Solar Bike for Touring
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Posts: 1,065
Bikes: Shasta Kiliminjaro, Optima Dragon Recumbent
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Solar Bike for Touring
I saw these solar bikes the other day.
info@therapyproducts.com
Does anybody have any experience with these? Are they viable for touring? I'm thinking of touring with my wife, and it might be easier for her to keep up, if she had some "power assist". I know that 75# is quite heavy. Is it feasible to pedal this any distance if the sun isn't shining? I thought we could trade bikes in the evening, and I'd ride the heavy beast for a while.
I have written the manufacturer a note, but I'm hoping for some more unbiased opinions here.
info@therapyproducts.com
Does anybody have any experience with these? Are they viable for touring? I'm thinking of touring with my wife, and it might be easier for her to keep up, if she had some "power assist". I know that 75# is quite heavy. Is it feasible to pedal this any distance if the sun isn't shining? I thought we could trade bikes in the evening, and I'd ride the heavy beast for a while.
I have written the manufacturer a note, but I'm hoping for some more unbiased opinions here.
__________________
Jim
Make a BOLD Statement While Cycling!
Jim
Make a BOLD Statement While Cycling!
#2
370H-SSV-0773H
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Penniless Park, Fla.
Posts: 2,750
Bikes: Merlin Fortius, Specialized Crossroads & Rockhopper, Serotta Fierte, Pedal Force RS2
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Originally Posted by oilfreeandhappy
I saw these solar bikes the other day.
info@therapyproducts.com
info@therapyproducts.com
- OTOH, i use solar power w/my bikes all the time, albeit using a small solar panel for shortwave reception and a low-power (QRP) continuous wave (CW, or Morse Code) transceiver... the panel mounts on top of my pack on the rear rack... in addition, the little unit also charges two AAs..
#3
You need a new bike
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 5,433
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times
in
3 Posts
I see two major problems with this bike. First of all, the solar panels are unlikely to be able to provide anything more than a small fraction of the total energy used when employing the electric assist. This bike will almost certainly require charging from an electrical outlet if it is going to be used much at all.
Second is the solar panels embedded in the wheels will make the bike dangerous to ride in anything but calm conditions.
Second is the solar panels embedded in the wheels will make the bike dangerous to ride in anything but calm conditions.
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Montreal
Posts: 6,521
Bikes: Peugeot Hybrid, Minelli Hybrid
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
I dont think the wheel mounted panels would extend the range by more than 2 or 3 km. Look for plain elctric assist rear wheel to mount in a light hybrid. This will give a range of more than 18 km, so look for places where you can recharge while you take your breaks.
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Posts: 1,065
Bikes: Shasta Kiliminjaro, Optima Dragon Recumbent
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Originally Posted by linux_author
- kinda hard to browse an email address?
- OTOH, i use solar power w/my bikes all the time, albeit using a small solar panel for shortwave reception and a low-power (QRP) continuous wave (CW, or Morse Code) transceiver... the panel mounts on top of my pack on the rear rack... in addition, the little unit also charges two AAs..
- OTOH, i use solar power w/my bikes all the time, albeit using a small solar panel for shortwave reception and a low-power (QRP) continuous wave (CW, or Morse Code) transceiver... the panel mounts on top of my pack on the rear rack... in addition, the little unit also charges two AAs..
https://www.therapyproducts.com/products_sunnybike.html
Good comments and suggestions. Also hoping to get some more input.
__________________
Jim
Make a BOLD Statement While Cycling!
Jim
Make a BOLD Statement While Cycling!
#6
Prefers Cicero
At this point it is a novel product that hasn't got all the bugs out, so it would be a lot to invest in something that might be a big disappointment. 75 lbs seems way too heavy for your wife to tour on over hills and loaded with gear, although paradoxically, the rear panel/battery would severely limit the bike's cargo capacity.
#7
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,362
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,218 Times
in
2,365 Posts
Originally Posted by cooker
At this point it is a novel product that hasn't got all the bugs out, so it would be a lot to invest in something that might be a big disappointment. 75 lbs seems way too heavy for your wife to tour on over hills and loaded with gear, although paradoxically, the rear panel/battery would severely limit the bike's cargo capacity.
Me thinks I detect the odor of rotting fish
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#8
Senior Member
Sorry - it's a total scam. As Cycco mentions, you can't get crystalline PV on the wheels like that - they come from 5" silicon wafers like chips. Even if they somehow got the other stuff (thin film PV) on the wheels and wired up, the angle is all wrong - needs to be perpendicular to the sun at mid-day. Then figure that even if you had optimum angles, and good sun, you can only get about 100W per square meter of panel (less with thin film) and you have .8 of a square meter, so max 80W. Not counting for the losses going thru the battery, wiring etc, that's about 1/10 of a hp. Of course the bike would have to be lying on it's side, at noon, on a very sunny day...
#9
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,115
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
1 Post
You can solve your whole problem by having her take the lead and you can keep up as best you can. As long as you don't make it a big ego thing where she spends the whole day trying to keep up, she should be fine, assuming she is as sold on the idea as you are. Throw all the gear in a bob equipt bike that you pull, and leave her with just here personal gear. On the other hand, if she is a toughie like my wife, she won't need any help. My wife could be seen climbing any hill with 100 pounds of kids in the trailer, disappearing over the horizon.
#10
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Posts: 1,065
Bikes: Shasta Kiliminjaro, Optima Dragon Recumbent
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I'm glad I posted this. Thanks for all the advice. I think you're right. It must be a scam. I wrote asking for more info, and I got a note back saying they would add more specifications to the website at the end of May. It's probably nothing more than a power assist bicycle which has to be recharged in a 110 V outlet.
__________________
Jim
Make a BOLD Statement While Cycling!
Jim
Make a BOLD Statement While Cycling!
#12
LHT Commuter
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Anaheim, CA
Posts: 467
Bikes: Surly Long Haul Trucker & Motobecane Le Champion
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Originally Posted by velonomad
A better idea would be to get you both a tandem
As others have mentioned, the very idea proposed is preposterous with current technology. Looking at the photo the OP listed there is no hub motor and the wheels covers are certainly NOT photovoltaic. Must be either a scam or a joke, I think.
#13
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,362
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,218 Times
in
2,365 Posts
Originally Posted by wsexson
+1
As others have mentioned, the very idea proposed is preposterous with current technology. Looking at the photo the OP listed there is no hub motor and the wheels covers are certainly NOT photovoltaic. Must be either a scam or a joke, I think.
As others have mentioned, the very idea proposed is preposterous with current technology. Looking at the photo the OP listed there is no hub motor and the wheels covers are certainly NOT photovoltaic. Must be either a scam or a joke, I think.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#14
Prefers Cicero
Originally Posted by cyccommute
It could just be a mock up rather than a scam at this point.