Dynamo hub all the way

[genman]

I'm new to this forum, but I've been riding over ten years with various lights.

Being an infrequent night rider, I'm often ended up with dead batteries or have sometimes forgotten to bring along a headlight. I've also had my LEDs stolen off my bicycle. I also travel with my bicycle, and I also don't plan on being out late. My halogen headlamp has an annoying battery pack which might explain why I frequently take off the battery. And so historically, just 60% of the time at night I have a working headlamp, and 90% of the time I have a working tail lamp.

I got a secondary, "practical" bicycle this year. Hopefully remedying my light situation, I bought it with a dynamo hub and permanently affixed Busch & Muller headlight and taillight. Doing the math, starting with a $150 hub, plus about $100-150 in lights, I could finally have a complete solution. Now I will have light 100% of the time, assuming the system does not die.

If I had to ride in the dark every day, or at least every day in the winter months, I can't imagine going any other way. Dealing with batteries is a hassle. At least, I don't have the discipline to change and charge all the time.

The fork mounted lights which work with dynamos also are much superior to handlebar mounted lights, in that you don't have more junk on your handlebars, the light is always pointed in your direction of travel, and it's pointed from a level you aren't going to likely blind other riders.

For a system so practical, it seems a little odd that the largest bicycle stores in Seattle, Gregg's Greenlake Cycle, does not seem to popularize hub dynamos. Performance Bicycle Stores doesn't carry them either. Getting one seems pretty hopeless unless you go to a LBS that does wheel building. Seems a shame to me.

[Pepper Grinder]

They're not very bright because they don't produce much power, they slow your ride down. I'd rather charge my nimhs. They might be useful in the future though, if they get more efficient and as LEDs also get more efficient.

[ovrrdrive]

About 80% of my riding is in total darkness so forgetting about my battery really isn't an option for me...

I wouldn't mind having a setup like that as a backup though. It couldn't be any dimmer than what my backup is now. maybe when the price comes down on them...

[CdCf]

Now I will have light 100% of the time, assuming the system does not die.

Dealing with batteries is a hassle. At least, I don't have the discipline to change and charge all the time.


+1

2 x 3 W is enough light for me.

[swc7916]

This is a long, but interesting article about bike lighting and they recommend the Schmidt Dynohub: http://www.blayleys.com/articles/lights/index.htm


For a system so practical, it seems a little odd that the largest bicycle stores in Seattle, Gregg's Greenlake Cycle, does not seem to popularize hub dynamos. Performance Bicycle Stores doesn't carry them either. Getting one seems pretty hopeless unless you go to a LBS that does wheel building. Seems a shame to me.

The folks at R+E in Seattle were less than enthusiastic about generator hubs also. I did see a full-blown touring bike at Sammamish Valley Cycles in Redmond that had a generator hub.

[dbg]

I've been using the front shimano dynamo and Lumotec headlight/taillight combo on my commuter for 4 years. Setup has never failed once. The drag is slightly noticeable but mainly coasting downhill. I added a switch that disengages the lights which lessens the drag significantly.

I've seen brighter lights and these dim down when you stop, but it has been there for me every day without fail.

[n4zou]

They're not very bright because they don't produce much power, they slow your ride down. I'd rather charge my nimhs. They might be useful in the future though, if they get more efficient and as LEDs also get more efficient.
They're brighter than the "be seen" lights sold in the LBS and your local X-mart. Granted, not as bright as a 10-watt or more $100+ halogen systems but you also have batteries to worry about and lug around. Also note the fact he has a hub dynamo. Hub dynamos have almost no drag when the lights are off (two foot climb in 1 mile) and even when turned on only produce the equivalent drag of climbing 16 feet in 1 mile for even the cheapest of hub dynamos (Novatec EDH-1 ~$35 retail). Schmidt dynamo hubs have such low drag riders with them will typically ride with the hub dynamo engaged all the time to make them more visible to motor vehicle traffic. Even my cheap ($7.23 at Target) Schwinn bottle dynamo drag is really not that bad. After a few minutes I forget about the slight additional drag. Modern bottle and bottom bracket dynamos don’t have near the drag old dynamos produced in the past had. I remember getting one in the 1960's when I was young and putting it on my bike. It was like climbing a steep hill all the time when engaged. This carried over with me and I refused to even try one until a friend purchased a dynamo lighting kit. He allowed me to try it out with the bottle dynamo engaged. I consequently purchased one myself and fitted it to my touring bike. I've used it quite a lot and now I want to upgrade to something better. I found a Pioneer E-generator system at http://www.abs-sports.com/ that looks quite interesting. It is fitted to the left side of the rear wheel axel and is driven from the spokes. It has all the advantages of a hub dynamo without the cost to build a new wheel around one. It is also easily switched to another bike.
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk//images/products/pioneerdynamohubbig_xl.jpg

[HardyWeinberg]

They're not very bright because they don't produce much power, they slow your ride down. I'd rather charge my nimhs. They might be useful in the future though, if they get more efficient and as LEDs also get more efficient.

