And bring a spare battery, rig the panel flat on the trailer and charge it while you ride. Then swap batteries the next day. Even if you didn't get a full charge you still would always have some battery power.
The first smart comment. The way the video describes charging for the last four hours of sunlight you would only get maybe 1/4 battery charge before the Sun was gone. Riding for hours with a spare battery charging makes perfect sense to me. Every time I see, seemingly, smart people talk about solar charging in a few hours or an entire summer day I laugh. Sure, if you only need a partial charge. I would rather wear a backpack with a spare battery and dump the trailer, solar panel and charge controller.
ya sometimes my batter just shorts out, just dead, plug it in again for 1 second and it reads fully charged. not sure if thats normal but good to have spare fully charged.
You can get much better results with an Genasun charge controller and with the panel mounted on the trailler while pedaling, with no need to stop for charging. I have actually build 2 Bikes one with trailer and 100 w panel and an cargo tricycle with 300 w panel all flexible, mounted as roof , so far works perfect both with 1000 w Motor.
The Genasun controllers look very nice and well built, we plan to use one for the completed trailer setup. Do you find any problems with wind pushing you around when using 300W of panels on the trailer?
@@Optibike The 300 W are mounted on the cargo tricycle , function as roof, Wind is no issue here. Only in Hurricane Season , then it stays stored when heavy storm and rain falls. You wil stick in the mud those days 😎. All parts are welded ,heavy sturdy construction empty weight of the tycycle 89 kilogram. You can load 150 kilogram plus driver. Used in Flowerfarm daily
@@mitelecasa748 what type of connector are you using to charge the battery from the controller? Do you just go from the accessory port with bare wires to xt90 or something ? Is there a Genasun 52v version. I only see one with 48v boost.
This is a good video. It makes a lot of sense. Riding for more than 4-5 hours on a bike is just about the point you just want to stop and do something else. Like hanging out at camp and charging your bike back up the for next day. Going over the charging setup is great info. Thanks Jim, I will see you soon!
That's our plan for a future build, use the panel as the 'roof' so it can be used while riding, and also keep the rain away from the stuff in the trailer.
@@moles100e You should be able to, yes, by connecting connecting the charge controller to the battery leaving the bike electronics also connected to the battery. Some charge controllers have a 'load' connection in addition to the battery and solar connectors, but you should be able to do without that since the bike electronics should stop draining the battery if its voltage gets too low. I believe that's the point of the 'load' connection, it will stop draining the battery when it gets too low. Short answer - Yes.
This is so cool. Well done. My early kite turbines used my e-bike hub motor to regen. This would charge my e-bike battery and I'd have to cycle off the charge. Great to see you nailing this
How does the Burley compare with an old BoB trailer? Thought this was fascinating. I met Stan Ovshinsky years ago when I owned a solar design and sales firm. The Sovonics flexible polymorphous, plasma deposited panel was already being produced. He gave me one that I designed to charge an Apple IIc first generation laptop computer. It went to Everest base camp for an American expedition to help handle logistics and supply chains on the mountain. Still have a large notebook sized unit produced for the show and tell market that came with a voltage output controller convertor with adaptor plugs for various charging ports. Took it for a climb I did on Castle Tower on Kor's route and each of us had a beer on top and listened to a solar direct powered cassette player (no batteries) with it playing U2's Joshua Tree album as I recall. Awesome day.
@@kirkjohnson9353 I love living my life. Still looking for an awesome woman to share it with but the one that struck me is into her craft and another is into shielding her children from a nefarious murderer/biological father and a third...
Great video, and very envious of your location. Oh to live somewhere where the sun shines! I live in Sheffield England, and have 150W solar panel on my shed connected to 220Ah 12V leisure batteries . To top up my 1/2 empty Shimano 504Wh battery takes 299Wh form the 12V batteries via a 230V inverter and the standard mains charger , probably not the most efficient way, as the inverter takes 800mA with no load, but from a "battery bank" seems the best option. Over the last 2 rainy days I've put just 200Wh in total into the battery bank, and it's still 2 months to the shortest day., Guess I'm just going to pedal harder!
Question I have a ebike 750w and has spare battery 36v . Can I make trailer that will charge one battery while I use the other . I could just pull over switch batteries .
I'm looking to do the same with my 48v batteries so I'll answer yes!. Just tested my solar panels and it worked really good. I dont trust the MPPT boost controllers (the controller in that vid is really not efficient btw, it keep shuting down then take forever to restart charging) so I went with a normal MPPT. It requires a voltage output from the solar panels higher than the battery so I plugged four 12v panels in series. Its much more expensive than buying 1 solar panel and a MPPT boost controller but under a nice sunny sky it works just like when plugged at home (about 57v chargng outpout and 2A) without the constant and super annoying shutdowns! I had 3 flexible panels and as I heard, they dont last long so I recommend good and rigid panels. The renogy 30W 12v have some nice dimension for a bike trailer (13,5in x 22,5in). They are a bit loud but it seemed like a good bet for longevity, still have to confirm it. 3 of these panels in series and a good MPPT controller (I used a Victron MPPT 100/20) could do the job for your 36v battery but make sure your trailer is long enough to install a 4th panel if you ever change your ebike for a 48v ;)
Did something equally but only 80W Solar which doubles as a Lid for the trailer. This way it charges during riding. It all depends on hours in the sun. A bigger panel would be to bulky for my taste.
Been 3 years and solar stations have improved in tech and their prices have dropped so much. It's worth carrying one of those around as buffer. We already got LiFePO4 batteries, now it's time for perovskite panels in the next few years. More efficient, lightweight, compact, more charge cycles, safer to travel with.
Not the greenest day, but the small yamaha and honda 1kW genset weigh around 10kg-12kg and store enough fuel for 8-10hours with a nominal output of 900W. Depending on your charger, you can probably charge 3-4 bikes in 3 hours or so (or 2.5kg per person for two complete charges per bike. Only one trailer for 4 bikes, and then take turns.
If you had a clear thick plastic material instead of the black material where do you store the solar panel, you could be charging your bike while riding it
Most ebikes and scooters don't allow charging and running at the same time unfortunately. The internal safety fuses limit the power handling capability.
