Skip to main content

Clean burn: This stationary bike powers a washing machine in its wheel

the bike washing machine combines exercise and chores
Image used with permission by copyright holder
When you’re pumping away on your stationary bike, you generate a bit of energy, about 100 watts if you’re in good shape. People have been trying to come up with a way to harness that power, instead of letting it go unused. There are bikes that power blenders and gyms. One day, a group of college students hopes, your workout could power your washer.

The Bike Washing Machine is an idea from students at Dalian Nationalities University in China. They shared the concept on design site Tuvie. As you pedal, it turns the washing machine’s drum, tumbling the clothes with water and detergent. If you’re super efficient and the bike creates more energy than you need to power the machine, the extra juice can be stored or used immediately to power a small display screen that tracks your stats. While the idea of combining exercise with a tedious chore like laundry might seem doubly torturous to some, those in remote, electricity-less areas could potentially benefit from a similar device.

For example, the Drumi is a foot-powered washing machine set to debut this summer for $170. With that little device, however, you don’t need to complete a full workout. It takes about five minutes to wash and rinse your clothes. It’s not meant to fully replace an appliance, but rather simply provide an eco-friendly alternative to using lots of energy and water for small loads of laundry.

The Bike Washing Machine is totally a concept at this point, so there aren’t a lot of details about how you would load in the water and detergent and where they would drain once the clothes are clean. There’s also one serious flaw in the design: After you power through your working and laundry, you’re just going to have to hop back on the bike to clean the clothes you just made all sweaty.

Editors' Recommendations

Jenny McGrath
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jenny McGrath is a senior writer at Digital Trends covering the intersection of tech and the arts and the environment. Before…
Kenmore explains why glass washing machines lids are spontaneously shattering
Shattered glass washing machine lid

Glass lids on a small number of Kenmore washing machines are spontaneously shattering, as shown in this picture. Elliott Advocacy

Are we caught in the spin cycle? A consumer advocacy group claims the glass lids of Kenmore top-load washers shatter spontaneously, and that brand-owner Sears is slow to resolve the problems. But don't worry, Sears tells us: They're designed that way on purpose.

Read more
Best Google Nest deals: Save on Nest Thermostat, Hubs, and Doorbell
Google Nest Home devices.

There are a lot of different home ecosystems you can go for, and there are really three big players in the market: Amazon, Samsung, and Google. If you're in the Google ecosystem already, then you're in luck because there's a plethora of devices you can get to expand your smart home with Google-supported devices. Primarily, that includes the Nest Hub, Camera, Doorbell, and thermostat, and there are quite a lot of excellent deals across the board for all of these. Of course, the deals come and go along with the sales events, but we've collected our favorite Google Nest deals below and will update them regularly as we find new and better deals.

Google Nest Hub Deals

Read more
Last chance to get this Roomba robot vacuum for $159 (42% off)
iRobot Roomba 694 at Best Buy - WiFi connected robot vacuum

There's a lot of things that a robot vacuum can do to help you keep your floors clean, and if you're interested in getting one, you're going to want to take advantage of this 42% discount for the iRobot Roomba 694. A leftover offer from the robot vacuum Cyber Monday deals, it's still online to give you one last chance to buy the robot vacuum for just $159 instead of $275. There's no telling how much time is remaining before you miss out on the $116 in savings, so if you want it, you're going to have to hurry with your purchase.

Why you should buy the iRobot Roomba 694 robot vacuum
The iRobot Roomba 694 may not be the latest model of the brand's robot vacuums, but for most families, it will get the job done. It features a three-stage cleaning system that allows it to pick up all kinds of dirt, debris, and pet hair, alongside an edge-sweeping brush that handles corners and edges and dual multi-surface brushes that work on different floor types. The robot vacuum also comes with an auto-adjust cleaning head that can change its height, so it can go from carpets to hard floors without missing a beat. It can run for 90 minutes from a full charge, after which it will automatically return to its dock to recharge.

Read more