Author Topic: OK, so we peddle...and we ride in the sun; where's my energy???  (Read 11944 times)

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Offline Ron Scott

What's the state of art in power generation for phones, GPS', tablets, etc.? On bikes driven big miles.

I'm feeln' like a dinosaur here...

Offline nomad

Re: OK, so we peddle...and we ride in the sun; where's my energy???
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2012, 11:30:52 am »
I still haven't even been able to figure out if there's a speedometer that is powered by the magnet on the wheel passing the sensor instead of requiring a battery.

Offline geegee

Re: OK, so we peddle...and we ride in the sun; where's my energy???
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2012, 12:09:43 pm »
Tout Terrain makes a really cool USB power system:




It looks like they offer an extra power pack boost, so I imagine adding a solar charger to recharge those batteries is somehow possible

Joe B

  • Guest
Re: OK, so we peddle...and we ride in the sun; where's my energy???
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2012, 08:37:48 pm »
While not solar based, I have posted about the power solution I built and use previously. Searching the forum should yield mine and others discussions on this. Details on my system can be found here...
http://joesride.wordpress.com

Offline DaveB

Re: OK, so we peddle...and we ride in the sun; where's my energy???
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2012, 07:41:32 am »
 
Quote
OK, so we peddle...

Selling something?  I assume you mean "pedal".   Anyway, generator hubs have been around for many decades and could be set up to power rechargers as well as their usual use for lights.

Offline rcrampton

Re: OK, so we peddle...and we ride in the sun; where's my energy???
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2012, 05:40:09 am »
I'm also curious about this. I recently came across this article which lists a few potential options:

http://cyclingabout.com/index.php/2012/03/list-of-hub-dynamo-power-supplies-for-usb-devices/

Offline Old Guy New Hobby

Re: OK, so we peddle...and we ride in the sun; where's my energy???
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2012, 03:43:37 pm »
Hub generators work great, as long as you understand their limitations. See my review here.
http://www.adventurecycling.org/forums/index.php?topic=10463.msg52821#msg52821

Whenever you are evaluating solar panels, hub, or any other potential power source start with the amount of power you can expect to get.

Offline bogiesan

Re: OK, so we peddle...and we ride in the sun; where's my energy???
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2013, 04:52:40 pm »
Wanted to resurrect this topic after cruising the REI site looking for solar/battery backup to power my new iPhone on the road. I was appalled by the lack of information available to REI's customers and the weirdly sad reviews many of the solar items were getting. People were expecting tiny and cheap solar systems to keep GPS, phones, tablets and even notebooks fully charged. IMpossible.
Be sure you understand some basic math using milliamp hours. The more I research this stuff, the more I am convninced the manufacturers are deliberately obfiscating these figures.
1. You need to know how much power your device requires to charge its battery. (An iPad needs a 2 amp charger, that's 2,000mA, while an iPhone neds half that.)
2. You need to know how much power your device consumes or a genreal idea of how long it lasts doing hard work like GPS or talking.
3. You need to know how much energy your charging device can produce.
4. You need to know how long it will take to charge your device under typical, not ideal, conditions.
5. You need to decide if the cost is worth the hassle.

Whatever you select, be sure to test it before you get out where you depend it.

The state of the art at the moment seems to be the use of solar (or a hub or an AC plug) to top off an auxiliary power pack of AAs or lithium ion cells and use that battery booster to either replenish or supplement your device's battery.

Using MapMyRide or the GPS function on my iPhone sucks the battery dry in less than five hours if I'm not doing anything else. So I need a pwoerpack to keep the thing alive on a good day's ride of 6-10 hours. Then I need to recharge both the phone and the booster pack.
I play go. I use Macintosh. Of course I ride a recumbent