First Solar Powered eBike on the Block!

[Four Corners]

My new bike is stuck in Denver for the last three days. I called DHL Express (!) to ask when it will be here. Just three more days, they said. Let's see, three plus three equals six. Six days to go three hundred miles. That's fifty miles/day. DHL could easily pedal it here in the same time. The exercise would do them good, and think of the environmental benefits!

SURPRISE!

Not expecting anything today, I went to town for an hour. On return, a box full of undamaged Juggernaut FS awaited me at the door.

Assembly was quick and easy. This bike is heavy! Good thing it's got a motor. Aware that some people find loose mechanical connections on delivery, I went over it and found none. So, I took it for a spin. Pretty sweet, but the controller complained with Error Code 21, speed sensor. I had noticed that the magnet was a bit far from the sensor and moved it closer on its spoke. Maybe that is the problem, and when it's fixed the speedo and odo will work.

PS: Just checked DSL tracking, which says the bike is still in Denver

 

[Four Corners]

I live 6 miles from the UPS national air hub. There are advantages: like I get surface rate UPS packages from 800 miles in 16 hours. Amazon warehouse is 4 miles away, their stuff often comes 8 hours after ordered. I have a glass fiber internet drop 2 blocks away; no more lightning strikes on my modem. We have a symphony orchestra within biking distance of my house! KET broadcast television & WUOL-FM are jewels. No cable TV or dish fees.
Downsides? It rains & clouds over too much here to make solar electricity pay off. Sometimes weeks at a time, which makes battery use problematic.

Everything you say, Indiana, is no doubt true, but you neglected to mention the downside: Indiana. The Rocky Mountains are pretty great all year 'round, and the SW desert is just a short ride away. We suffer our inconveniences gladly . . . if not silently.

 

[Four Corners]

I rode up Falls Creek Rd, FS Road 39, on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass, famed in song and story. The road is at the northernmost end of the South San Juan Mountains. The mountains seen in this photo are "across the street" in the San Juan Mountains (another range). Eleven point four miles of rough stuff with 1200 vfeet gained and lost used about 30% of a 14.5Ah battery. I've been riding almost entirely in ECO 1, a mode which makes me feel big and strong.

I notice that having a heavy battery on the down tube keeps the front wheel on the ground when climbing steeply. On my acoustic bike I have to lean far forward.

 

[indianajo]

I have 77 hills of up to 15% grade between my city rivertown house, and my summer property. The overall rise is about 200 '. Takes me 3.5 hours to do the 30 miles. I don't use electricity on 20 of the miles, unless the wind is >12 mph in my face. My summer property is on top of the divide between the White River and the Ohio, so it is quite windy and much cooler than town. The view is nice too, woods and fields where I keep the weeds sprayed down. Deer graze outside my windows in the morning, and I hear bucks snort when I walk around. I have raccoons groundhogs snapping turtles and bluegills on the property. The flat boring farmland of Indiana is North of Seymour where the glacier stopped.
You see my battery hung out over the front wheel. The motor is up there, too. I carry 50 lb of supplies out to my property in the bags; the special groceries for diabetics are in town. I don't own a 4 wheel drive truck like my country neighbors, so I don't go out there in the winter.

 

[Four Corners]

In addition to all the felicities you list, Indiana, you have oxygen! Most of today's ride was above 10000'. If you ride (or walk or ski) the nearby Continental Divide Trail (off limits to motorized anything) it is mostly above 11000', and some stretches are much higher.

 

[troehrkasse]

Thank you for sharing.
Can you post your findings or a link to them in this tread as well.
I for one would appreciated it very much and more than likely would purchase such panel.

Howdy, finally got my hands on the panel and the review has been posted here: https://electricbikereview.com/accessories/electric-bike-company/ebc-solar-panel/

Long story short: Super portable and durable design, can charge my 48v 11.6ah battery in four hours. Biggest downside is it's only made to work with the EBC bikes/batteries. It would be pretty easy to modify with other cables and/or controller depending on your desired application... but of course that would mean more $$, and it's already not cheap at $699. Product page is here: https://electricbikecompany.com/product/ebc-solar-panel/

 

[AguassissiM]

@troehrkasse

Thank you for the update.

 

[jangles]

Howdy, finally got my hands on the panel and the review has been posted here: https://electricbikereview.com/accessories/electric-bike-company/ebc-solar-panel/

Long story short: Super portable and durable design, can charge my 48v 11.6ah battery in four hours. Biggest downside is it's only made to work with the EBC bikes/batteries. It would be pretty easy to modify with other cables and/or controller depending on your desired application... but of course that would mean more $$, and it's already not cheap at $699. Product page is here: https://electricbikecompany.com/product/ebc-solar-panel/

So whats the deal with it now and do you know they quit making them ? I'd love to have one . Could it be they just didnt sell enough ?

 

[Akrotiri]

Speaking of solar-powered... the Electric Bike Company has been working on a folding solar panel that is easy to transport and can be laid out to charge when you're away from your normal charging location. It's supposed to charge the battery enough in an hour to get you another 10 miles of range, which is pretty decent for a folding panel considering the size of their cruisers!

I should be getting my hands on one soon, I'll be sure to post about it once I get to try it out and we may even do an EBR review of it

Will it be compatible with Bosch chargers and other ebikes or just theirs ?

Edit: nvm just read through entire thread. Unfortunate that it doesn’t work for other batteries too.

I use this solar panel on my long bike tours that charges my iPhone or anything else that uses a USB charger. Can’t recommend it enough. Solar panels have come along way in the last 2 years.

Xtorm SolarBooster 21 Watts panel

www.xtorm.eu

 

[troehrkasse]

So whats the deal with it now and do you know they quit making them ? I'd love to have one . Could it be they just didnt sell enough ?

I haven't been following it for awhile but I bet you are correct, I doubt they sold very many at that high price. It's a cool idea and a very well built product, but I never ended up using mine - far easier to just bring the charger and for most rides its easier to find an outlet than to find a good place to stop and lay out a solar panel. I could see it being super useful for certain use cases, but not so much for most riders.

These days I have a different folding solar panel and a portable power station that I could use for an ebike, in theory... if I ever get around to getting a good trailer and doing some longer hauls.

 

[jangles]

I do a lot of off grid camping and some bike pack/fishing trips . I think I would have use for one , the only problem I have is I need the charging plug for a Reention Dorado battery as 4 of my bikes have those batteries . It looks like Rambo has one but they are out of stock and they are very proud of them .