G"day. I live on an 27 ft sailing boat so for the better part of my time is off grid. I have 1, 300 watt solar ray, on the back of my boat charging an 135 amph lithium battery through an 30 amp daul solar controller. Works well for me because the charing rate is higer then the dischraging rate on my electrical output. Gerard.
Great Idea. As technology trickles down from the World Solar Challenge more viable combinations will come along both for bicycles and larger vehicles. There is already a solar bicycle tour from Europe to China.
If I have a 21 w solar and a mppt I can put to charge or will burn?? Y suppose he will charge very slow butt I prefer to ask before to explode something??
It could be done, however it wouldn't provide any benefit as you're effectively just using the energy from the battery and pedaling to spin the alternator, and it would reduce your range and speed, as well as increase the weight of the bike.
Optibike ... excellent intro video to solar power for ebikes. I ride An ICE trike that uses a Shimano Eassist system. I get the solar panel part, I get the controller part, but where does one find the cables to go from the controller to the battery for charging? Any direction would be great. I live in Alaska and am working towards a fairly remote tour instate where electricity will be a bit far between. Thanks ... btw ..l grew up in Colorado and scenery looked great.
The cables can be the confusing part, that's for sure. We made our cable since we already had the connector stocked here for building the bikes, but for other e-bikes you can usually find out what the model number of the connector is and buy one yourself. Alternatively, if you have an old charger that no longer works you could cut that cable off and use it. Matching polarity is the most important thing, and a multimeter is very useful to have on hand for that!
I see your point, and like how you use the time and sun to yor advantage. For me, in Europe this a no go. The moments to ride my bike is in light hours, due to the warmth of the sun. When i stop i just cannot get enough sun to recharge. Thats a bummer. Like how you can get around that though.
Hi, for our ebikes we can make you any custom cable you need. For other brands, usually you can buy the connector somewhere online and make your own cable, or someone may make a connector + cable as a package in some cases.
Interesting video ! I equipped my Polaris Ranger EV with 2 solar panels as roof. 2 sunny days = battery fully recharged, no kidding. It's been about 2 years since i have done that, and i no longer plug the vehicle to recharge it. 2x 335W 48V panels and a MPPT regulator. I use this vehicle to cover all the small distances and thanks to its type, it can pull a trailer.
Small percentage gains though. It would take forever to charge like that. Not a bad option if you're on vacation and can camp out until recharged, but I would guess a large battery like that might take a day or more to charge fully.
Can I charge the battery with the battery charger plugged into a generator as I'm driving down the road I understand you can get like about 130 miles to the gallon
@@Optibike if you're charging with a generator while you're riding the bike would you need any special equipment other than the battery charger appreciate your input I'm thinking about doing a rig to take me across country
Very nice if you have sun most days, here in Wales in the UK the sun rarely shines and if it does it's usually foggy or misty. Would be great to be able to charge my bike from the sun and I envy those that can.
I know nothing about solar panels, but if you could create a solar panel that literally folds tightly up to where you could put it into a pannier, you could eliminate the trailer or keep it tidier by it being flat and not so bulky and exposed. So, is this possible? Can you buy solar panels that fold into say a 10"x10"x 4" size that can be packed out of the way? Thanks.
That's a good question! There are solar panels that are made in multiple sections, and fold up flat into something like a briefcase size, so it's definitely possible to do that!
I would recommend portable folding solar panels ran in together instead. Anker and other brands have them available. They would totally fit inside that trailer and are a considerably more carry friendly
It should work, just make sure you are in the safe temperature range if you care for your battery life! Ideally at 18 celsius but they say that its safe between 10 and 25 celsius.
Hey, this charge controller isnt efficient. It did work ok to charge my 36volts battery but I needed 300watts of solar panel to get a steady charge of 80 watts. Tried it with my 48volts battery and the same 300watts panel and I couldnt get more than a 45watts of steady charge. So to fully charge a 1000Wh battery its more than 20hours of full sun needed , for a road trip its not what I was looking for. Bought 2 of these charge controllers and they gave me the same poor results. I'll probably buy a Renogy charge controller for my next road trip but if you have any suggestions, I'll glady look at them :)
Hey, what's the Vmp rating of your solar panel? You need around 30V minimum to get 300W out of it at the 10A input current rating. However, you also don't want the Voc rating to be higher than the nominal voltage of the battery pack.
@@Optibike Thanks for the quick response! I used 2 solar panels in series. One is a Dokio 200watts (18Vmp - 21Voc) and the other is a Xinpuguang 100W (17,6Vmp - 19Voc). I'm just looking to get a charge of 54volts with 2A so about 100W. When I try to set the controller at 2A it just cant stand it and kind of reboot all the time so I had to set a lower amp until the controller work in a steady way but I only had 45watts then. Whats wrong if it is not the controller?
This is all cool until you actually do it unless; 1. You like a short riding day, then sitting around while your bike charges; Or 2. Riding at night and sleeping in the day while your bike charges. Sure you can bring an extra panel and a trailer and even a spare battery but that adds more weight that is going to help you drain your battery faster. Charging the spare while riding is going to be futile. You have to have the panel(s) oriented property, out the the dark forests and it is going to be a sail when it comes to wind. I would love to bikepack with my ebike but seems so far it is just more practical to use a regular bike.
Great info...My question is how do you connect the charge controller to the bike. My charger is a Euro power plug and I can't seem to find a cord that would go from the controller to the bike. Any ideas? My wife and I bought Haibikes and of course, each of our chargers have different plugs to the bike.
Hey Dwayne, it's definitely a tough one if your ebike manufacturer doesn't supply connectors for the battery. One option is using a power bank with a built in inverter, like a Jackery unit, and just using your normal chargers for the bike. Not quite as efficient but no custom cables needed.
Probably not. I tried 2 of them, it was barely ok with my 36volt battery but to make it work I had to put 300watts of solar panels. It wasnt good at all with my 48volts battery, guess it will only get worse for a 52volts battery.
