text: Finding the time to exercise when you've got heaps of housework - and laundry - piling up can be difficult, but this piece of gym kit means you've got no excuse not to work up a sweat. Chinese designers have developed an contraption called the Bike Washing Machine that contains a washing machine drum in its front wheel. When ridden, the pedalling motion causes the drum to rotate, churning your clothes inside like a traditional washer. Chinese designers have developed a washing machine so cyclists can clean clothes while exercising (above) A generator inside the bike also creates electricity which can be stored for future use. The designers,  based at Dalian Nationalities University, do not say whether the bike will automatically fill and drain with water too. Instead, the detergent and water may need to be added and then drained before more water being added for a rinse cycle. They say, however, that the device could be a solution for those who want both a washing machine and an exercise bike but cannot find space for both. Alternatively it could also help shave a few pounds off your electricity bill by using pedal power to do the laundry. By changing the front wheel of the exercise bike into a washing machine drum it will spin as the user pedals . A generator attached to the pedals (shown above) also produces electricity which can be stored for later use . The invention could also find use in remote areas where people do not have access to reliable supplies of electricity. Students at the university are now building a prototype of the machine. The group submitted the design onto the website Tuvie,which allows designers to share their ideas. They said: 'Riding a bike is a popular exercise, washing laundry is something that you might do on daily basis or at least once a week, unless you keep buying new clothes and underwear, so why not combine them into a single useful equipment/appliance? The designers say the device is perfect for those struggling to find space for both a washing machine and an exercise bike . 'Bike Washing Machine combines a stationary bicycle and washing machine, you can exercise while at the same time simultaneously washing your clothes. 'When you ride this bike, the pedalling motion causes the drum of the washing machine to rotate, at the same time, the superfluous electricity is generated which can be used to power the display screen or stored for future use.' It is not the first time cycling and the weekly wash have been combined. In 2011 Richard Hewitt, a design student at Sheffield Hallam University, announced he had developed a similar device that washes and dries clothes using pedal power. His Spincycle machine could be attached to the back of a tricycle. Riding the bike for 10 minutes would wash the clothes before the water needed to be drained and refilled before another 10 minute cycle rinsed the clothes. If cycling and doing your washing at the same time does not appeal, then perhaps another device that combines a treadmill with a washing machine. Looking more like a giant hamster wheel, it features a series of wash tubs enclosed within a large rotating wheel. The Wheel washing machine, dreamed up by South Korean designer Si Hyeong Ryu, would also generate electricity that could be used to power other household appliances. Ryu created the concept for the 2014 Electrolux Design Lab competition. The Wheel concept features washing balls inside the canisters, designed to save water and improve washing .
target: The Bike Washing Machine replaces the front wheel with a washing drum .
  It is being developed by designers at Dalian Nationalities University, China .
  It means cyclists can save electricity by washing clothes as they exercise .