I am led to believe that the wattage deficit is compensated for a fair bit by improved optics in the lamp. I finally got to see some of that riding home the other day w/ a neighbor whose one 3W bulb blazed through my 20W bulb. Although not over as much of the area of course.

[dbs]

I've been using the front shimano dynamo and Lumotec headlight/taillight combo on my commuter for 4 years. Setup has never failed once. The drag is slightly noticeable but mainly coasting downhill. I've seen brighter lights and these dim down when you stop, but it has been there for me every day without fail.

DBG.....

Which Lumotec do you have? Do you know what it is rated (in Lux)? You say you've seen brighter but how fast can you go with the light it provides? I ask about speed as a matter of comparison. I don't believe there is a good conversion between lux and lumen. B&M rates their stuff in lux.

[ModoVincere]

I use the same bottle dynamo that n4zou uses but I have one of the lumotec headlamps with a 3 watt bulb and its plenty of light for commuting.

[znomit]

Lights with well designed beam patterns generally get quoted in lux, as this is related to the illumination you see on the road. Lights with symmetrical beams where half it goes into the sky, or a very small very bright hotspot get quoted in lumens.
Dynos really are fantastic. You can get 10w out of a good hub at speed, which is an acceptable amount of light on halogens, and a huge amount of light from LEDs.

[n4zou]

I use the same bottle dynamo that n4zou uses but I have one of the lumotec headlamps with a 3 watt bulb and its plenty of light for commuting.
I replaced the dynamo headlight that came in the kit with a DIY 50 lumen 1-watt Luxeon LED and matching 10X20 degree Fraen optics.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r154/n4zou/Hpim0312.jpg
It's almost twice as bright as the 2.4-watt bulb in the original headlight with a much better beam pattern. Just a few weeks ago Luxeon upgraded the Rebel emitter from 50 Lumen to 80 Lumen output at the same 350mA rating and it can be driven with up to 700mA with a slight reduction in life. The only problem with using it is there is no matching optics available for it as yet. When 10X20 optics becomes available I will be ordering a new Rebel LED and optics and build a new headlight. Theoretically it should provide more light than a 5-watt halogen MR-11 bike light system.

[allan6344]

I'm new to this forum, but I've been riding over ten years with various lights.

For a system so practical, it seems a little odd that the largest bicycle stores in Seattle, Gregg's Greenlake Cycle, does not seem to popularize hub dynamos. Performance Bicycle Stores doesn't carry them either. Getting one seems pretty hopeless unless you go to a LBS that does wheel building. Seems a shame to me.

I just added a hub dynamo for commuting. I found a store in West Seattle that caters to the utility riders more than those two stores. They had the Schmidt available in stock to build wheel the wheel I wanted. There is also one in Fremont that has it. I use a LED headlight and tail light that are on all the time with a 20 watt halogen head light for a couple of sections in the evening. I added the dynamo lights after the battery light quit working in the middle of the fast down hill section (broken wire on the battery circuit board). I do like the always and it's perfect for the Interurban trail on but in some traffic areas the dynamo lights are not bright enough. I have a Lumotec IQ Fly on order.

[dbg]

DBG.....

Which Lumotec do you have? Do you know what it is rated (in Lux)? You say you've seen brighter but how fast can you go with the light it provides? I ask about speed as a matter of comparison. I don't believe there is a good conversion between lux and lumen. B&M rates their stuff in lux.

Can't remember. I'll snoop around for exact data. Below is a picture of the setup if it helps. The circled item is a rocker switch inside a section of tube.

[trekker pete]

It would seem to me that a dynamo/battery hybrid system would be a good idea. Also some means of varying the output of the dyno would be helpful.

This would allow you to disengage the dyno and run on battery when you don't have any horsepower to spare. It would also allow you to run the lights brighter and recharge the battery on fast downhill sections where you are throwing away watts by braking.

This idea could be carried even further with a hybrid drive system. It would make alot of sense in places like new england where you have lots of short up/down hills. I really wouldn't mind that extra little push at the end of my 25 mile round trip commute which, ofcourse finishes with a nice little hill climb.

I think you will start seeing such systems as the price of Li Ion batteries come down.