Is your bike battery 48 volts? Some critical details include what wires and connectors to get so that it will plug into your battery. Where can I go to find the right connections?
We have a 52V battery in this bike, finding the right connectors for your specific ebike can take some research, as most brands will use a unique connector type. For the wiring at this power 14AWG size is totally fine.
1.) Buy a 220 watt Off Grid TREK solar "blanket". Best by far for "watts per square foot" as wells less costly than the nearest solar "blanket" competitor. the thin film solar panels are by Sun Power, The premier maker all types of PV panels. 2.) Get some Ultra Light backpacking gear. Your tent is WAAY too big and heavy. less weight on e-bike = more range. UPDATE: 9/9/2024-> Off Grid TREK now sells an ELEJOY adjustable controller and cables to go with its OGT 220 watt or 300 watt solar blanket. Rene, the owner of OTG can USUALLY find the plug to put on the charge cable that matches your battery. ALL of this system, blanket (size of a laptop and 4" thick) controller and cables weighs 14 pounds and easily fits into one pannier side. Yes, it's expensive but the OTG blankets are 1/4 the size of the competition's equivalent wattage AND waterproof AND less costly.s
13W would be a good size for charging your phone or other small devices, but you'll want a much larger panel to charge an ebike! The average ebike has between 500-1000Wh of energy in the battery, so a 100W panel would take 5-10 hours as a rough estimate. But it does depend on how quickly you want it to charge, if you're OK waiting 2-4 days then a smaller 50W panel or something like that would work fine too.
Thank you for responding, OK I have a 48 V 21 amp battery. I know you have to have greater than 48 V so around 58 V to charge the battery, that is why I have a question on how to set up a charge cycle. the solar panel is around 20 V at about 5 A. So how do you overcome the difference in voltage.
Good questions! For the difference in voltage between the panel and your battery, that's something that the charge controller handles. But you do need the correct type of charge controller. The one we used in the video (the link is in the description if you haven't seen that already), is what's known as a 'Boost mode' MPPT controller. What this means is it boosts the voltage up from the solar panel to the battery. And MPPT means the controller constantly makes small adjustments to get the maximum amount of power possible from your solar panel (MPPT = Maximum power point tracking). The other types are 'Buck mode' MPPT controllers, where the solar panel voltage is higher than the battery voltage. And the cheaper PWM controllers, where the panel voltage needs to closely match the battery voltage. So with the charge controller that we used, you just need to program it for your battery voltage, and it will boost the 20V from the panel up to what's needed to charge the battery. They're quite efficient too, so very little power gets lost. If you have a 48V Li-ion battery pack, the charge voltage is 54.6V for a 100% charge. But you can also use a lower voltage which will extend the lifespan significantly; 53.3V would be a 90% charge, and 52V would be a 80% charge.
Hi! The kind of setup we have in the video should work well for any typical E-Bike battery, you just need to find the appropriate connector to be able to plug the charge controller into your battery. Since the charge controller in the video (there's a link in the description to it as well) is programmable you can adjust it to suit most batteries easily.
@@rollandelliott Supposedly the new generation. Is better Anything from 35 years ago would be a totally different thing. There are also the type that you fold to open. Not sure what the biggest size is for that tech.
It can be tough to figure out what connector some ebikes use, best bet is to search on google and see if anyone else has identified it. The other option is to modify an existing charger with another connector in-line, so you can re-use the connector on that with your own setup.
You could certainly do that, you would have a less efficient use of the panels energy due to losses from charging the Jackery and then charging the bike after, plus there's the extra weight you'll be pulling around. But it would let you keep your Jackery charged up for other uses like charging phones and that sort of thing!
Doesn’t your bike’s BOSCH battery only receives 120V AC? How can you charge a battery like that with an MPPT that only produces DC without an inverter?
Good question! Batteries are DC, and normally you have a charger you plug into the wall that converts AC to DC. But in this case since the MPPT output is DC it can be directly connected to the battery. Our batteries are designed by us so we can easily make a connector for this setup. If you have another battery like a bosch then it will have different connectors to use for charging.
I have a specialized Turbo levo and im jealous of your bike..I would really like to have that Bike just with a mullet set up (29inch in the front attached with a triple clamp 200mm fork short stem) the rest of the bike seems perfect I'm Norwegian and it's so mountainous and Hill's in all directions and our roads suck when being on them... Yes i would really like the freedom you get with your bike ,mine has only 500wh battery.anyways i love my bike to i really do it's pure Joy to Ride electric mountain Bike also it is my job. I'm not an electronic expert or electrician but I would be a bit worried to charge my bike like that I'm so worried about breaking such key parts which is crazy expensive and also takes time to replace but I would love to have that set-up i wish we could also have solar panel jacket and just be plugged in while riding and just take it off and hang it on the bike to charge when stopped instead of having to drag a trailer
It is for some of them! The solar footprint is much larger due to the amount of energy needed. Many people charge their cars from solar on their home too.
All my rides are solar powered, from my home system. Having installed solar systems for 30 years and lived with it on a daily basis, I will pass on hauling a PV system on my bike. It's a great romantic idea with huge appeal, but currently (pun intended I guess) not real practical long term. Then again, I don't go out for days, just a few hours.
@@808pathfinder After 28 years being 100% off grid, I moved onto new property 13 years ago, that happened to have grid power near it. I went grid tie, and have not regretted it! NO batteries..... actually, with my grid's net metering system, I HAVE a battery of infinite size, of 100% efficiency, that needs no maintenance/replacement ever, and takes up no room! All this for $5.00 a month min fee! The place is all electric, no propane, and I run a surplus 9 months of the year, which I dip into during the winter, but never using all my surplus.
@@808pathfinder No need, the grid in my area is extremely reliable. I can't recall the last time the power was off for more than an hour or two. Like NOT wanting batteries, after years of being off grid, I DON'T want a generator. If the grid goes down, I have no power, correct. Not worth buying and installing a big set of batteries just for the rare times it goes down, not even close.
i don't have time to sit for 10-15 hrs to charge up. I bring my EB70s with me fully charged, and bring my brick with me. it charges up my ebike no problem, and I also bring a foldable solar panel, 150w to top up my solar generator, and I put all that in my bike trailer with tons of room to spare.
