The solar tour bike and trailer is a project developed by two mates in a garage.
Bike trailer solar panel.
This probably results in a 20 percent plus efficiency loss.
So we plug the panel into an inverter that then goes to the bike s charger inverter and finally to the bike s battery.
You bought a 100 watt solar panel to charge your 500 watt hour ebike battery with the expectation that it would charge your battery from empty to full in 5 hours.
I took off the plastic body and cut it in half.
The one i used is a cheap one.
Search bike trailer on this silly site garage sales craigs list thrift stores ect.
As do recumbents some with interesting panel mounting.
Then i bolted it back on the frame and bolted scrap plywood over the wheels to serve as a strong platform.
The load on bike is half the load to the trailer.
A guide to understanding the ratings.
Solar panels aren t magic.
Https bit ly 2psoeyh why is my 100 watt solar panel only giving me 75 watts.
Good for smaller usb powered devices for those on a budget.
Convert your own bike.
Even at high speed 60 km per hour downhill a biker does not feel torsional load the trailer extremely well follows to attached bicycle or scooter.
Also the battery and inverter and bike charger add another six pounds and a lot of cables to the system.
Let s start with the worst case scenario.
To enter the race jack built himself a custom mid drive electric bicycle based on a surly troll bicycle with a pull behind suspension aevon std100 trailer for holding his gear and solar panels.
Freeloader super cheap small 1 5w solar charger batteries with 800 1600mah built in batteries.
What they wanted to design was a bike we could ride all day if we liked perhaps as much as 200 miles entirely powered by the sun and our muscles.
Products rated between 7 27 watts.
Not ideal but it works.
Solar module aka solar panel this one is a 17 volt 80 watt.
Goal zero nomad probably the most popular solar units around for bicycle travellers because of their low cost and availability although customer service and longevity seems less than perfect.
Solar electric bicycle touring trailer for luxury camping.