Freeloader

[tapan]

As more and more gadgets become availablr i find myself eventually giving in and making use of them. I am hardly a electronic nerd but I now do carry 3 items with me which require recharging.

1. My electric shaver -- this uses the most power but is the easiestto cope with since it works off battery or mains so evdn if it is flat i can still shave on any campsite.
2. My mobile. both my 2 sons insisted that I carry one with me at all times on the velo be it on tour or normal daily runs at home. I am fortunate that I get regular up dates from my elder sons wife nearly every year.

It spends its life in my bar bag and does virtually nothing for most of the year but comes to "life" on my annual cycle tours. where it provides a more or less dailly text sitrep on whether or not I am still alive. So that needs recharging. In the last 5 years I have always managed to keep it going by topping up the charge as i am showering etc.

3 Satnav/GPS. Last year for the first time i took a Loox satnav with me -- but since it got damage early on in my trip ( well totally trashed actually) I didn't get a touring perspective with it. Bu tI had used it on daily runs at home. It had a short 5 hours life if on permanently but that is not how it was used.

So I have replaced it and now have a Garmin nuvi 250 which runs less then 4 hours on battery. Its use is to be switched on occassionally as and when needed ( like being lost in a large urban conurbation) or for pulling me in on the last few kms to a campsite. it will also be useful in th eevening to help with route planning for the followind day ( but would be connect to mains then.

So I have been looking at the "Freeloader" and the freeloader Globe trotter,

It can be seen here
http://www.greenthinking.eu/product.aspx?productid=352

Has anyone any real experiece with this beast on tour.

Is the extra weight of the globetrotter worth it ( 450 gms as opposed to 185 gms)

It does seem to be a very lightweight device that could be an asset but many such devices do not live up to the specifications claimed. I notice that it says its battery has only a 2 year life -- hopefully that depends on the number of recharges it goes through and would be longer under storage without use.

So anyone got one?

Info please

 

[andym]

I haven't got one I'm afraid. But I would say that the addition of the supercharger panel boosts the power output to a more healthy 1.5 watts. the basic freeloader on its own is pretty puny.

 

[chris667]

I haven't had one of these, but I live on a boat, so I have done an absurd amount of learning about PVs in general. For what you want to do I have to say, don't.
Too heavy for a bike by comparison to a charger that you can plug in at campsites/pubs etc.
If you want to charge batteries on tour, your best bet is to use a dynamo hub.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I have one and have used it on long tours.

I have mixed views on it...

I have th efreeloader and the extra solar panel. I have a mobile a GPS and an ipod on tour..oh and sometimes a small tv.

I bought this gadget for them. However in practice I find it's use limited to the mobile phone. My gps has AA batteries and so i also bought the battery charger for the free loader.

In germany under grey skies this thing was not capable of keeping everything fired up. N France in 30 degrees in the shade under blue skies it did a reasonable job.

I leave the solar panel on top of my panniers or bar bag all day as I ride.

I have had an issue with a broken cable, and the usb socket into the panel also failed. freeloader replaced the units without question.

I gace up on th ebattery charger...for th egps I just buy AA batteries as I go along...I'm not sur ehowever if this is because of poor quality battery cells or just that the unit cannot proviode a powerful enough charge to run my gps properly. I dont trust it.

The actual freeloader thing itself is compact and light, but in a 'BUSY' bar bag it seem fragile and I doubt it would survive a fall onto a hard road very well.

My conclusion is that if you are going where the sunshines and the shops are closed, take it. If not ..well it'll do for the phone if you dont over use the phone...possible th eipod as well...but for the GPS...I'm not so sure..

 

[tapan]

Tks for those somewhat negative responses.

It is what I wanted! I am cycling to Hull, ferry to Rotterdam and train to Berlin in the last week of May this year. I shall then be cycle and tent bound. I shall spend a week or so going eastward for a brush with Poland and ten back to Berlin, Hamburg and the North coast of Holland to return to Rotterdam.

I don't think I shall bother with the freeloader ( with or without the extra panels)

My long experience of camping is that things need to be robust and when you combine camping with cycle touring that need is increased 4 fold! And northern Europe is likely not to provide enough sun to charge the beast ( especially if it is anything like my 2009 tour of France ( failed!)

So thanks all. I expect that I shall manage as i have donr in the past without! I often get a nights charge for my moblie from a freinfly caravaner! And to date I have never run out of power.

I rely on maps anyway and I carry a compass!##

 

[mike1026]

If you want to find out about solar charging have a look at Victor Reinweber's Bikearth on CGOAB his trip makes a very intersting read as well.