Biking without milage limitation – The black beauty powered by the sun

Hi there,

my name is Jochen from Germany, in late 2017 I got my AZUB Ti-Fly 26″ with Pinion P1.18 gearbox, without motor, because of my main wish was to get a bike with a Pinion gearbox.

In spring 2018 I made a motor upgrade with a MAXON bikedrive (it was no tech. problem, because I had ordered the trike with X12 and standard dropouts and two battery holders).

To get a longer driving range, I started in 2019 the development of a special battery charger instead of the original Maxon power charger, because the idea was to supply the charger during the drive with solar power.

This was a real challenge because the Maxon charger is not a simple 48V  2-PIN charger, it is a complex 3-PIN charger with an active release control realized with the third PIN from the charge connector/electronic. After this, I build a 210W (peak power) alu frame solar trailer, between the solar output and the charge electronic you can explore the fast blue VICTRON MPPT 100/20 solar controller which have a Bluetooth connection with the handy and the Victron app.

To charge the handy, loudspeaker box and AAA / AA akku’s (for Navi and light) there is also a programmable power supply, mounted below the handy, powered by the the solar cells.

Some other specials are the 0,1F condensator (blue) to stabilize the Maxon battery charge during a short shadow period (f.e. undercrossing a bridge) because the battery BMS hates any kind of interrupt.

The trike is also equipped with hydraulic discs (coupled twin brake lever at the front and the single rear lever at the right side).

With this configuration, it is no problem to drive easy 150km/day. I change the two batteries after 3h (the one would be charged, the other would be discharged, and so on). The battery has a capacity of 360Wh (48V and 7,5Ah), enough for 50km, 9h sunshine means 3 times full charge (3x50km = 150km).  150km/9h means an average speed of 16,6km/h (very realistic for a 4,5m long bike with trailer).

So it is possible to drive f.e. a complete sunny week (1000km) to be independent of any public power grid/connector.

Other main gear up’s are:

– stainless screws also for all extension’s

– 1100lbs spring for the DNM shock

– mudguards

– ventisit 2cm

– quick-release wheels

– mainframe hinge

– king size carrier

– Schwalbe tyres

– Pinion gearbox, gear indicator ring, hubs and nipples in red

– two mirrors

– headrest

– correct mounted brake lever

– two Minuora holders for Navi and handy

– only black color with red parts

The AZUB Ti-Fly with Pinion and motor is a unbelievable drive machine and very reliable (over 20000 km without problems) for long travels with a lot of fun…