Solar-Mobility is the open community for solar-powered e-bikes, trikes, campers and everything else that moves on sunlight. Browse real builds, share yours, go further.
Community builds
5+ Wheels Sojourner – The First Solar Rover on Mars Today's Mars rovers are the size of cars. The first one was the size of a microwave oven. Sojourner, built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, landed… 
3 Wheels · Trailer Bertrand Goudenhooft – An Azub Trike and 900 W on a Trailer For his 50th birthday Bertrand Goudenhooft wanted a "crazy" challenge. He found pictures of the Sun Trip online and ordered an Azub solar trike from Declic-Eco.… 
2 Wheels Frank Bac-David – Solar Bike on The Sun Trip 2023 Frank Bac-David (France) took part in Sun Trip Alpes 2023, the long-distance adventure on solar-powered bikes held since 2013. The machine is a solar bike. Frank… 
Boats Bluebottle – An Ocean Drone Powered by Sun, Wind and Waves Remember the Solar Sailor ferry with its tilting solar wings? Its inventor Robert Dane took that idea out to the open ocean. His company, renamed Ocius… 
3 Wheels Dominique Kestler – Solar Trike on The Sun Trip 2026 Dominique Kestler (France) took part in Sun Trip Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026, the long-distance adventure on solar-powered bikes held since 2013. The machine is a solar trike. The… 
2 Wheels · Trailer Eric Malmezac – Solar Bike on The Sun Trip 2022 Eric Malmezac took part in Sun Trip Alpes 2022, the long-distance adventure on solar-powered bikes held since 2013. The machine is a solar bike. Éric Malmezac,… 
4 Wheels ARI 458 Solar – An Electric Micro-Van That Charges Itself Delivery vans do lots of short trips, park outside all day, and have big flat surfaces. That makes them ideal candidates for solar charging. The ARI… 
Planes Ingenuity – The Solar-Charged Helicopter That Flew on Mars The smallest solar vehicle on our site may also be the most famous. Ingenuity was a helicopter of about 1.8 kg that rode to Mars under… 
2 Wheels Eric Silvestre – Solar Bike on The Sun Trip 2023 Eric Silvestre took part in Sun Trip Alpes 2023, the long-distance adventure on solar-powered bikes held since 2013. The machine is a solar bike. Éric Silvestre… How it works
The guide · preorder
Everything you need to build your own solar-powered e-bike: choosing panels, wiring, charge controllers and batteries, explained step by step by the community.
Solar charging, explained
Solar e-bikes, pedelecs, trikes and campers all work on the same idea: a solar panel turns daylight into electricity, a charge controller feeds it safely into the battery, and every hour of sun adds range.
A pedelec only assists while you pedal (in the EU up to 25 km/h and 250 W); most people simply call it an e-bike. A solar e-bike either carries its own solar panel on the bike, the rack or a trailer, or it is a normal electric bike charged with solar power at home. Both ride on sunshine instead of the grid.
For a typical 36 V or 48 V e-bike battery, plan on a 100–200 W solar panel. Either the panel charges the battery directly through an MPPT charge controller with a boost converter, or it fills a small power station and you plug in your normal charger. In full summer sun, a 400–500 Wh battery is full in about a day.
Range depends on capacity in watt-hours (Wh): a pedelec uses roughly 7–15 Wh per kilometre, depending on terrain and assist level. Most e-bike batteries are lithium-ion (NMC); for campers, trikes and trailers many solar builders prefer LiFePO4, which is safer, lasts thousands of cycles and copes well with daily partial charging. Keep the battery cool and never charge a damaged pack.
Lightweight flexible solar panels fit racks, cargo bikes and trike roofs; rigid glass panels give more watts per euro on a solar bike trailer or a camper. Rule of thumb: in good sun, every 100 W of panel adds around 20–40 km of assisted riding per day.
On adventures like the Sun Trip, riders often cover more than 100 km a day on solar power alone: the panel charges while you ride and during breaks, so the battery rarely runs empty. The real gain is independence from sockets – at the campsite, on the mountain pass and on long days off-grid.
Most builds in this community are DIY: a standard e-bike or a conversion kit, a 100–300 W panel, an MPPT controller matched to the battery voltage, fuses and good connectors. Our guide Ride on Sunshine walks you through panels, wiring, charge controllers and batteries step by step.
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Bon voyage
A community of riders and tinkerers driven by a single mission: maximising range through solar energy. From Europe to every continent.
The open community for solar-powered e-bikes, trikes, campers and everything else that moves on sunlight. Browse real builds, share yours, go further.
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