That's impressive that a 4/9 (36 cell) panel Deliver 175w..? (even the new Maxeon GenII cells) from SunPower® with a 25% efficiency rating can only deliver 175w with a 6/8 (48 cell) panel that delivers 5.83A with 29v. I would be interested to know the VOC and the Amps that panel puts out..? And what the efficiency rating is..? I'm really interested in using solar for bikes.. I want to do a Transcontinental Tour of the USA.. Rails-2-Trails from Seattle to DC. I've already built my recumbent etrike and trailer. I went with 2 @ 52v 17.5ah batteries (910wh each). (that contain NCR18650GA cells for long range/high power). I got the new Genasun GVB-8 52v MPPT Boost/Charge controller. In my trailer, i have a solar cooking system and several solar power banks mounted on the trike. My trike is equipped with a BBSHD 1000w mid-drive just so it uses the energy more efficiently without overheating the motor. Larger motor watt rating doesn't necessarily mean it uses all the watts..
Hey Rob, it's a pretty impressive amount of power from the size! we got around 150W in real use, at the time of filming it was late fall as well. Voc on this one is 23.9V and Isc is 9.5A, and Vmp is 19.5V with an Imp of 9A. They claim a 21% efficiency. Compared to the sunpower panels I imagine this flexible panel is just larger, as it's not at the same efficiency rating as sunpowers newer tech. The panel in the video is 59" x 27" size and around 6 lbs. We've been looking at the Genasun MPPT controllers, they look really well made! Sounds like you have a solid setup going with everything you need on the way!
One problem I have with this video is the charge controller you using, I had one of those green ones and found it absolutely useless and took ages to charge a battery. Ever since I got a ctkev300 solar charger cheap from aliexpress (can also buy a ctkev600) which is a true mppt charger, I can charge my 52v 20ah from 43v to 58v in around 4 1/2 hrs with a 200w and 80w solar blankets on a sunny day when camping, I threw away that green junk even it was still working.
Why haul another battery when you already have one in your bike. Although getting a second bike battery might be a good idea to increase your range. You could with a little work ride and charge at the same time. I'm getting ready to become a Nomad and I will definitely be doing this. Thanks for posting this!
And bring a spare battery, rig the panel flat on the trailer and charge it while you ride. Then swap batteries the next day. Even if you didn't get a full charge you still would always have some battery power.
The first smart comment. The way the video describes charging for the last four hours of sunlight you would only get maybe 1/4 battery charge before the Sun was gone. Riding for hours with a spare battery charging makes perfect sense to me. Every time I see, seemingly, smart people talk about solar charging in a few hours or an entire summer day I laugh. Sure, if you only need a partial charge. I would rather wear a backpack with a spare battery and dump the trailer, solar panel and charge controller.
ya sometimes my batter just shorts out, just dead, plug it in again for 1 second and it reads fully charged. not sure if thats normal but good to have spare fully charged.
@@markrothenberg9867 always carry a spare battery...solar or not !!!
Right and maybe just bring a smaller battery so you aren’t carrying weight that will never get charged
Sure Rockefeller, the battery is the price of a new bike :D
but how are you connecting the wires coming from the controller to the wires from the charge cable?
wouldnt it make sense to get a second battery that you can charge while going for your rides
You can get much better results with an Genasun charge controller and with the panel mounted on the trailler while pedaling, with no need to stop for charging. I have actually build 2 Bikes one with trailer and 100 w panel and an cargo tricycle with 300 w panel all flexible, mounted as roof , so far works perfect both with 1000 w Motor.
Hi, Interesting. Can you give us information of the setup that you have Thank you.
The Genasun controllers look very nice and well built, we plan to use one for the completed trailer setup.
Do you find any problems with wind pushing you around when using 300W of panels on the trailer?
@@Optibike The 300 W are mounted on the cargo tricycle , function as roof, Wind is no issue here. Only in Hurricane Season , then it stays stored when heavy storm and rain falls. You wil stick in the mud those days 😎. All parts are welded ,heavy sturdy construction empty weight of the tycycle 89 kilogram. You can load 150 kilogram plus driver. Used in Flowerfarm daily
@@mitelecasa748 Sounds like a fun setup!
@@mitelecasa748 what type of connector are you using to charge the battery from the controller? Do you just go from the accessory port with bare wires to xt90 or something ?
Is there a Genasun 52v version. I only see one with 48v boost.
It’s nice to see a man who tells it as it is. thank you from the UK
This is a good video. It makes a lot of sense. Riding for more than 4-5 hours on a bike is just about the point you just want to stop and do something else. Like hanging out at camp and charging your bike back up the for next day. Going over the charging setup is great info. Thanks Jim, I will see you soon!
A solar controller with adjustable output tension is what I have been looking for ! Thanks for sharing !
Hi, could you perhaps make a frame on top of the trailer to lay the solar panel flat to charge whilst your cycling?
Imagine if it would have a sun tracker
That's our plan for a future build, use the panel as the 'roof' so it can be used while riding, and also keep the rain away from the stuff in the trailer.
A chic did that a few years ago and rode across the country
Can you charge and use a battery at the same time?
@@moles100e You should be able to, yes, by connecting connecting the charge controller to the battery leaving the bike electronics also connected to the battery. Some charge controllers have a 'load' connection in addition to the battery and solar connectors, but you should be able to do without that since the bike electronics should stop draining the battery if its voltage gets too low. I believe that's the point of the 'load' connection, it will stop draining the battery when it gets too low. Short answer - Yes.
Awesome. I like the panel idea. Nice trailer too.
We thought so too! The panel size works out great with that trailer.
This is called: pure Freedom, friend. that's cool
This is so cool. Well done.
My early kite turbines used my e-bike hub motor to regen. This would charge my e-bike battery and I'd have to cycle off the charge.
Great to see you nailing this
link please
Have you tried it yet .?
