Turns out riding a bike can have more benefits than simply exercise or green-transportation… these days your pedal power can provide juice for your cell phone, the TV at your gym, and now even your washing machine. Pedal your way to cleaner clothes – and save energy and get fit in the process! We mentioned Cyclean in our earlier Green Your Appliances post as an eco-friendly option to most energy and water-sapping commercial washers. The system is actually quite simple- designed and constructed by Alex Gadsden, your pedaling spins the internal washer chamber using no electricity whatsoever. While Cyclean is still just a prototype, its potential is huge- imagine what such a machine could do for off-the-grid locations and rural villages!
The contraption itself is built out of parts Gadsden found in scrap yards and dumps. All he needed was an old washing machine to strip down to just the drum and shocks- then he made a frame for the machine to sit on, and integrated a universal joint which connected the back of the machine to the wheelbarrow wheel. The last step in the construction process was building a frame for the bike to sit on using the brazons on the bike. Put it all together and he had a lean green eco-friendly washing machine that gets your clothes clean and your waistline leaner all in one fell swoop.
18 Responses to “CYCLEAN BIKE-POWERED WASHING MACHINE”
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excellent
i have been hanging out for someone to make one of these
please keep us informed about alex’s cyclean
and let us know when we can buy one in tasmania, australia
[...] Inhabitant Tags:bicycle, consumption, electricity, washing [...]
[...] Inhabitat [...]
[...] is awesome, the Cyclean – a pedal powered washing machine – [via [...]
This will be a hit in third-world countries.
This is a good idea, and the name of the machine is great!
I want one. Keep us posted.
I’m fairly certain I saw one of these on episode 1 of “Outrageous Wasters” on BBC Three a few days ago: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/programmes/outrageous_wasters/
Great idea and not just for 3rd world countries – I can see some young entrepeneur hiring high shcool and college kids to pedal for extra cash. Open a whole new world of laudramats!! Great for us oldies who need the exercise and to save money. Hope this becomes more than a prototype in the very near future.
Back in the 70′s/80′s Mother Earth News had at least one article on pedal power – esp for TV watching. Don’t forget Ed Begley pedaling for toast. Maybe he should be contacted to promote this.
where can we get one?
I wont deny it is a great idea to save energy and get fit at the same time. What I do not agree is why it will be shock the 3rd wolrd countries. Are the american population the ones are overweight and so fat that you are forgetting to walk. At least in this way it is of great benefit for all the world. Good health it is not an issue of the devoloping countries.
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dear sir,
.
is it possible to get a plan to build it myself!? I really love that idea for my home so i can do exercise and save lots of energy. Yes and by the way i am a German cheap skater
I was always looking for things like that for myself, i love to be green in some ways.
And i agree with Bellen, it’s good for everyone. Imagine the power u can make in an simple Gym where people even pay to get in shape and use running trainers and bycycles how many power could one of those Gyms provide over a full day!?
Isn’t that worth a little thinking?
Thank u and have lots of success with it
is it valid to think that these types of solutions are always going to affect 3rd world countries? from what i have seen third world inhabitants are way more resourceful than the average inhabitant of an industrialized nation. if there is a washing machine in the third world they have either already done this, or they have turned it into something 10x more important, like a farming tool or a food storage device.
maybe instead of thinking that we are great enough to give the third world ideas and solutions, we give them more credit and raw materials, and then look to them for solutions. they are just as smart as we are, and they are living in a way that closer to being sustainable than we ever will.
i vote to exporting carefully selected junk to the third world so they can sell it back to us and make a profit. and so we can learn how to live.
THIS IS AMAZING! PLS. E-MAIL ME IF THIS CAN BE MADE TO ORDER? I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS CONCEPT FOR YEARS AND I’VE BEEN HAND WASHING MY CLOTHES FOR SO LONG! NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT IF I USE MY WASHING MACHINE, I ACTUALLY WRING MY CLOTHES DRY AFTER RINSING SO THAT I CAN USE THE RINSE WATER FOR MY NEXT LOAD! THIS LOOKS LIKE IT WILL TAKE ON A HUGE LOAD; IS WATER EFFICIENT; AND GIVE ME THE ADDED EXERCISE WITHOUT PAYING SO MUCH FOR THE GYM, WATER RATES AND ELECTRICITY…. PLS. EMAIL ME ON JJJRAINBOW@YAHOO.COM.AU I’M MORE THAN WILLING TO PAY TO GET THIS THING MADE!
CHEERS, STEPH
This is pretty neat. One of the main challenges for commercializing such a product is the shipping costs.
We currently have a non-electric mini washer and are working on a larger version which should come out in the near future. Our website is at http://www.laundry-alternative.com, please feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions.
i want one
can i make it myself and where can i buy one just in case —-
Outsanding and very useful for Developing countries like Benin. If you ever think about lauching it in West AFrica I’m your man.