This was a bit of a budget build, but with really good results I think. A local metal worker gave me the recumbent in 2014. Apparently an old student of his had welded the seat tubing and built the seat. I believe the frame is factory, but I don't know what company even so if anyone might be able to guess please do. When I got it had been in a pretty bad crash and sat for something like 20 years. I fixed it up and rode it around Philly a bunch. Needed a new rear wheel, parts had to be bent back into place, I used a lathe and a skate wheel to make an idler, brakes and derailleurs had to be rebuilt and/or tuned.
Fast forward to the e-bike part of the build this year. I went low-powered compared to a lot of what I've seen on these forums, one of those 450W/24V kits with a chain and sprocket. I got a 7s4p lithium ion battery which fit perfectly in a bar bag slung behind the seat. Got it running just as a "regular" ebike. Pretty fun little machine.
Then I used a harbor freight solar panel (100W, 5.5 amps, but shorter than most at 3 feet) with a really cheap charge controller and a DC-DC booster. It worked to charge it but would only get up to 0.6 amps in full sun. I did learn a lot in the process of getting it to work, though.
While I waited for a boosting charge controller (still cheap, like $25) I mounted the panel on the mousetrap back rack using a combination of a foot wide swath of 3/8 inch plywood and steel conduit tubing that I bent, crimped, and drilled to use as support arms.
In full sun I get about 3 amps continuously, which is pretty amazing to me, as I had guessed in my calculations that I wouldn't do that well with efficiency (voltage is being boosted from ~24V to 29.5V). So far riding it has been great, in one recent test I went 4 miles and the battery voltage decreased by only 0.1V. I thought it might feel tippy but I barely notice the extra weight while moving (the panel is ~16 lbs.) The only upgrade it needs is a thicker rear wheel/tire with a disc brake mount for the sprocket. I already got the new sprocket that will fit the 6-point mount so someday I'll do that bit, maybe even build the wheel.
Really enjoyed k2orbust's Nazca build https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=109786 I was just finishing mine when I discovered that thread. Wish I had fork suspension! Maybe we should get all the solar builds linked in a central thread (if that hasn't already been done, a cursory search didn't yield anything.)
Next project will probably be a solar trailer to power a diamond frame ebike.
There are a few solar powered e-bike projects groups on Facebook but it's a far flung little community of tinkerers. I've been riding mine to work every day and it charges itself nicely at the bike rack.
