fan in the window, and a little fan on the trainer to keep it cool. I have 2 TVs and a computer in that room as well.

On a normal winter day with the heat isolated and the door open it will be 68 degrees in the room when I start. With all the fans running and the outside temp in the 30's and the door shut the room will only drop about 5 degrees over the 1 hour that I ride.

That is a lot of thermal energy release by my body and the trainer.

"...the street finds its own uses for things"
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [AutomaticJack] [ In reply to ]
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You guys are thinking about this all wrong. We need to convert the energy of people talking about Zwift and Peloton and posting on social media how their rides were. Far more energy potential here...gotta be in the gigawatt range.
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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Titanflexr wrote:
The economics are, at best, marginal.

Residential power is about $0.13/kwh

You have to ride at 200W for 5hrs to generate 1kwh

An inverter (to convert the DC power to something you can pipe back into the grid) would add ~$200 to the retail cost of a trainer....if not more.

Given the above, it would hit break even after ~8,000hrs of riding. The typical work year 40hrs/wk is 2,000hrs.

Price of power is at least double that in Australia, and the economics still dont stack up (shame though!)

Edit: Would be cool if you could charge your power wall by using your trainer. Quick, someone call Musk!
Last edited by: Andrew69: Feb 27, 21 18:09
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [Andrew69] [ In reply to ]
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Andrew69 wrote:
Titanflexr wrote:
The economics are, at best, marginal.

Residential power is about $0.13/kwh

You have to ride at 200W for 5hrs to generate 1kwh

An inverter (to convert the DC power to something you can pipe back into the grid) would add ~$200 to the retail cost of a trainer....if not more.

Given the above, it would hit break even after ~8,000hrs of riding. The typical work year 40hrs/wk is 2,000hrs.

Price of power is at least double that in Australia, and the economics still dont stack up (shame though!)

Edit: Would be cool if you could charge your power wall by using your trainer. Quick, someone call Musk!

Reminds of the typical Valley hackday/week project. Someone at TSLA may have already done it for fun. FWIW, it would take about 70hrs of Zwifting to get a full PowerWall charge (but you also earn the Tron bike for free in the process).

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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About 2008 Tacx brought out a trainer that did have regenerative power. I *think* it was the bushido that replaced the initial i-magic trainers, albeit still relying on the same software that was even less reliable than a Volkswagen diesel emissions test.

The issue there was that it was fine in netherlands but needed special approvals to make it comply with the electrical regulations in many other regions. So meant that the sales were massively delayed. And I believe they also caused issues if they were plugged into a different circuit to the computer, as when they fed back up the line it tripped RCDs. Fine if on the same circuit as the PC would draw more power than the i-magic produced so there was still a nett current draw.
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [Duncan74] [ In reply to ]
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No ROI (so it's really about gee wiz factor), but the easiest thing would be for the trainers to have a USB power out port. In addition to phones, Di2, Garmins, powerbanks, etc. that could be charged; many/most newer laptops can be charged via USB-C.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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There was a Black Mirror episode on this...
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [Sausagetail] [ In reply to ]
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Sausagetail wrote:
There was a Black Mirror episode on this...

Only if you do it whilst watching x-factor.....
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [AutomaticJack] [ In reply to ]
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AutomaticJack wrote:
My trainer is in a 11 by 7 foot room with a single window. I have a fan on the wall, a fan in the window, and a little fan on the trainer to keep it cool. I have 2 TVs and a computer in that room as well.

On a normal winter day with the heat isolated and the door open it will be 68 degrees in the room when I start. With all the fans running and the outside temp in the 30's and the door shut the room will only drop about 5 degrees over the 1 hour that I ride.

That is a lot of thermal energy release by my body and the trainer.

The heat is from you, but also from the trainer (your 200W or what ever going into the resistance unit and dissipated as heat + the energy to run the trainer (if a smart trainer- as it's plugged in and drawing power) + the energy to drive the fans + the energy into the laptop + waste in the laptop PowerPack + the energy from 2 TVs.

There's many hundreds of watts even ignoring the 'waste' heat your body generates.
Think how much coal is burned to run all those other electrical devices whilst on Zwift.
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [BobAjobb] [ In reply to ]
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Lots of gym bikes did this already I thought with the little message “keep pedaling to keep unit on”.

This limiting need for tons of extra power drop connections. Hence usually all the bikes are together and all treadmills together.

Didn’t the Tacx Neo do this? Not regen but self powered?
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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Does anyone remember the German Track Cyclist, Robert Fostermann, aka QuadZilla ? He challenged a Toaster to cook a slice of Bread....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4O5voOCqAQ


The German Track Team used to come to Colorado Springs to Train, and Race. And yes he is as massive as he looks'.
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Re: smart bikes / trainers should provide this [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]
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burnthesheep wrote:
Lots of gym bikes did this already I thought with the little message “keep pedaling to keep unit on”.

This limiting need for tons of extra power drop connections. Hence usually all the bikes are together and all treadmills together.

Didn’t the Tacx Neo do this? Not regen but self powered?

Yes, the Tacx Neo can be self powered. No need to plug it in. Though I have never tried it, mine is plugged in 24/7. This keeps the interior of the unit warm enough that, in Florida, I don't get humidity built up in the casing.
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