BicycleCinema.org
CycleCinemaClub open-air pedal-powered screening, 2026 season
Photo: CycleCinemaClub (cyclecinemaclub.at) — via cyclecinemaclub.at

CycleCinemaClub

Austria, Vienna · Nonprofit association

Active last verified 2026-09
Battery-buffered AC
3–5 converted e-bikes (10–12 rotating riders)Operator-stated
  • E-bike hardware

Websitehttps://www.cyclecinemaclub.at/

Vienna's CycleCinemaClub has shown bicycle-related films since 2012 on electricity from second-hand e-bikes rebuilt to run as generators. Students at a technical college do the conversions; the club's fourteenth season opened in 2026.

Key facts

  • Combined load

    ≈250 W (projector + amplifier)1,2

    Operator-stated

  • Per-rider output

    50–60 W1

    Operator-stated

  • Active riders

    10–121

    Operator-stated

  • Fleet

    3–5 converted e-bikes2

    Operator-stated

  • Season

    14th season, 20263,4

    Documented

Andreas Reiter and Alec Hager founded the club in Vienna in 2012, with a first screening on Yppenplatz that May. Students at an HTL (technical college) rebuild the e-bikes so their hub motors run as generators, and the bikes' own batteries are reused as the buffer that holds output steady while one rider dismounts and the next mounts. The whole cinema — screen, amplifier, two loudspeakers, projector, laptop and cabling — travels by cargo bike. The thirteenth season (2025) ran thirteen screenings "von Wien bis Villach"; the fourteenth opened in Vienna's Währing district in 2026 and continued with a tour from Burgenland into Hungary, and an ORF 2 television feature, "Rund ums Rad", aired on 10 July 2026 — making the club the longest continuously operating pedal cinema documented in this corpus. Because production e-bikes with geared or clutched drivetrains freewheel when pedalled on a stand, the conversion — direct-drive-capable hub motors run as generators — is what makes the club the documented exception to the rule that unmodified e-bikes cannot generate electricity.

Specifications

What do these labels mean?

FieldValueConfidenceSources
Combined load≈250 W (projector + amplifier)Press-reported figure quoting the operators; not an instrumented measurement.Operator-stated1,2
Per-rider output50–60 WOperator-stated1
Active riders10–12 ridersOut of a rotating pool; riders swap while the battery bank holds output steady.Operator-stated1
Fleet3–5 converted e-bikesOperator-stated2
Generator typenot disclosedE-bike hub motors are described as running as generators; make, rated wattage and conversion voltage are not published.Not disclosed1,2
Buffernot disclosedCapacity and chemistry are not published.Not disclosed2
Season count14 th season (2026)13 screenings in the 13th season (2025), "von Wien bis Villach."Documented3,4

In their own words

"Benötigt werden für Filmprojektor und Verstärker übrigens etwa 250 Watt. Sehr sparsame Geräte… 'einen Wasserkocher oder einen Toaster könnte man damit nicht betreiben'." — Film projector and amplifier need about 250 watts. Very frugal devices… 'you couldn't run a kettle or a toaster with it.' 2

"Der CycleCinemaClub verwendet einen Beamer und Lautsprecher, die mit sparsamen 250 Watt auskommen. … Jeder Radler erzeugt etwa 50 bis 60 Watt, also kommen die Kinos mit zehn bis zwölf aktiven Teilnehmern locker aus." — The CycleCinemaClub uses a projector and loudspeakers that manage with a frugal 250 watts. … Each cyclist generates about 50 to 60 watts, so the cinemas manage comfortably with ten to twelve active participants. 1

Line diagram of the Vienna club's power chain from converted e-bike motors through a battery bank to the projector and amplifier
Riders → e-bike hub motors as generators → battery bank → projector + amp + 2 speakers ≈250 W3,1,2,4 Image: BicycleCinema.org, drawn from the research corpus
Audience and pedal stations at a CycleCinemaClub screening
Photo: CycleCinemaClub (cyclecinemaclub.at) — via cyclecinemaclub.at
Timeline strip of the club's fourteen seasons from its 2012 founding to the 2026 tour
Founded May 2012 Yppenplatz; 13 screenings 2025; 14th season 2026 to Hungary; ORF 2 feature 10 July 20263,1,2,4 Image: BicycleCinema.org, drawn from the research corpus
Two men seated on bicycles in front of a graffiti-covered wall — Die Presse's 2017 portrait for its report on the CycleCinemaClub
Photo: Die Presse (diepresse.com) — via diepresse.com

Sources

  1. [1]BIORAMA, 'Fahrradkino: Radeln für den Filmgenuss', 12 Jul 2018www.biorama.eu
  2. [2]Die Presse — Kino aus den Wadeln (2017)www.diepresse.com
  3. [3]CycleCinemaClub — official site (seasons 2024–2026)www.cyclecinemaclub.at
  4. [4]ORF 2 Rund ums Rad, 10.07.2026on.orf.at

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