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Ride on Sunshine – Florian Prensena
Ride on Sunshine – cover
Chart of solar kilometres per day for 50–400 W panels on an e-bike, by season
Diagram of two 100 W solar panels wired in series and in parallel for e-bike charging
Energy path diagram: solar panels, boost MPPT controller, 48 V e-bike battery and hub motor
Four ways to mount solar panels: rear rack, single-wheel trailer, trike canopy, deployable panel
Nine-step build order for a solar e-bike charging system, from parts to commissioning
Battery level chart for a week-long spring tour on solar power, with weekly solar budget table
Three safe ways to add a second e-bike battery to a solar charging setup

Ride on Sunshine – DIY Solar E-Bike Guide

Original price was: 69,00€.Current price is: 37,00€.

Turn sunlight into freedom. A hands-on, step-by-step guide to building your own solar charging for pedelecs, e-bikes, trikes, cargo bikes and solar trailers, written by Florian Prensena, founder of Solar-Mobility.com.

  • 160+ pages, 15 chapters in 5 parts, with diagrams, charts and worked examples
  • No electrical background needed: tools, multimeter and crimping explained from scratch
  • Covers 36 V, 48 V and 52 V packs, boost and buck MPPT controllers, wiring, fusing and mounting
  • Realistic numbers: how many solar kilometres per day to expect in summer, spring/autumn and winter
  • Metric first, with imperial in brackets

Preorder now to support the community and get a heavy discount.
50% of sales will be contributed to the development of solar-mobility.com.

The download links will be available as ePub & PDF to readers in the second half of November.

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Description

DIY guide · ePub & PDF

Turn sunlight into free kilometres.

Build your own solar charging for an e-bike, trike, cargo bike or trailer: safely, with parts you can buy today, and with honest numbers before you spend a cent.

2×100 WpanelsBoost MPPT18–20 V → 54.6 V48 V840 WhMotor~10 Wh/kmsunlightraises the voltagecharges while you rideassist

Summer day, central Europe: 200 W × 5 h × 0.6 = 600 Wh ≈ 60 km of assist
160+pages of diagrams, tables & worked examples
15chapters in 5 parts, from first idea to first tour
36–52 Vpacks covered, with exact charge voltages
~60 kmof assist per sunny summer day from 200 W
The idea

Every e-bike lives under the sky. Let it charge there.

On a clear summer day, a single square metre of sunlight adds up to several kilowatt-hours. A typical e-bike pack holds well under one. This book shows you how to catch some of that light and put it back into your battery.

You follow one complete reference build from parts list to first tour, then learn how to adapt the same method to your own bike, trike, cargo bike, velomobile or trailer. No electrical background needed: Chapter 3 teaches the multimeter and crimper from scratch.

The reference build

  • 1Two 100 W panels on a single-wheel trailer
  • 2Wired in parallel into a boost MPPT controller
  • 3Charging a 48 V, 840 Wh e-bike pack, even while riding
  • 4Fused, tested on the bench, then commissioned step by step
Honest numbers

How far the sun takes you

Solar kilometres per day from 200 W of flat-mounted panels in central Europe.

Summer

60 km
Spring / autumn

36 km
Winter

12 km

Planning values from Chapter 1: 5 / 3 / 1 peak sun hours, 0.6 derate for flat panels on a moving bike, 10 Wh/km. Southern Europe and the US Southwest get 20–40% more in summer.

Who it’s for

Built for riders who’d rather not hunt for sockets

Tourers

Days on the road without asking a café for a socket.

Campers

Wake up to a battery topped up by yesterday’s sun.

Commuters

Charge from a balcony panel and know where the energy came from.

Tinkerers

Understand every volt, amp and watt-hour in the system.

What you’ll learn

Everything between the sun and your motor

  1. How solar charging really worksWatts vs watt-hours, peak sun hours, series vs parallel, and why you always need a controller.
  2. Choosing the right panelRigid, semi-flexible or foldable, reading datasheets and spotting fake ratings.
  3. Your battery & motorIdentifying your pack, exact charge voltages, the BMS, and charging to 80–90% for a longer life.
  4. The charge controllerBoost or buck, four ways to get sunlight into the pack, real products compared.
  5. Wiring & connectionsWire sizing, MC4 and XT connectors, polarity checks, fusing and waterproofing.
  6. Mounting your panelsRear rack, trailers, trike and cargo-bike roofs, and deployable panels at camp.
  7. Assembly & testingA 9-step build order with bench tests and a commissioning checklist.
  8. Measuring & improvingLog your output, spot problems in the data, and ride further on the same panels.
  9. Troubleshooting on the roadSymptom-cause-fix tables, multimeter diagnosis and field repairs.
  10. Planning a solar adventureDaily and weekly energy budgets, seasons, routes, the legal side and the Sun Trip.
Real-world stories

Learn from builds that went the distance

The Sun TripVéLorean over the AlpsSolarTrailsAndreas Lemmer’s solar fuel stationNTS SunCycleSola.BikeOrganic Transit ELFSolatrike II: 51,000 kmPeter Freitag’s Solarcamper
Contents

Five parts, fifteen chapters

Part IGetting Started
  1. 01Why Solarize Your E-Bike?
  2. 02How Solar Charging Works
  3. 03Tools & Preparation
Part IICore Components
  1. 04Choosing the Right Solar Panel
  2. 05Battery & Motor Fundamentals
  3. 06The Charge Controller
  4. 07Wiring & Connections
Part IIIBuilding It
  1. 08Mounting Your Solar Panels
  2. 09Assembly & Testing
Part IVPerformance & Maintenance
  1. 10Testing and Measuring Output
  2. 11Improving Efficiency
  3. 12Troubleshooting on the Road
Part VBeyond the Basics
  1. 13Custom Builds & Upgrades
  2. 14Real-World Stories
  3. 15Planning Your Adventure

Plus: Preface · Glossary · Quick Reference Tables (charge voltages, daily solar kilometres, panel combinations, wire voltage drop, fuse sizing) · Component Checklist · Resources & Further Reading

FP
About the author

Florian Prensena

Founder of Solar-Mobility.com and admin of the Facebook group Solar Powered E-Bike Projects. The book draws on years of builds, tests and lessons shared by the solar-mobility community.

⚠️Safety first. Lithium batteries and electrical wiring carry real risks. The book explains safe practice throughout, but always follow your battery and charger manufacturer’s instructions and local rules.

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