HobbesOnTour wrote:I tried out a 14W 3 panel solar panel in Spain a number of years ago. Obviously the tech has improved since then.
I found that mounted on the rear of the bike gave minimal output even in bright sunshine.
However, stopped and positioned properly (and moved as necessary) it works very well.......
My modern 3 panel one isn't used on the bike but only when camping where I tend to prop it up on e.g. a waterproof or lean it against a bag to make it roughly perpendicular to the Sun (direct facing).
It's also useful to put the charging device under the panel - helps shade them from the sun. Both this year and last year I had big problems with my electronics overheating. There were a couple of weeks where I could really only use the iPad evenings as it was so hot all it would do is display a panic screen "I'm too hot"; similarly, iPhone refused to charge above 80% when warm - self protecting the battery against damage. I ended-up leaving it in a fridge at one camp site!
Ian