NEW IN-THE-FIELD E-BIKE CHARGING SYSTEM

[Danehunter]

Recently I purchased an adjustable controller to work with my off Grid TREK 220 watt solar blanket. I also bought this from OTG. It comes with cables and the correct Anderson plugs for connecting to the blanket and correct plug for my bike's batteries. Rene, the owner of Off Grid TREK, makes these controller/cable units for this purpose. I know of no other source for this kind of setup. BTW, this is a Canadian small business.
At around $250. it's not cheap but I'm not saving for our daughters' inheritance either!

This controller, cables and the 220 watt solar blanket fits into one of my panniers and weighs around 14 pounds total. I can lay out (and stake down) the solar blanket, hook up the controller and plug it into my bike in about 5 minutes. On a partly cloudy Nevada day it charged my bike's two 52 volt batteries from 65% to 90% in 2 1/2 hours. My bike fortunately has a single FRAME-MOUNTED PLUG that charges both batteries simultaneously. (It's patented for E-Cells bikes only.)
So now I can stay away from my SUV for a few days and camp to hunt. Luckily I'm also an UL backpacker and, even with water for 3 days, my camping load itself is only 40 pounds. It's also great for exploring Nevada's many ghost mining towns and mines.

This setup, with solar blanket and controller is not a cheap date but, with my lithium iron phosphate BLUETTI AC200 MAX "solar power center" I can also run my home's 2 refrigerators constantly in a power outage.

 

[expredon90]

Wow, it sounds like you've got a really impressive setup there! You've put together a robust and versatile system for powering your adventures and keeping your home running smoothly. Kudos to you for your ingenuity and resourcefulness.

 

[Danehunter]

Thanks. Although it is a somewhat "spendy" setup It is versatile and makes the most of the E-CELLS e-mountain. bike's usefulness. Plus, one can't help, when perusing YOUTUBE, seeing all the "prepare" channels and they always recommend having a reliable power source.
I really wish I knew how to divert my rooftop solar DC electricity to an inverter to use when the power is off, I should look into this. It probably involves an expensive "Power Wall" from Tesla.

 

[LoneTraveler]

Does anyone know the present day laws on Electric Bikes in National Forest Wilderness areas.
When I was making National Forest patrols, In 1970-80's only pack animals and sleds could be used. No wheeled conveyances.

 

[LkeAF]

Does anyone know the present day laws on Electric Bikes in National Forest Wilderness areas.
When I was making National Forest patrols, In 1970-80's only pack animals and sleds could be used. No wheeled conveyances.

The laws have not changed with regard to Wilderness. No motorized (e-bikes) or old fashioned analog bikes either.....

 

[LoneTraveler]

When part of my patrol area was National Forest, When they put part of it into Wilderness Status. One outfitter had used a team of horses and a wagon to maintain his camp. When it went to wilderness he could not take a wagon, He had to go to horses and pack horses to move his equipment and hunters in and out of the Middle Fork of Williams River.

 

[dfanonymous]

Thanks. Although it is a somewhat "spendy" setup It is versatile and makes the most of the E-CELLS e-mountain. bike's usefulness. Plus, one can't help, when perusing YOUTUBE, seeing all the "prepare" channels and they always recommend having a reliable power source.
I really wish I knew how to divert my rooftop solar DC electricity to an inverter to use when the power is off, I should look into this. It probably involves an expensive "Power Wall" from Tesla.

If you want direct power, then yes, they make and you want a pure sine wave inverter. It would help to know the inverter efficiency rate. Size your solar accordingly.

If you want a battery set up, look up charge controller and DC coupling signal flow.


I have a ecells 5 star. Honestly it's too electric to be called biking. I don't know if it's the torque sensors or what, but I could run a battery down after how ever many hours of riding and not even break a sweat.

It's also too heavy to be a mountain bike.
You cant corner or stop as fast as an actual mountain bike. Can't bunny hop, can't manual, and I don't trust it on big jumps. Might as well have a light dirt bike, except I'd trust the dirt bike a lot more on jumps and my chode probably wouldn't hurt as much after coming off our local trails. Imo

For two bikes I'm still looking for a good hitch mounting 2 bike rack carrier that can handle about 200lbs.