Solar charging coming for Sram AXS ?

[AngryScientist]

Have we discussed this here yet? Numerous leaks on the net showing what could be solar charging for AXS components.

I dont use any of this stuff, is this practical? How many miles do you get on a full charge anyway? What's the limiting component?

[Likes2ridefar]

Ive not read about it yet. I’ve never tracked the miles because I am not concerned about running out. I carry a spare battery just in case on my gravel bike(full disclosure I don’t have one now but will in a few weeks), but I’ll probably not carry spares on my mtb once I convert it next week with a dropper and rear derailleur. It sounds neat but I’ve no use for it. I could see it useful for any type of longer distance riders.

[wyatt_]

Fascinating. Looks like an AssSavers style fender / solar charger?

Everything I’ve heard from riders about AXS is that the life of those batteries is extremely long, but having yet another thing to remember to charge (even rarely) is just completely unappealing to me. Dynamo or solar powered electronic shifting does seem fun, though.

[StressStrain]

I ride AXS and get about 800 miles out of the derailleur battery.

I also have 6000 miles on the shifter batteries and haven't had to replace them yet.

I also carry a spare derailleur battery with me and at about 40g it's out of sight, out of mind insurance.

All this means the battery AXS experience is just fine for me.

[Alistair]

Yeah, not really seeing the use, except maybe long distance bike-packing, but I'd be using mech shifting for that probably.

I charge my AXS batteries every few months. The RD gives a battery low warning well before the FD - when I get the warning, I swap batteries for that ride, then charge when I get home. Good for another 3+ months.

Oldest AXS bike was bought late 2021 and the shifter batteries haven't died yet. Hopefully I get a good warning out of them. Maybe I'll go be proactive. Haha, who am I kidding, I'll wait until the day before a big event, get the warming and then panic.

[Dave]

How many miles depends on how many shifts. I often shift 500 times on 50 miles with RD. The front could be 2-12. I switch bikes every week in the summer, so RD battery may have 1500 shifts on it before recharging. I pay no attention to battery level.

I bought two knock off batteries from Amazon. One failed quickly.

[Mark McM]

It takes a lot of area to harvest sunlight, so I suspect that unless one stores their bike outdoors, these small solar cells will merely extend the time between plugging in batteries to recharge them, rather than eliminating the need to plug them in entirely. This would be similar to Garmin's solar GPS units.

[Sarhog]

Originally Posted by StressStrain

I ride AXS and get about 800 miles out of the derailleur battery.

I also have 6000 miles on the shifter batteries and haven't had to replace them yet.

I also carry a spare derailleur battery with me and at about 40g it's out of sight, out of mind insurance.

All this means the battery AXS experience is just fine for me.

800 miles has been my experience as well, on gravel rides and road rides. All my AXS experience is with a 1x drivetrain.

[EB]

5 minutes in the charger (including plugged into a car USB outlet) will give you a solid ride on a battery showing red. You can also usually get a full ride on a red battery. And the batteries last a long time. Plus spares are cheap, light, and fit in a saddle bag - and the knock offs on Amazon work fine too.

Basically it’s not an issue.

[corkycalvin]

Might be very useful for those biking multiple days in the boondocks.

[old fat man]

This is an embarrassing waste of R&D time and money

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by old fat man

This is an embarrassing waste of R&D time and money

Who says they spent any R&D money on it?

Big companies patent troll too.

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

It takes a lot of area to harvest sunlight, so I suspect that unless one stores their bike outdoors, these small solar cells will merely extend the time between plugging in batteries to recharge them, rather than eliminating the need to plug them in entirely. This would be similar to Garmin's solar GPS units.

I imagine this use case is the intended purpose.

As you ride the unit charges to ensure you don’t lose charge while riding. Bulk charge occurs at home

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by corkycalvin

Might be very useful for those biking multiple days in the boondocks.

Modern power banks have become super energy dense in small packages. If you’re running elec shifting for this kind of riding you probably have a dynamo wheel and can charge a power bank to achieve the same goal with the versatility to charge other devices.