My Solbian Energy-Flyer experience after 4 months and 7'000 km of cycling

On my journey from Mongolia to Switzerland by bicycle I crossed several deserts, the Gobi in Mongolia, the Junggar in Northwest China and the Karakum in Turkmenistan. Between there was a lot of steppes in Kazakhstan and several mountain ridges like the Altai in Mongolia, the Tianshan in China and the Golestan in Iran. 

The road conditions in Mongolia were the toughest I ever faced. 2'000 km on sandy and bumpy pistes. My speed was too slow to charge anything with a dynamo. Energy-Flyer did a great job on this leg, no sandstorms could stop it from charging my GPS and Cellphone. On the highest point in the Altai mountains on 2'800m it was minus 15 degrees cold, no problem for Energy-Flyer either! Later in the flatlands of Kazakhstan it was frosty and very humid. A frozen tent every morning, and even some damage to my bike. Water entered a bearing and exploded it when it froze! But my panel is always allright! Now I am in Iran, it's warm and cosy. The sun is stronger and makes the panel even more powerful! In China I bought myself a little laptop and a power bank. With the panel I can charge everything directly. But on the bicycle it's more practical to charge a battery pack first, which can supply multiple devices. In my case a laptop, a GPS, a cellphone, and three different torches.

Actually I am writing this lines on my laptop powered by the sun, it's amazing. I have never bought a battery on my whole journey, so I also never faced the difficult question of how to dispose the emty ones. There is no such thing like recycling batteries in developing countries. 

Sometimes I even offered power supply to the nomads I met on the road. I tested several ways how to attach the panel to my bike. To get the most power out of it you should maintain an angle of 90 degrees to the sun. With four laundry clips each attached to the panel by a 20 cm elastic strap I finally manage to fix the panel in an easy way to whereever the sun shines, to the back, the front handlebag and the side. People all over the world are excited about Energy-Flyer, how powerful and light it is, and of course how fancy it's looking! Especially since smart phones are a necessary travelling equipment, the power supply off-grid became a serious issue. 

Compared to other outdoor equipments, the price for an Energy-Flyer is a bargain, people use to tell me. Now I continue my trip along the Caspian sea, through the Kaukasus to the Black sea. I am looking forward to cycling another 5'000 km together with my Energy-Flyer, showing the world how easy problems can be solved by new technologies! 

My best greetings from the Caspian Sea to everyone below the sun! 

Juri on the road