Bicycle Dynamo Spoke Clip for Bicycle Touring

thingiverse

**Warning**: This is an experimental tool, and you will be using both your bicycle dynamo and your wheel spokes in a way that they were never intended to be used. Do not use your bicycle for travel while these clips are attached. These spoke clips were designed with the dimensions of my own personal bicycle in mind, and may require adjustments to properly fit yours.You may damage expensive or difficult to replace parts of your bike by using these, and you may be far from home when that damage occurs -- please test carefully in advance of any trips and do not take any unnecessary risks. Use of these spoke clips is at your own risk! --- These clips allow you to use your bicycle's hub dynamo as a power source even while giving your legs a break. Brief Instructions ([see video on youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb4jNgG1odk)): 1. Flip your bike upside-down. 2. Clip one of these to every pair of spokes on the tire-side of where the spokes cross (i.e. closer to the tire rather than the hub) on the non-drive side of your bike (i.e. the side without your chain and gears). Attaching a clip to every pair is recommended to prevent your paracord from derailing and violently detaching nearby spoke clips. 3. Run a segment of shock cord or paracord around the outside of your newly-attached spoke clips. 4. Tie both sides of your paracord together tightly enough that the cord rests snugly inside your spoke clips, but not *anywhere* near tight enough to bend your spokes. 5. Pedal with your hands. It'll help if you up-shift to your highest gear. --- Every fall, I try to take a week off to do a little bike touring down a short segment of the Oregon Coast. I do it a little differently from most people, though, by not taking vacation time, and instead working in the morning, and traveling in the evening. This sort of arrangement requires a few scarce things: 1. Determination & discipline: It's sometimes incredibly difficult to focus on being productive when you're sitting next to the beach on your laptop. Don't do this if you have difficulty working in awe-inspiringly beautiful environments. 2. Cell coverage: This should be obvious, but I need to be tethered wherever I'm camping out. This sometimes requires some ingenuity and backup planning. 3. Power: Hiker-biker campsites rarely have power, and finding an electrical outlet at a day use area is not guaranteed. I have a bike dynamo for running my lights and charging my phone, but the dynamo adds a little resistance, and those hills can be really tough, so they are typically rated for just 3W. That's just not enough power, so batteries are a must. Unfortunately, those usually require stopping off at a car camping site every few days for a night to recharge. I'd like to worry less about the last option. Car camping sites are often much less idyllic than hiker-biker sites, and almost always devoid of the interesting conversations that campfire shared with other hikers and bikers provides. This experiment was intended to help with extending that range.