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
Boats
Neckarsonne – Heidelberg’s Big Solar Catamaran
Heidelberg is one of Germany's most romantic cities: the castle ruins, the old bridge, the river Neckar. And since 2004 visitors can see it all from…
4 Wheels
HySolarKit – Turning an Ordinary Car into a Solar Hybrid
Millions of perfectly good petrol cars will be on the road for years. Professor Gianfranco Rizzo of the University of Salerno asked a practical question: instead…
2 Wheels · Trailer
Thomas Stefan Ash – Solar Bike on The Sun Trip 2026
Thomas Stefan Ash (United Kingdom) took part in Sun Trip Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 and Sun Trip Alpes 2023, the long-distance adventure on solar-powered bikes held since 2013.…
3 Wheels · Trailer
Didier Cornamusaz – Solar Trike on The Sun Trip 2026
Didier Cornamusaz took part in Sun Trip Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 and Sun Trip Alpes 2023, the long-distance adventure on solar-powered bikes held since 2013. The machine is…
2 Wheels
Thomas Pollet – Solar Bike on The Sun Trip 2015
Thomas Pollet (France) took part in The Sun Trip 2015, the long-distance adventure on solar-powered bikes held since 2013. The machine is a solar bike. Thomas…
2 Wheels
Jean-Pierre Roche – Solar Bike on The Sun Trip 2023
Jean-Pierre Roche took part in Sun Trip Alpes 2023, the long-distance adventure on solar-powered bikes held since 2013. The machine is a solar bike. The Sun…
5+ Wheels
Mars rover Opportunity
When NASA sent the Opportunity rover to Mars, the plan was modest — explore for 90 days, study some rocks, and maybe send home a few…
2 Wheels
Askar Syzbayiev – Solar Bike on The Sun Trip 2013
Askar Syzbayiev (Kazakhstan) took part in The Sun Trip 2013, the long-distance adventure on solar-powered bikes held since 2013. The machine is a solar bike. The…
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…
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.
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.
Join 4,300+ members on Facebook© 2026 Solar-Mobility · Hosting and webdesign by andd.one
© 2026 Solar-Mobility. Hosting and webdesign by andd.one
