Flexible solar panels on a bike frame

Not really, If I understand what you mean, wrapping them like tape around the tubes. only 25% of each panel could ever face the sun as you rode, and 25% would never ever see sun, since it faces down. Plus, your ass and legs would shade a lot of the frame all the time.


I happen to have some 16 x16 inch panels. They flex, but not a lot. Each panel puts out 30 watts of 12v, so if it was a 36v panel, it would be 10 watts for that size.


So like 4 of them, would put out 30 watts of 48v, three of them 30 watts of 36v. Gets kinda big to put on a bike, if its 16 inches by 64 inches. The best solar bike I've seen here on the forum is a trike, with a big solar sun shade over the whole trike. like a solar roof. Another way to mount more solar is a trailer of some kind.
 
angle between the sun and the panel is important
mine are flat and early in the morning or late in the afternoon, I could get more power If I could incline the panel
https://amaliasolar.wordpress.com/photo-video/

Justin fro eBikes.ca create one where the panel are on an Arc and he can change the angle.
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=93482&start=50#p1378288

if you put solar panel on each side of the bike. you have 50% of panel in the sun and 50% in the shade and I guess they could get more power in the early morning and the late afternoon. If you travel at the equator, they would probably not be the the best angle. but I would really like to know if it work.

a friend of mine has a trailer with the 2 panels of 100 watts each and when he stop. he pull out two more from underneath the first two.
 
Good pic, shows what can be done once you pull a trailer. I never carried through my plans to tour with a bike pulling a trailer, 30 inches wide, and 8 foot long. ( that fire burned the tow bike for one thing)

If traveling east or west, I was planning to run with the trailer top full of panels tilted to the sun. North or south, kind of hard to tilt it, though if going north easier.

Mostly I planned to run the battery in the early morn, then stop for about 4 hours mid day to get max recharge. Then try to stop for the night at a plug. If no plug, wait for the battery to fill enough to continue some in the am.


My plan was to be 50w panels, x 4 for about 200 wh of 48v per hour at noon. Get a decent 800 wh of 48v at a 4 hour lunch stop.
 
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