charging

[musomaniac]

what do you guys do for charging equipment eg gps ,phone, ect , power banks , solar power , or dynamo , has anyone tried the powerbanks which have a solar panel attached to them

[pistonbroke]

Plenty of threads on here that explain this big subject in detail but to summerise
Solar power is lacking in the performance, excess weight, reliability stakes, unless you ride in an area with long sunny days and can sit around during the day with the panel pointed in the optimum direction, they will provide insufficient power for all but the smallest devices.
Power bank only options are widely used if you have access to mains power sources at stopovers or doing short trips. 10,000 mAh seems to be the usual capacity needed for 4 days using GPS, minimal phone and lights.
If you're off around the world, a dynamo which is constantly charging a power bank during the day and powering a Revo or K lite or Busch & Muller light at night is a good option providing you can keep up a speed that allows this.
My setups are based on this, I have 2 bikes with dynamos, a Shimano XT and a Lovemud Juice. To enable charging and light power I use the Kemo 172 rectifier/switch on both which is simple, reliable and cheap. On my gravel bike I have a 2000mAh powerbank which allows pass through charging so doesn't need much capacity and works at higher average speed. For longer off road trips, my 29er has a 10,000mAh powerbank again allowing pass through and this gives me extra capacity for sections where I'm going slower and not charging as efficiently. I take a Revo light, Garmin Edge Touring and a switched off phone for emergencies.
Others have their preferences but this works for me.

[whitestone]

PB has it mostly covered really.

Here's my take on it http://bobwightman.blogspot.com/2018/08 ... onics.html. One thing you soon learn is that you can't be profligate in your usage of electronic devices - using your phone to update your social media status every hour isn't the brightest idea for example (not sure it ever is to be honest) - so you need to prioritise your usage. You also need to have a rough idea of how much charge you need each day.

The simplest and cheapest method is to use a powerbank, £20 or so will get you a 10,000mAh unit. A dynamo hub setup will be at least ten times that - as well as the dynamo you'll need it built up into a wheel and also need a converter unit like the Kemo, Igaro, eWerk.

For short (less than five days) trips or ones where you've a lot of hike-a-bike then I'll just take a powerbank and make sure everything is charged before I set off. For longer trips or ones where I'm travelling faster I'll take two powerbanks and use a dynamo (SP-PDX) to charge one through the day then charge whatever devices need topping up once I've stopped, usually it's just the GPS. There's power losses involved in this so you need to account for those, 10-15% loss in charging each set of batteries. I'll take two powerbanks since USB connectors aren't waterproof so I've a backup.

[Asposium]

http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... =7&t=13188

[whitestone]

I've had a quick look round for some reviews, specifically those with bikepacking in mind.

Anker Solar charger http://www.bikepacking.com/gear/anker-p ... ar-review/
K-Lite http://bikepacker.com/k-lite-review-2/ and https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-g ... tery-life/
Sinewave Beacon (more an overview) http://www.cyclingabout.com/sinewave-cy ... amo-light/
K-Lite vs Revo http://www.tourintune.com/bikepacking-d ... e-vs-revo/

[musomaniac]

thanks for the info much appreciated , I've got plenty to mull over now