Fantastic!! Thanks for making this. I'm brand new to your channel. 😊
How does the Burley compare with an old BoB trailer? Thought this was fascinating. I met Stan Ovshinsky years ago when I owned a solar design and sales firm. The Sovonics flexible polymorphous, plasma deposited panel was already being produced. He gave me one that I designed to charge an Apple IIc first generation laptop computer. It went to Everest base camp for an American expedition to help handle logistics and supply chains on the mountain. Still have a large notebook sized unit produced for the show and tell market that came with a voltage output controller convertor with adaptor plugs for various charging ports.
Took it for a climb I did on Castle Tower on Kor's route and each of us had a beer on top and listened to a solar direct powered cassette player (no batteries) with it playing U2's Joshua Tree album as I recall. Awesome day.
Wow, cool stuff. thanks
@@kirkjohnson9353 I love living my life. Still looking for an awesome woman to share it with but the one that struck me is into her craft and another is into shielding her children from a nefarious murderer/biological father and a third...
Thanks for the good info. If the controller can be weather proof or water sealed then it would be even better.
There's a waterproof one that's common place - search elejoy step up or step down charge controller 👍
Great video, and very envious of your location.
Oh to live somewhere where the sun shines!
I live in Sheffield England, and have 150W solar panel on my shed connected to 220Ah 12V leisure batteries .
To top up my 1/2 empty Shimano 504Wh battery takes 299Wh form the 12V batteries via a 230V inverter and the standard mains charger , probably not the most efficient way, as the inverter takes 800mA with no load, but from a "battery bank" seems the best option.
Over the last 2 rainy days I've put just 200Wh in total into the battery bank, and it's still 2 months to the shortest day., Guess I'm just going to pedal harder!
Question I have a ebike 750w and has spare battery 36v . Can I make trailer that will charge one battery while I use the other . I could just pull over switch batteries .
I'm looking to do the same with my 48v batteries so I'll answer yes!. Just tested my solar panels and it worked really good. I dont trust the MPPT boost controllers (the controller in that vid is really not efficient btw, it keep shuting down then take forever to restart charging) so I went with a normal MPPT. It requires a voltage output from the solar panels higher than the battery so I plugged four 12v panels in series. Its much more expensive than buying 1 solar panel and a MPPT boost controller but under a nice sunny sky it works just like when plugged at home (about 57v chargng outpout and 2A) without the constant and super annoying shutdowns!
I had 3 flexible panels and as I heard, they dont last long so I recommend good and rigid panels. The renogy 30W 12v have some nice dimension for a bike trailer (13,5in x 22,5in). They are a bit loud but it seemed like a good bet for longevity, still have to confirm it.
3 of these panels in series and a good MPPT controller (I used a Victron MPPT 100/20) could do the job for your 36v battery but make sure your trailer is long enough to install a 4th panel if you ever change your ebike for a 48v ;)
@@emmanuelbrouillette3907 thanks 😊
Did something equally but only 80W Solar which doubles as a Lid for the trailer. This way it charges during riding. It all depends on hours in the sun. A bigger panel would be to bulky for my taste.
You could make a trailer that has a fold out tent that is made from solar panels.
Sales of farm machines
@@williamjoseph6224 Furry watt discharge papers from I lost your hula hoop from ground organ grinder burgers
Been 3 years and solar stations have improved in tech and their prices have dropped so much. It's worth carrying one of those around as buffer.
We already got LiFePO4 batteries, now it's time for perovskite panels in the next few years. More efficient, lightweight, compact, more charge cycles, safer to travel with.
Amazing!
How can I learn about this setup for an ebike? Any recommendations?
Nice looking bike. Never heard of this brand before.
This so cool; I just wouldn’t want to have to bring the trailer along. But awesome video!
Epic and Thank you. this is a great way to charge and not shlep a heavy battery.
Not the greenest day, but the small yamaha and honda 1kW genset weigh around 10kg-12kg and store enough fuel for 8-10hours with a nominal output of 900W. Depending on your charger, you can probably charge 3-4 bikes in 3 hours or so (or 2.5kg per person for two complete charges per bike. Only one trailer for 4 bikes, and then take turns.
Great how much for the kit
If you had a clear thick plastic material instead of the black material where do you store the solar panel, you could be charging your bike while riding it
Most ebikes and scooters don't allow charging and running at the same time unfortunately. The internal safety fuses limit the power handling capability.
G"day. I live on an 27 ft sailing boat so for the better part of my time is off grid. I have 1, 300 watt solar ray, on the back of my
boat charging an 135 amph lithium battery through an 30 amp daul solar controller.
Works well for me because the charing rate is higer then the dischraging rate on my electrical output.
Gerard.
That's a beast of a battery on that bike .Pretty cool setup .
With that big a panel you could rig your bike with a charge plug for your phone
Have you ever tried charging while you ride with solar panel folded in the trailer? It wouldn’t be super efficient but it would added something.
I agree good idea
wear it over your head..... nice shade...
Most solar panels do not put out any power if they are partially shaded.
Great Idea. As technology trickles down from the World Solar Challenge more viable combinations will come along both for bicycles and larger vehicles. There is already a solar bicycle tour from Europe to China.
I really want to do the Leon to Canton bike ride. Then drop down to Thailand. Some amazing footage and stories on the toob on this.
If I have a 21 w solar and a mppt I can put to charge or will burn?? Y suppose he will charge very slow butt I prefer to ask before to explode something??
Very cool.
So charging a e-bike should also be possibe with a portable windturbine.
A wind turbine would definitely work! The downside is around us the wind is quite unreliable compared to the sun.
@@Optibike interesting
This is so cool and comfortable ❤
I often wonder why no one has put an alternator on the front wheel to charge the battery - could it be done?
It could be done, however it wouldn't provide any benefit as you're effectively just using the energy from the battery and pedaling to spin the alternator, and it would reduce your range and speed, as well as increase the weight of the bike.
Perpetual motion, man!
Great info, thanks for the video. Subscribed
Are there solutions to charge the bike on the go without making it bulky like that?
