The icing on the cake!

I needed to weld two pieces and, given the finesse of these steel parts, my arc welding station was not suitable, it would have melted everything. He is a young mechanic from my neighborhood-retro Performance-who brought all his know-how to make me embarrassed. Let him be thanked! What will be the use of these pieces: even if the departure is in 10 days, I keep hoping to add to my prototype the icing on the cake imagined from the beginning of the project: the possibility of orienting the solar panels in the direction of the sun. This orientation would be carried out on a single axis of course, the axis of the trajectory of the bike, and only the days without wind.

SunTrip 2017

Visits: 93

What if the sun is hiding for several days in a row?

I hike quite often in the mountains and fortunately so far I have never had a disastrous weather on a full or two weeks. On the other hand, I've already had gray or rainy days on a few nights. What will happen with our solar bikes if you have 3 days in a row where we cannot recharge the battery? In the middle of the Alps, with passes to cross? Well I guess we'll need good thighs and good calves… In order to avoid this eventuality, I chose to swap my crankset for a MTB pedal, with smaller trays, so. But when I tried to mount a SLX crankset, oddly enough I could not make the settings for each tray to pass correctly. So I entrusted my mount to my bicycle mechanic, gables-on-streets, and he found the solution! The problem is that the joysticks are not necessarily adapted to the draw of the MTB pedals. The solution was to use a very old Shimano RSX 100 type controller. The knowledge and know-how of our Yokohama bicycle shops is irreplaceable!

SunTrip 2017

Visits: 103

What budget for this solar bike?

At the time of my registration at SunTrip, I had about 6 months to build and experiment my prototype, which limited the search for partners, and therefore the budget too. I obviously watched the presentation how to turn an electric bike into a solar bike by Bernard Cauquil. I admired his selection of technological solutions. Surely he had hoisted the bar very high. But the cost price of his machine was quite a deterrent to me. Besides, I like the DIY (= do it yourself), I like to be self-sufficient. So, when it was possible, I rather opted for the cheapest solutions, although I knew beforehand that they were not the best. This allowed me to have a vehicle for a reasonable price. The diagram below reflects the cost of the solar bike (out of partnership), it does not take into account the R&D budget that I have difficulty evaluating. The total is below the €3300 bar.

Visits: 77

The question of the weight hike…

While hiking, walking or cycling, I learned to pay attention to the weight of my equipment. I learned a lot about ultra-light walking sites (MUL) especially randonner-leger.org/. The basic principle: is this equipment indispensable to me? To find the right balance between comfort, safety and lightness. I apply the same principles to bike riding.

For the SunTrip, I knew my bike would be heavier than a normal bike and my choices were often guided by the concern around the weight. The bike I bought weighed 25kg. I managed to reduce his weight to 19.6 kg. How? For example by removing accessories such as the steel luggage rack (1kg alone!), fenders, etc.. and replacing the suspended fork with a rigid carbon fork (2 kg gain).

On the other hand, my new reconditioned battery gained weight: 3.6 kg versus 2.8 kg originally. But that extra weight doesn't upset me. What for? Because it corresponds to an increase in its storage capacity: It goes from 9.6 Ah to 28Ah because the repackaging company offered me to increase the number of cells using all the available space.

Visits: 98

A mysterious parcel from Poland!

I received today a parcel that I did not expect anymore… I had to open it to realise that the partnership requested from the manufacturer of my trailer, the producer of the mine, became effective! These are different elements to complete my trailer: a satchel, fixing kneecaps, two neon yellow pennants for the motorists to correctly mark my trailer.

Visits: 130

The SunTrip in the "Journal of Saône-et-Loire" of June 20

Last Saturday, I was driving in the Saône-et-Loire. I take a break in Givry, a person is interested in my vehicle, we discuss bike and SunTrip. He asks to take my picture and… I find out he's a reporter in the local newspaper! See the online article "A funny solar steed" in the Saône-et-Loire Journal on June 20, 2017.

Visits: 105

Aluminium profiles machined by apprentices of the CFAI 21-71

Today, Elisabeth Dounon sent me the aluminium profiles machined by the apprentices of the CFAI of Châlon-sur-Saône. Thank you to the young, to their Professor Vincent Daka, and to Elisabeth Dounon! (Read more) These parts that support the solar panels allow the two side panels to slide so as to reduce the width of the trailer. I wanted to have the possibility to reduce the width of the trailer mainly for safety reasons, especially for the crossing of the big cities. The idea came to me when I saw the solar bike of the Cazaspe (SunTrip 2015) But my realization is less sophisticated.

Visits: 95

An original event that I would gladly participate in

As a road user on a daily basis, as a cyclist, I am particularly sensitive to this event that I would have been happy to participate in. What if we were to organize a similar event locally? Hundreds of cyclists have landed on the Bastille Square to ask for a safer road. Twitter Photo/Yash Obeng. Read the article of 17 June in "Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire"

Visits: 116

Loan of pedagogical material by Burgundy renewable energies

For the presentation of the solar bike to classes, I wanted to propose to the students to build models with electric circuits powered by solar energy. It was the Burgundy Renewable Energies Association that lent me material: The pedagogical manager introduced me to the wealth of their resource fund for scientific awareness and experimentation related to new energies. Thanks to B.E.R. ! Loan of pedagogical material by Burgundy… by Stephane-suntrip2017

Visits: 109

Exhibition of the educational and extracurricular science challenges of Dijon

< img src = "http://www.aventure-solaire.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170607_01_defis_scientifiques.jpg" alt = "" width = "215" height = "307" style = "float: Left; Margin-right: 10px; " The solar bike was invited to the exhibition of scientific challenges led by classes and centres extracurricular held at the great Orangerie of the Garden of Science, this Wednesday, June 7. The bicycle was the subject of many questions from the children and they understood the reasons for the association of solar panels and an electric bicycle, the circulation of energy in the vehicle, the hybrid nature of its propulsion. On the other hand, the storage battery did not appear to be a necessity for each; A phase of experimental tests could have made it possible to highlight the crucial role of temporary storage of solar energy, by nature so fluctuating. Thank you to the Education Department of the city of Dijon for this invitation!

Visits: 107