When I am not working or on my bike, I am usually fidgeting with electronics.  Recently, I have stumbled upon an electronics project that combines my love for both biking and electronics.  Spoke POVs aren’t exactly a new phenomenon, but an increase in available DIY kits, at a reasonable price, are making it easy for everyone to create their own Spoke POV setup.

First, let me explain what a POV is.  POV stands for Persistence Of Vision.  Without getting technical, it is roughly the same idea as a flip book.  In this scenario, instead of using pages, we are going to use LEDs to create an image as your wheel spins.

There are plenty of options out there for ways to build your own SpokePOV kit.  My favorite kit comes from one of my most visited online electronic shops.  Lady Ana runs the Adafruit website, and she continuously comes out with new, affordable DIY electronic gizmos.  She also happens to have an easy to assemble SpokePOV kit.

With one kit, you simply need to bike at roughly 15mph to get the image to animate correctly.  You can also add on up to 3 kits and link them together so you can cruise along at 7mph and have the images display correctly.  Each kit will set you back about $38, and don’t forget the dongle to program the POV ($7.50).  Lady Ada provides fantastic step by step instructions with photos to guide you through the kit.  All you really need is some basic soldering skills.

If you are more interested in really doing it yourself, head over to Ian Patterson’s website.  You will find detailed instructions, parts lists, and schematics to build your own kit from the ground up.