Optibike ... excellent intro video to solar power for ebikes. I ride An ICE trike that uses a Shimano Eassist system. I get the solar panel part, I get the controller part, but where does one find the cables to go from the controller to the battery for charging? Any direction would be great. I live in Alaska and am working towards a fairly remote tour instate where electricity will be a bit far between. Thanks ... btw ..l grew up in Colorado and scenery looked great.
The cables can be the confusing part, that's for sure. We made our cable since we already had the connector stocked here for building the bikes, but for other e-bikes you can usually find out what the model number of the connector is and buy one yourself.
Alternatively, if you have an old charger that no longer works you could cut that cable off and use it.
Matching polarity is the most important thing, and a multimeter is very useful to have on hand for that!
I see your point, and like how you use the time and sun to yor advantage. For me, in Europe this a no go. The moments to ride my bike is in light hours, due to the warmth of the sun. When i stop i just cannot get enough sun to recharge. Thats a bummer. Like how you can get around that though.
What if you got a Jackery 500 or 1000
I almost fell for it. Champagne comedy!
Build out a frame to hold the panels over the trailer bed like an old wagon and carry a spare battery to charge while riding.
Hi just found this video, how to obtain the cable from the charge controller to the bike socket (most plug sockets have different heads on e-bikes ?)
Hi, for our ebikes we can make you any custom cable you need. For other brands, usually you can buy the connector somewhere online and make your own cable, or someone may make a connector + cable as a package in some cases.
Interesting video ! I equipped my Polaris Ranger EV with 2 solar panels as roof. 2 sunny days = battery fully recharged, no kidding. It's been about 2 years since i have done that, and i no longer plug the vehicle to recharge it. 2x 335W 48V panels and a MPPT regulator. I use this vehicle to cover all the small distances and thanks to its type, it can pull a trailer.
Sure you do mr furries. More fantasy.
@@kishascapewhy the doubt?
Mark my words, I'll be out there in the wild with this setup soon.
hope it's coming along .😷👍
Is the charge controller adjustable in amps? I'm having trouble finding you on under 60 amps which I believe is too much to charge a bike battery??
I would build brackets on bike to eliminate trailer, like a rear wheel cover/solar panel. Need to charge while riding!
I have a RadRover 6 Plus and am looking for a way to Solar charge it while camping.. any links?
Thx for the video. Does the controller have all the wire harness to make this work?
Solarpanel + electric bike = freedom
Bike = freedom
Small percentage gains though. It would take forever to charge like that. Not a bad option if you're on vacation and can camp out until recharged, but I would guess a large battery like that might take a day or more to charge fully.
Can I charge the battery with the battery charger plugged into a generator as I'm driving down the road I understand you can get like about 130 miles to the gallon
Yes that could certainly work.
@@Optibike if you're charging with a generator while you're riding the bike would you need any special equipment other than the battery charger appreciate your input I'm thinking about doing a rig to take me across country
This is exactly what I've been thinking of doing here in NM with an electric bike. So glad to see this. Thanks for the info.
This thing is huge is it better just to bring the charger
how many rupees for solar bike in india, its very useful for students
Very nice if you have sun most days, here in Wales in the UK the sun rarely shines and if it does it's usually foggy or misty. Would be great to be able to charge my bike from the sun and I envy those that can.
I hear you the same from bangor lol
As far as i have seen it doesn't work , He said as much during the video. I live in the sunshine state and it doesn't work here either.
Best ways to charge anything on the go.
I know nothing about solar panels, but if you could create a solar panel that literally folds tightly up to where you could put it into a pannier, you could eliminate the trailer or keep it tidier by it being flat and not so bulky and exposed. So, is this possible? Can you buy solar panels that fold into say a 10"x10"x 4" size that can be packed out of the way? Thanks.
That's a good question! There are solar panels that are made in multiple sections, and fold up flat into something like a briefcase size, so it's definitely possible to do that!
Very Interesting, Thank You for the report,
If I install a roof solar panel ( 15 kg) on a trailer, need a charger controller too?
Yes! You always need a charge controller as it prevents overcharging.
I would recommend portable folding solar panels ran in together instead. Anker and other brands have them available. They would totally fit inside that trailer and are a considerably more carry friendly
That solar panel needs to be mounted on the trailer for sure.
Aren't there any panels with hinges so that you can better store them (and hence carry more of them ?
There are folding solar panels. I think they may be heavier and more expensive but they are definitely available.
Can we charge while driving ?
You can! An inverter will run the standard 110V/220V chargers just fine.
You need to look in to solar blankets they fold up smaller
Can I charge and at the same time, ride the bike. Or do you have to stop the bike while charging?
On most ebikes that should work just fine!
It should work, just make sure you are in the safe temperature range if you care for your battery life! Ideally at 18 celsius but they say that its safe between 10 and 25 celsius.
Hey, this charge controller isnt efficient. It did work ok to charge my 36volts battery but I needed 300watts of solar panel to get a steady charge of 80 watts. Tried it with my 48volts battery and the same 300watts panel and I couldnt get more than a 45watts of steady charge. So to fully charge a 1000Wh battery its more than 20hours of full sun needed , for a road trip its not what I was looking for. Bought 2 of these charge controllers and they gave me the same poor results. I'll probably buy a Renogy charge controller for my next road trip but if you have any suggestions, I'll glady look at them :)
Hey, what's the Vmp rating of your solar panel? You need around 30V minimum to get 300W out of it at the 10A input current rating. However, you also don't want the Voc rating to be higher than the nominal voltage of the battery pack.
@@Optibike Thanks for the quick response! I used 2 solar panels in series. One is a Dokio 200watts (18Vmp - 21Voc) and the other is a Xinpuguang 100W (17,6Vmp - 19Voc). I'm just looking to get a charge of 54volts with 2A so about 100W. When I try to set the controller at 2A it just cant stand it and kind of reboot all the time so I had to set a lower amp until the controller work in a steady way but I only had 45watts then. Whats wrong if it is not the controller?
