portable foldable solar panels

[musomaniac]

hi everyone , are there any recommendations for foldable solar panels i can attach to my bike , preferably ones that can supply a charge in cloudy conditions as thats what we get mostly in the uk

[lune ranger]

It depends if you want something as a ready made system or just the panel you can wire up yourself.
For the ready made stuff Goal Zero and Power Monkey are the easily available go to options with Goal Zero probably having the edge.
I've used solar as an addition to dynamo generation on a prolonged tour. It was about 10 years ago so everything has moved on a bit but here are a few thoughts.
Firstly it's difficult to charge from solar efficiently whilst riding - especially in less than ideal light conditions - no matter where you put the panel it's rarely showing it's face to the sun. Unless of course you follow a dead straight road with no trees etc around. You do get some generation but not very much at all. Though with modern panels this will be better than my experience.
For a bike trip the solar really comes into it's own at camp. You can continue to generate power when not riding - great on short or rest days - not so much use if you ride hard and long days all the time.
Igaro USB chargers have an accessory port which allows you to add solar power to your dynamo input. They claim it reduces dynamo drag when you are riding and increases charge efficiency at low speed.
Overall my experience is that although you can get a bit extra from solar when bikepacking/touring it's not a lot and you will need to use dynamo or wall charging as well.

[Richpips]

Solar panels in the UK strapped to a bike, I think you'll have little joy.

I'd try one somewhere with lots of sun maybe though you'll have to orientate the panel towards the sun, also note the weight.

eg Anker PowerPort Solar (21W 2-Port USB Solar Charger)

"Fast Charging Technology: PowerIQ delivers the fastest possible charging speed up to 2.4 amps per port or 3 amps overall under direct sunlight. 21 watt SunPower solar array is 21.5-23.5% efficient, providing enough power to charge two devices simultaneously."
Product Dimensions: 28.2 x 16 x 2.8 cm ; 458 g

[lune ranger]

My experience was across three continents - not just UK. You really did need good sunlight to see any real power input on the road but at camp you can generate well enough for USB output in indirect sun

[Richard G]

I've done some tests and you'd be far better off just carrying the equivalent weight as a battery pack. Unless you plan on spending the entire day on a beach or something.

[whitestone]

There's a review of the Anker on Bikepacking.com http://www.bikepacking.com/gear/anker-p ... ar-review/ from which it sounds fine for Peru

I did a review http://bobwightman.blogspot.com/2018/08 ... onics.html of how things worked out on a trip to France last August, I used a SP dynamo. I reckon that with a bit more care particularly around camera usage then I'd have been energy neutral. This was on road and easy off-road (canal tow paths and the like) so not hike-a-bike.