Originally Posted by hotbike
http://www.scienceshareware.com/how-...DC-current.htm
http://www.scienceshareware.com/bike_gen.htm
Realisticly, you could pedal all day and only generate ten cents worth of power.
But it would come in handy in a blackout.
Some deep disharge batteries, a 12 volt to 120 volt inverter, and some photovoltaics (solar panels) would be first on my list.
I would use solar panels to charge my electric moped. I use the grid to charge my electric bike now. The electric bicycle has a generator mode, but I have yet to make the 5 LED power display move up a notch by pedalling.
So how many square feet of solar panels does it take to charge your moped in between uses? Keep in mind that you can't use it during the day if it's charging.
Also, keep in mind that charging a lead acid battery is only about 70% efficient, meaning that it requires about 142 watt-hours for every 100 watt-hours you store in the battery. Then there are is the inefficiency of the inverter. At best, you will lose 10% of your stored power in the inverter. So, for 142 watt-hours on the bike, you'll get less than 90 watt-hours delivered to a load. That's not going to be very useful.
For lighting and to power radios, you would be better served using small battery operated LED flashlights and a walkman-type of radio with a couple sets of batteries kept aside for emergency use. If you have need for more power, then consider keeping a marine battery or two on a trickle charger so it will be fully charged when you need it. A typical deep discharge battery holds about a kilowatt-hour of power. It would realistically take you days to generate that much power on a bike. By then, the lights should be back on.