The faster you pedal, the faster it lets your internet go.

It's a handy way for internet addicts to get fit: the faster you pedal, the faster your internet goes. The fitness possibilities are wonderful.

It's an exercise bike, with sensors on the pedals, connected to an Arduino and a laptop running Ubuntu with wondershaper.

Hardware hacking by Matt Gray, software and provision of bike by Tom Scott.

[Note:] For those have been a little confused, technically this does not speed up ones internet connection. The faster one pedals, the lesser it limits the bandwidth.

After two years in storage, I've retrieved The Webcycle, having been asked to make a bike-controlled record player. Here's a clip of it in action:

Sorry it's filmed in portrait - someone else filmed it, but it's the only proof I've got!

The Tech

It's the original excercise bike + tinfoil sensors, controlled by an Arduino. The Arduino calculates how fast you're pedalling and tells the record player to spin faster/slower.

Thank you to Popular Science magazine who included the Webcycle as the project of the month in the How 2.0 section of their November 2009 Issue!

This weekend, Tom and I will be exhibiting The Webcycle at MakerFaire UK 2010 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne's Centre for Life.

Maker Faire celebrates things people create themselves -- from James Bond-worthy electronic gizmos to homemade clothes. Inspiration is ubiquitous at the festival and there are surprises around every corner for people of all ages.
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At Maker Faire, technology meets art, science meets fashion, engineering meets crafting and that's just the tip of the iceberg. This DIY festival features cool robots, clever gadgets, garden shed inventions, knitted wonders, renegade fashions, cars and bikes like you've never seen before, the occasional fireball, music-making and much, much more!