saturnsc2

ya the beam down the road for the new light seems to taper off greatly while the cyo's is still bright. maybe they spread out the light too much. i like an even beam near the bike & also down the road for the best view of the road. the new cyo gives me that. I doubt they would use a dim standlight photo. if anything they would overexpose the pic to make the light look brighter. I thought I read somewhere the light had openings on the sides that's how the light appears near the bike on the sides. i'm very happy with the cyo premium that I now got on my bike. I got the old cyo on another bike it's still a great light, but I like the new one better. gotta love a wide beam on tight turns in the dark especially when you live in pothole city...

saturnsc2

well doesn't the luxos already do this at 140 lux with that cache battery? i wonder how much brighter these led lights can get with limited 6 volt 3 watt power. i'm surprised they don't make led lights to go with 12 volt 6 watt dynamos that exist, since everyone wants a super bright led light. twice the power twice the brightness right?

i find it interesting that everyone is always trying to come up with better lights, but they seem to ignore the power source. bicycle dynamos haven't really changed that much as far as design goes, asd especially the 6 volt 3 watt power output which is an old German standard dating way back to the stone ages......

speaking of dynamo output, i have seen vintage bottle dynamos on ebay that put out 18 volts 9 watts & 20 volts 10 watts. i wonder how the drag is with them... you obviously can't buy led lights that work off that kind of power unless you make them yourself if your electrically inclined...

kickstart

The luxos puts out 70 lux on low and 90 lux on high with the cache boost by illuminating all 5 emitters.

I have some vintage higher output dynos including a 12V 6w headlight/6V 3w tail light dual output, the additional drag is quite noticeable. To get more power out of a dyno one must put more work into it.

saturnsc2

Schmidt talked about producing a 12 volt 6 was hub dynamo some years go, but since the 6 volt led lights have become so bright they probably decided the extra drag isn't necessary & just stuck with the 6 volt models...

noglider 

Agreed! The well-intended German law goes too far. They have a light output maximum, which is severely dumb. I think there is also a rule that says lights must reach their maximum output at some low speed such as 11 km/h. Many of us cruise much faster than that.

I've done this. I bought a bunch of old sidewall dynamos on ebay and connected them to Busch and Müller lights. They work great. One of the dynamos put out about 15v according to my voltmeter, but that was without an electrical load. I don't know what the true output is. The lights have excellent voltage regulation, so you can safely overload their inputs. If you want one or two of my dynamos, let me know, as I have too many. Email me at the address below, and I'll see what I have. The drag is slightly annoying but tolerable. I use them only when I need them, in contrast with my dynamo hubs which I run day and night. In other words, I leave my lights on in the day, since I can't perceive the drag, and the light just might be enhancing my safety.

saturnsc2

all dynamos put out high voltage without a load. i did see dynamos on ebay which do specify they put out a constant 18 to 20 volts. they were vintage models from japan. on my bike i have a shimano hub dynamo, & on the back i have a 6 volt 3 watt dynamo & on the other side a 12 volt 6 watt dynamo. these were from old systems i don't use anymore, but i might hook something up to them in the future. i now have an iq cyo premium & new b&m toplight view on the back of the bike. both are always lit day & night & i don't feel any drag & even with the previous system which shut down during the day i still don't feel anything different...

i use to use 2 bottle dynamo systems in the past one as a high beam & still didn't feel any drag.

the voltage regulation on the b&m lights are great but i still would'nt run them off anything than a 6 volt dynamo because they might eventually fail with higher voltage dynamos...

noglider 

Well, I really don't know what I have. They may be 6v dynamos which put out 14v when there's no load. I'm willing to take the risk and change my practice when and if I blow a light.

You ran TWO sidewall dynamos at once? And you didn't feel them? What are you, Greg Lemond?

saturnsc2

i ride a lot through hills, parks, out in the country & as a result my legs are very strong. it's not necessary to overvolt any light as long as they get the correct voltage.

zacster

My one experience using a bottle dynamo was that you feel it instantly and it isn't subtle. I couldn't tell you what it was as it was on a borrowed bike. My hub dynamo I can feel when I switch on the light, but it is subtle and I've ridden with the light on during the day without realizing it.

As for the light in the subject, I'd be interested except that I have the Cyo Premium already myself and don't feel like I need another. I'd be more interested in 150 lux, if that is a real thing.

saturnsc2

ya i'm very happy with the premium also. i got the one with the daytiem running led's which make a difference. i liked the old cyo, but the new one is better... no drag felt with the hub & the bottles really not either...

noglider 

What kind of bottle dynamo do you use?

saturnsc2

i now use a shimano hub dynamo, but i use to use unionottles on the rear.i still have one on the rear of the bike & a 12 volt 6 watt dynamo on the other side which i currently don't use anymore. maybe i will hookup something to them in the future, but as far as lighting goes i'm satisified...

kickstart

I have a Sanyo NH-T8 rim dyno on my World Tourist that has as little, if not less drag as a hub dyno. Its unusual as the whole body of the dyno spins, and the roller is the size of the body. It does slip some in the wet on the steel rim, but doesn't slip on an alloy rim.

saturnsc2

wow i never seen one like that! it looks almost like a bottom bracket dynamo...

vol

Those of you who use dynamo, do you worry about it being stolen while parked on the street?

saturnsc2

when my bike is outside i'm on it. when i'm done riding it goes in my basement. it has a lot of gear on it which would certainly be stolen. anyway i never heard of a dynamo getting stolen, but the whole bike would!

kickstart

No, not at all.

kickstart

I had to order it from Holland.

randomgear

I bought a pitlock locking skewer for mine; so not really. When I park it downtown I tend to run a cable through it and the rear wheel into my u-lock, but that's mostly to keep the rear wheel from being stolen and I have enough left over for the front. I don't park it outside overnight, that would just be inviting someone to steal the whole bike or strip available parts off it.

noglider 

It's weird, but thieves don't go for that stuff. They go for other stuff. I once locked my bike in a bad neighborhood for too many hours. Someone tried to steal my bolted-on headlight, but he didn't have tools, and all he managed to do was twist the mount. I was able to twist it back into shape. I use a U lock for my frame and rear wheel and a cable for my front wheel. So far, so good, but I rarely lock the bike for long.

zacster

I bought a Krypto u-lock/cable combo and the cable goes through both wheels, and the ulock captures the cable and the frame. I never leave it locked for long enough outside for anyone to fiddle with the light. I'm usually just running into a store.

Reynolds 

Drag is probably high, as they must have strong springs to keep them from slipping - tire wear would increase too. Not practical IMO.

noglider 

I think my antique Miller Dynamo is a 12v model. I get full brightness at low speed, and the drag is quite high.

saturnsc2

it's probably bright for it's time but the newest even crappiest modern 6 volt led light will blow it away.....even with light drag & with a hub dynamo even lighter drag...

noglider 

@saturnsc2, I should clarify. The antique Dynamo powers two modern German style headlights. They have voltage regulators and capacitors. So I get full brightness, and I get it sooner than I do on my bike with dynohub and modern lights.