Solar e-bikes race nearly 13,000km

A group of solar powered electric bikes has raced nearly 13,000km from Lyon in France to Guangzhou, China.

The Sun Trip is a semi-annual event that pits solar powered electric bicycle racers against each other over huge journeys.

This year’s event was the longest in the race’s history. It began in 2010 with a 10,000km journey from France to Japan.

There’s no predetermined route, just a common starting line and finish line.

The exact route is left up to the riders, as long as they charge their batteries purely from the sun, power their e-bikes only by electrical and leg power, and they stay on land.

Electrek

spoke to sixth placed Jack Butler, 24, from Team NewQuest.

He entered for the chance to visit East Asia in the most environmentally conscious way.

“I love to travel and have wanted to visit East Asia for a while. I’m very aware that traveling can have a pretty negative environmental impact, particularly flying. As such, I haven’t flown for my traveling for about two years and the Sun Trip is pretty much the lowest carbon way to get from Europe to Asia.”

Butler built a custom mid-drive electric bicycle based on a Surly Troll bicycle with a pull behind suspension Aevon STD100 trailer for holding his gear and solar panels. He kept the entire powertrain contained solely on the bike to increase reliability.

He used a 1kWh triangle battery by EM3EV, close to the race’s maximum allowable 1.1kWh of energy storage.

A BBSHD mid-drive motor by Bafang powered the bike, connected to a Rohloff 14-speed internally geared hub in the rear wheel.

Solar charging was provided through an array of four panels, each rated at 75W.

Butler had a Schwalbe Almotion tubeless tire up front, which he says wasn’t punctured during the entire trip.

He did the 12,800 km in 64 days.

While crossing the Gobi Desert he crashed in a windstorm but was soon back on the road.

In Kazakhstan he was pulled over by police, but got off with an exchange of Instagram names and a selfie.

Next year’s Sun Trip is a tour-style journey over a 1200km circuit around France.