This is all cool until you actually do it unless; 1. You like a short riding day, then sitting around while your bike charges; Or 2. Riding at night and sleeping in the day while your bike charges. Sure you can bring an extra panel and a trailer and even a spare battery but that adds more weight that is going to help you drain your battery faster. Charging the spare while riding is going to be futile. You have to have the panel(s) oriented property, out the the dark forests and it is going to be a sail when it comes to wind. I would love to bikepack with my ebike but seems so far it is just more practical to use a regular bike.
Great info...My question is how do you connect the charge controller to the bike. My charger is a Euro power plug and I can't seem to find a cord that would go from the controller to the bike. Any ideas? My wife and I bought Haibikes and of course, each of our chargers have different plugs to the bike.
Hey Dwayne, it's definitely a tough one if your ebike manufacturer doesn't supply connectors for the battery. One option is using a power bank with a built in inverter, like a Jackery unit, and just using your normal chargers for the bike. Not quite as efficient but no custom cables needed.
Would that controller work for a 52v battery? I noticed the specs jump from 48v to 60v skipping 52v.
Yes it does! you can adjust it to any voltage you like within the range it supports.
Probably not. I tried 2 of them, it was barely ok with my 36volt battery but to make it work I had to put 300watts of solar panels. It wasnt good at all with my 48volts battery, guess it will only get worse for a 52volts battery.
How neat is that?
I've been looking for a solar controller for my electric scooter. It's battery is 67.2V and can take up to 8amps.
what a cool bike! brand name??
Thanks! It's an Optibike R15C in the video.
Okay can you give more in-depth information about the charge controller setup
Hi Doug, what would you like to know? We plan on making a more detailed setup video at some point, but I'm happy to answer any questions about setup!
@@Optibike with the same charge controller, could you charge the battery while you're riding it if you had the solar panel mounted?
Yes! You could absolutely use it that way as well
Is your bike battery 48 volts? Some critical details include what wires and connectors to get so that it will plug into your battery. Where can I go to find the right connections?
We have a 52V battery in this bike, finding the right connectors for your specific ebike can take some research, as most brands will use a unique connector type.
For the wiring at this power 14AWG size is totally fine.
Can this be done for my electric skateboard 🥰
It very likely would work!
Check out Mike Boyd's video! It can be done :)
1.) Buy a 220 watt Off Grid TREK solar "blanket". Best by far for "watts per square foot" as wells less costly than the nearest solar "blanket" competitor. the thin film solar panels are by Sun Power, The premier maker all types of PV panels.
2.) Get some Ultra Light backpacking gear. Your tent is WAAY too big and heavy. less weight on e-bike = more range.
UPDATE: 9/9/2024-> Off Grid TREK now sells an ELEJOY adjustable controller and cables to go with its OGT 220 watt or 300 watt solar blanket. Rene, the owner of OTG can USUALLY find the plug to put on the charge cable that matches your battery.
ALL of this system, blanket (size of a laptop and 4" thick) controller and cables weighs 14 pounds and easily fits into one pannier side.
Yes, it's expensive but the OTG blankets are 1/4 the size of the competition's equivalent wattage AND waterproof AND less costly.s
Do you think a harbor freight 13 watt charger would be worth buying as a charger for an e bike? Or is the 13 watts not enough? Thanks!
13W would be a good size for charging your phone or other small devices, but you'll want a much larger panel to charge an ebike! The average ebike has between 500-1000Wh of energy in the battery, so a 100W panel would take 5-10 hours as a rough estimate.
But it does depend on how quickly you want it to charge, if you're OK waiting 2-4 days then a smaller 50W panel or something like that would work fine too.
Thank you for responding, OK I have a 48 V 21 amp battery. I know you have to have greater than 48 V so around 58 V to charge the battery, that is why I have a question on how to set up a charge cycle. the solar panel is around 20 V at about 5 A. So how do you overcome the difference in voltage.
Good questions!
For the difference in voltage between the panel and your battery, that's something that the charge controller handles. But you do need the correct type of charge controller.
The one we used in the video (the link is in the description if you haven't seen that already), is what's known as a 'Boost mode' MPPT controller. What this means is it boosts the voltage up from the solar panel to the battery. And MPPT means the controller constantly makes small adjustments to get the maximum amount of power possible from your solar panel (MPPT = Maximum power point tracking).
The other types are 'Buck mode' MPPT controllers, where the solar panel voltage is higher than the battery voltage. And the cheaper PWM controllers, where the panel voltage needs to closely match the battery voltage.
So with the charge controller that we used, you just need to program it for your battery voltage, and it will boost the 20V from the panel up to what's needed to charge the battery. They're quite efficient too, so very little power gets lost.
If you have a 48V Li-ion battery pack, the charge voltage is 54.6V for a 100% charge. But you can also use a lower voltage which will extend the lifespan significantly; 53.3V would be a 90% charge, and 52V would be a 80% charge.
@@Optibike Thank you for this information which is more important than the whole video.
Hi. I have a 750w bafang battery. what solar panel and how many watts or volts ans what else do i need. Thank you sir.
Hi! The kind of setup we have in the video should work well for any typical E-Bike battery, you just need to find the appropriate connector to be able to plug the charge controller into your battery. Since the charge controller in the video (there's a link in the description to it as well) is programmable you can adjust it to suit most batteries easily.
What is the Brand name from your BIKE?
Any thoughts on the durability of this generation of flexible panels?
My first generation that I still keep in the original box, still works after 35 years.
@@stephenverchinski409 Pretty good testimony. Thanks
they suck and fail often, several youtube videos on failed flex panels.
@@rollandelliott Supposedly the new generation. Is better Anything from 35 years ago would be a totally different thing. There are also the type that you fold to open. Not sure what the biggest size is for that tech.
@@rollandelliott like anything, always check the manufacturer, product design and warranty.
Interesting. Where do you get the connector plug for my individual battery which is a Shimano.
It can be tough to figure out what connector some ebikes use, best bet is to search on google and see if anyone else has identified it.
The other option is to modify an existing charger with another connector in-line, so you can re-use the connector on that with your own setup.
you did it finaly found s way to continuously charge your transportation without refueling
Can't you carry a jackery in a trailer then charge you bike off the 1000 watt jackery. Then charge the jackery with a solar panel.
