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
Planes NASA Centurion – The 63-Metre Step Between Pathfinder and Helios On our site you can already read about two NASA solar wings: Pathfinder-Plus, which flew to 80,201 feet, and Helios, which reached almost 29 km. Between… 
4 Wheels Huawei Sonnenwagen – Aachen’s Rookie Run Across Australia Many student teams need several attempts before they reach the finish of the World Solar Challenge. Team Sonnenwagen Aachen, founded in 2015 by students from Aachen,… 
Boats Serpentine Solar Shuttle – London’s Solar Boat in Hyde Park If you have walked through Hyde Park in summer, you may have seen it: a curved, glass-and-steel shell gliding silently across the Serpentine. The Serpentine Solar… 
3 Wheels Aurora 101 – Australia’s Home-Grown Solar Champion The World Solar Challenge runs through Australia, but for most of its history the winners came from Japan, the Netherlands, the USA and elsewhere. The exception… 
Trailer SolarTrails by SolarTrails Hi, and thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Zsolt Biró, and I’m from Western Hungary. I ride a “normal” bike I converted… 
3 Wheels Clean Motion Zbee – A 230 kg Electric Trike from Sweden What is the smallest, lightest vehicle that can still carry three people through a city, with a roof over their heads? The Swedish company Clean Motion… 
5+ Wheels Byron Bay Solar Train – The First Solar-Powered Passenger Train Solar mobility is not only about bikes and cars. In Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, a beautifully restored vintage train runs along the coast powered… 
2 Wheels Sola.Bike 2 person bike with solar roof This solar e-bike was built with a clear mission: to minimize plastic use while maintaining durability and everyday practicality. The main frame is made from steel,… 
Boats Malt’s Mermaid – Across the Pacific on Sunlight Kenichi Horie is a legend of Japanese sailing. In 1962 he famously sailed alone across the Pacific from Japan to San Francisco. In 1996 he set… 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. Here is the short version.
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.
Community merch
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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