Bicycle Powered Flour Mill

[Wags]

This is basically a bicycle powered flour mill - looks like pretty good design. Nothing in production yet.

http://www.ferguswalker.com/flourmill.htm

Anyone know of anything else like it?

I was thinking of getting a Wonder Mill Jr. and trying to rig a bicycle to it when I came across the video of this one.

[anette]

im interested in bicycle powering all kinds of stuff, (probably watched too much Gilligan's Island as a child) this looks interesting.

[Pam6]

Awww....Kids! My favorite tool!
I would love to have a bike hooked up to a generator to produce electricity!

[nc_mtn]

Yeah Pam sounds cool but I remember at a science museum once where they had one. I peddled as hard as I could and only got the 12 inch black and white tv (with a recorder on me) to turn on. I'd hate to watch a whole movie like that! I'm too lazy and like to sit on my couch and watch tv!

[Windy in Kansas]

The unit speaks of being connected with a flexible drive shaft. I've been wondering if non-running weed eater shafts could be used for power transmission.

For a long time the Country Living grain mill folks had instructions for how to hook up one o their mills to an exercise bike. I never was able to find the kind of bike that he used, but for someone who is serious about it then I'd think it wouldn't be that hard to come up with a way.

[HermitJohn]

That looks little on large side for mill to be bike powered but sure you could gear it down to where bike could turn it, albeit SLOWLY....

I built my own bike powered mill using a 50 cent exercise bike from a junk auction and a Corona mill. This Corona had modified burrs to grind fine flour, regular Corona burrs wont, they are intended to only crack grain or at best make coarse corn meal. Used bike chain to power it, mounted in front of handlebars. Gave it two gear ratios. 3:1 slow but effortless pedaling or 2:1 faster but more effort. Works fine, takes 10 minutes to grind enough flour to bake one loaf of bread.

Thing is my local source of wheat went away, i would have to mail order it. Plus I am just one person living alone so dont use that much flour. Anymore I only use wheat flour to make tortillas, rarely make yeast bread anymore. So for last couple years just been buying 5# bags of Hudson Mill WW flour at Wallyworld. Its a shame, but I am not going to save anything spending big bucks to ship 50# wheat here and then make room and effort to store it without moths hatching in it.

[Windy in Kansas]

Thanks HJ, I sure appreciate you using Hudson milled flour as it boosts Kansas. It is milled about 30 miles from where I live, i.e. in Hudson, Kansas at the Stafford County Flour Mills Co. http://www.hudsoncream.com/

To the best of my knowledge the 90+ year old president of the company is still very active and works each day. Some years back he celebrated his 70th year with the mills.

[Ohio dreamer]

Friend of mine hooked a bike up to her Country Living Grain mill. I haven't seen it yet, but hope too soon. She lurkers here once in a while, I'll see if I can get her to post a picture or two.

[AbbeyLehman]

Here's some pictures. Thanks for the heads up, Jen!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10325685@N08/5362507668/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1032568...n/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1032568...n/photostream/

The little pieces of wood are for adjusting the mill as the belt stretches out.