SON28 Dynamo and Solar Charger on Tour

[JamesB]

Hi
Just wondering what people use on tour to charge their electronics?

I have the SON28 Dynamo hub but I’m not sure it’ll be enough to charge everything, so I’m thinking of also getting a solar charger.

I’m going for a RTW trip so i’m guessing it’ll make sense but i’m keen to hear other riders’ experiences.

Thanks a lot

[in4]

What a fabulous journey ahead!
I use a Son28 with a Belkin powerbank.
I use a sinewave inverter ( you can charge a Garmin GPS directly from it)
Judicious use of power is a given
Can’t help re solar. Someone will be along shortly I’m sure.
Good luck 😊

[mickeg]

I recently switched from using a Sinewave Revolution to a Cycle2Charge charger with my SP hub.  More on the Cycle2Charge here.
https://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=12890.msg110427#new

My Natchez Trace tour this past April 2023, for two weeks I was self sufficient with my dynohub and the Cycle2Charge, did not need to plug into an outlet (or mains) anywhere.

The Cycle2Charge puts out maybe 50 percent more power than the Sinewave.  But the Cycle2Charge puts out zero below roughly 6.5 to 7 mph (~10km/hour).  Sinewave will put out very small amount at that lower speed.

If you are not really careful to limit your power usage, you might want both solar and dynohub.

I wrote up a piece after my Canada Maritimes tour in 2019 on what I used for electrical stuff. 
https://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=13696.0

Some people can get by with a solar charger, but I find if I am obsessive about keeping my power usage low, I can get by with the dynohub and charger attached to it, but no solar panel.

For those times you need more power and your hub or solar are not enough, you might want to get one of those newer powerbanks that can charge up really fast at a high current rate.  My powerbanks are all older and charge quite slowly.  If you go to a restaurant and can sit near an outlet, you might be able to get a full charge during a meal if your powerbank charges up fast.

[dsim]

I'm also about to go on a RTW trip leaving the end of March! Maybe I'll bump into you somewhere

For the past year and a half I've been using a folding solar panel to keep a powerbank topped up. I carry two powerbanks, one in my handlebar bag and one being charged by the solar panel, and then swap them the next day. This gives a good amount of charge in between stops where I can plug into the wall.

I looked at a dynamo, but I wasn't too happy about the loss of watts. Plus a folding solar panel is pretty cheap (~£80), so if it goes wrong it isn't as bad as a decent dynamo.

This is the solar panel I have: BigBlue SolarPowa 28.

On sunny days it easily keeps my powerbank topped up. Less so when it's cloudy, but I use it more to extend the range of my powerbanks.

[Andyb1]

From my trip in India earlier this year - I used an old iphone SE for nav / Strava when needed with a small and rather ancient 40000mh power bank always connected.   Then charged the power bank in the evening (the phone would be at 100%).   Never charged the phone direct incase of mains surge.   Never ran out of charge during a day even using such a low powered power bank.
Some power banks will take a through charge so you can charge the bank and a device at the same time but this can reduce the life of the power bank.
The key is to minimise what power you need - eg use a phone rather than an ipad whenever possible.