Significantly more weight hauling the Jackery 1000 around.
You could certainly do that, you would have a less efficient use of the panels energy due to losses from charging the Jackery and then charging the bike after, plus there's the extra weight you'll be pulling around.
But it would let you keep your Jackery charged up for other uses like charging phones and that sort of thing!
Question: Can the bike be charging and operating at the same time?
It depends on the design of the battery in the bike, but most ebikes including ours should have no trouble with charging and riding at the same time!
I would bring an ecoflow 500 converter instead , that should get me from town to town .
Doesn’t your bike’s BOSCH battery only receives 120V AC? How can you charge a battery like that with an MPPT that only produces DC without an inverter?
Good question! Batteries are DC, and normally you have a charger you plug into the wall that converts AC to DC. But in this case since the MPPT output is DC it can be directly connected to the battery.
Our batteries are designed by us so we can easily make a connector for this setup. If you have another battery like a bosch then it will have different connectors to use for charging.
I have a specialized Turbo levo and im jealous of your bike..I would really like to have that Bike just with a mullet set up (29inch in the front attached with a triple clamp 200mm fork short stem) the rest of the bike seems perfect I'm Norwegian and it's so mountainous and Hill's in all directions and our roads suck when being on them... Yes i would really like the freedom you get with your bike ,mine has only 500wh battery.anyways i love my bike to i really do it's pure Joy to Ride electric mountain Bike also it is my job. I'm not an electronic expert or electrician but I would be a bit worried to charge my bike like that I'm so worried about breaking such key parts which is crazy expensive and also takes time to replace but I would love to have that set-up i wish we could also have solar panel jacket and just be plugged in while riding and just take it off and hang it on the bike to charge when stopped instead of having to drag a trailer
Great info. Thanks!
Great idea. Very eco-friendly. Why can't this be done for electric cars and their charging points?
It is for some of them! The solar footprint is much larger due to the amount of energy needed. Many people charge their cars from solar on their home too.
Wow!!! That’s awesome!
I want to go there. But I'm here at work.
All my rides are solar powered, from my home system. Having installed solar systems for 30 years and lived with it on a daily basis, I will pass on hauling a PV system on my bike. It's a great romantic idea with huge appeal, but currently (pun intended I guess) not real practical long term. Then again, I don't go out for days, just a few hours.
what type of battery bank are you running? acid or lithium?
@@808pathfinder After 28 years being 100% off grid, I moved onto new property 13 years ago, that happened to have grid power near it. I went grid tie, and have not regretted it! NO batteries..... actually, with my grid's net metering system, I HAVE a battery of infinite size, of 100% efficiency, that needs no maintenance/replacement ever, and takes up no room! All this for $5.00 a month min fee! The place is all electric, no propane, and I run a surplus 9 months of the year, which I dip into during the winter, but never using all my surplus.
@@portnuefflyer so if you lose power your using a generator now ?
@@808pathfinder No need, the grid in my area is extremely reliable. I can't recall the last time the power was off for more than an hour or two. Like NOT wanting batteries, after years of being off grid, I DON'T want a generator. If the grid goes down, I have no power, correct. Not worth buying and installing a big set of batteries just for the rare times it goes down, not even close.
@@portnuefflyer i get what your saying , because i love all types of batteries and spent lots of money just to experiment with them
i don't have time to sit for 10-15 hrs to charge up. I bring my EB70s with me fully charged, and bring my brick with me. it charges up my ebike no problem, and I also bring a foldable solar panel, 150w to top up my solar generator, and I put all that in my bike trailer with tons of room to spare.
As long as the sun is shining
What range do you have on your Optibike when fully charged and towing?
That's impressive that a 4/9 (36 cell) panel Deliver 175w..?
(even the new Maxeon GenII cells) from SunPower® with a 25% efficiency rating can only deliver 175w with a 6/8 (48 cell) panel that delivers 5.83A with 29v. I would be interested to know the VOC and the Amps that panel puts out..? And what the efficiency rating is..?
I'm really interested in using solar for bikes.. I want to do a Transcontinental Tour of the USA.. Rails-2-Trails from Seattle to DC.
I've already built my recumbent etrike and trailer. I went with 2 @ 52v 17.5ah batteries (910wh each). (that contain NCR18650GA cells for long range/high power). I got the new Genasun GVB-8 52v MPPT Boost/Charge controller. In my trailer, i have a solar cooking system and several solar power banks mounted on the trike. My trike is equipped with a BBSHD 1000w mid-drive just so it uses the energy more efficiently without overheating the motor. Larger motor watt rating doesn't necessarily mean it uses all the watts..
Hey Rob, it's a pretty impressive amount of power from the size! we got around 150W in real use, at the time of filming it was late fall as well. Voc on this one is 23.9V and Isc is 9.5A, and Vmp is 19.5V with an Imp of 9A. They claim a 21% efficiency.
Compared to the sunpower panels I imagine this flexible panel is just larger, as it's not at the same efficiency rating as sunpowers newer tech. The panel in the video is 59" x 27" size and around 6 lbs.
We've been looking at the Genasun MPPT controllers, they look really well made!
Sounds like you have a solid setup going with everything you need on the way!
One problem I have with this video is the charge controller you using, I had one of those green ones and found it absolutely useless and took ages to charge a battery.
Ever since I got a ctkev300 solar charger cheap from aliexpress (can also buy a ctkev600) which is a true mppt charger, I can charge my 52v 20ah from 43v to 58v in around 4 1/2 hrs with a 200w and 80w solar blankets on a sunny day when camping, I threw away that green junk even it was still working.
Why haul another battery when you already have one in your bike. Although getting a second bike battery might be a good idea to increase your range. You could with a little work ride and charge at the same time.
I'm getting ready to become a Nomad and I will definitely be doing this. Thanks for posting this!
How do you charge and ride at the same time?
Yes. Build a battery into the base of the trailer that would allow for the storage of camping gear above the battery pack. Is this a feasable idea?
How did it go ?
Thank You
bring a generator, problem solved 😂