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This is awesome. Have been very inspired by your trip and my next bike will be a ‘big trip’ one! Interesting to hear real world experiences with dyno charging setup
T_Unit-
If you’re mainly road riding and want to convenience of dynamo lights (which are great) then it could be worth it but it’s a lot of cash and the wires aren’t exactly easy to deal with.
Once we hit dirt roads and the Andes we were travelling way too slow for any kind of usable power. We stayed in paid campsites or hotels every 7 days (or less) so could recharge our power packs then.
We had a decathlon solar panel for the first 12 months (until it got squashed and broke) and I was so impressed with the output. If you can rig it up on a bag while you’re riding you can easily generate enough power for daily phone usage.
I have a SON hub and Sinewave usb charger. The connectors to the hub corroded and needed fixing twice throughout the trip but that could have been related to my dodgy soldering/heat shrink work.
moog
My Surly Straggler in its “big tour” set up. 50mm tyre front and 40mm rear, 46/30 11-42t. Would love a slightly lower gear and bigger tyres but that’s for a future bike.
Son dynamo with lights and usb charger - I wouldn’t bother with this again, the wiring is susceptible to damage and on any kind of unpaved road or hilly days it doesn’t generate enough power to charge effectively. A decathlon solar panel and big power pack is the way to go.
Front left pannier - sleep system
Front right pannier - clothes
Back left pannier - tools, spares, helinox chair, waterproof trousers and gloves, any misc items
Back right pannier - multi fuel stove, pots and pans, aeropress, other cooking stuff, wash kit
Basket bag - electronics, sunglasses, multitool, lock, whatever gloves/gilet I’m wearing that day
Fab’s Chest style saddle bag - waterproof jacket in a side pocket, bug spray, sun cream, water filter in the other. Main compartment is full of food, can carry up to 5 days at max capacity. We refuse to risk running out of food and also carry loads of spices and extras so it’s definitely a luxury item carrying so much food.
My partner has a slightly lighter set up and carries her stuff plus the tent and first aid kit.
Adding more water capacity is a point for improvement, we’ve tried various water bladders but they are awkward to deal with.