dwmckee

Well, I have been looking at both of these for a while now and finally placed my orders.

First a new product hand built and shipped directly from Germany - A very tiny and light dynamo that runs on the rim instead of in the hub or on the tire. This dynamo is supposed to be even lower drag when operating than any other as it has a lower output; it is tuned to meet the needs of modern LED lights only and not overbuilt to power Halogen lights so it is lighter (60 - 75g), smaller and supposedly quieter. https://www.velogical-engineering.com/rim-dynamo-en

I am coupling this with a new Edelux II from Peter White. https://peterwhitecycles.com/schmidt-headlights.asp

I will write a full review of both when I get them installed later this month. Until then, does anyone have experience with either if these yet? I am particularly interested in anyone that has tried the Velogical dynamo. They have shipped many to the US so far but I have not yet seen any US reviews.

zacster

I'm really interested in hearing about this. It is a little expensive, I think I saw 150eur which is about $200. My one concern would be about uneven rims. I keep my wheels trued up but I have a dent in the back of my commuter bike. I guess you only need one smooth rim.

I had a Magnic light taillight which operated as a non-contact, self contained light powered by the eddy currents generated by the rim and this worked very well. Unfortunately I lost it. Anybody that knew anything about lighting would look at it and be puzzled, they knew it was generated because it didn't have a standlight, but couldn't see any wires. It also had a brake light function. The light was attached to the brake arm, and when you applied the brakes it would move closer to the rim along with the brake, increasing the power it could grab.

dwmckee

Yeah I was interested in the magnic too but the cheap battery tail lights are so good and run so long on a couple AAAs. The velogical dynamo is pricey but if it works well it could be a viable alternative to an even pricier hub dynamo. I like the fact that when it is off there is zero drag. Even the best hub dynamos have drag when off. The better ones supposedly have drag equivalent to a 10 foot climb over a mile which sounds low until you think on a 100 mile ride that is a 1000 foot extra hill climb. That is not insignificant to me.

The drag, on or off is significant to me as I like to do distance riding and 1% of extra effort adds up significantly on longer rides. When I do not need light, I want to roll as absolutely freely as possible. It can mean I get several miles further before time runs out or I can sleep a little longer, etc.

Bandera

Interesting & timely.
Pics please w/ the review.

-Bandera

zacster

I'm feeling the same way about headlights. A cheap rechargeable headlight provides light for a long enough time for my needs. I use it on my one hour or so commute, and on flash mode, pretty much standard in NYC, it lasts for a lot longer than that. I plug the light into my computer in my office and I'm good to go by the time I leave.

I almost pulled the trigger on a dynamo hub though, but then thought about what the full cost would be for hub, rim, spokes, wiring and the light itself, and then it wouldn't be swappable between my commuter and my road bike.

dwmckee

I ordered this with 2 different mounts so I can swap it among 3 different bikes I use. I have been using battery lights also for ever and recently I got caught yet again miles from home and batteries pooping out. My fault I know but it has happened one too many times for me and I finally decided I'd try a dynamo system. I had been thinking hub dynamo but hated the idea of constant drag even when light is off (albeit slight with the better units), after I have spent so much on everything else to gain efficiency. Also the cost of a building a new wheel on top of the dynamo cost and wasting the money I have spent on my current wheel. I was going to go with a bottle dynamo that rides on the tire, but I had flashbacks of the one I had as a kid so I kept looking for a better solution and I found this. This thing is way more expensive than a bottle dynamo but way cheaper than total cost of a hub unit. It seems quite well made and I am hoping it works out. It may be several weeks before I get everything delivered, hooked up and evaluated.

fietsbob

Knowing how easy it is to crash your bike riding your rubber tires on a metal plate in the street,
I will remain skeptical about the rubber roller traction on a rim wet every time it goes around
on a wet street in the rain.

*but I Will Watch


apparently not so cost conscious, ? New B&M Eyc retails for $80, the Edelux comes in at $x2+
The II wont be cheaper, than the 1st.

And Asia sells dyno-hubs for less than Schmidt. , but *early adopt away ..


Got a Shimano-hub wheel for $99, & Lyt,BN headlight just before seeing the Eyc,
so will change out the conservative output light, soon.

the Lyt BN was a disappointment. (but I can see the pre wired plug being a factory assembly convenience).


My Bike Friday had a SON hub , got an Edelux1 for it.

zacster

I never get caught miles from home. We have the subway! I've never been outside the city limits when it gets dark. I have had batteries die on me, but close enough to my house that I just finish the ride. This is usually only because I forget to charge.

dwmckee

I share your skepticism as well, but I am not sold on the other solutions as best for my needs either so this is my process of still looking. I do not commute, just ride for pleasure so I do not ride in the rain that often. Most of my night riding is unplanned so I get caught without fresh batteries occasionally, etc. Once in a while I do a distance ride that finishes at night as well so the dyno comes in for the latter part of the ride. For me I need occasional dependable light that is not a drag on my cycling when I do not need it. I am hoping this works out, but I do share your skepticism. Peter White is selling the Edelux II for $195 and should be shipping first orders in about a week. You have to call about it though as it is not listed on his site yet.

I am hoping this is okay in the rain, and expecting it will suck in snow, but I ride very little in snowy conditions...

Road Fan

Fiets, did you build or buy the Shimano wheel, and which hub did it have?

fietsbob

DW, Peter White is the NA distributor too, I have my LBS order from him , saves me shipping cost.
spade connector is coming assuming a SON hub dynamo, with one its plug and play.

I have built a Schmidt 'classic' Hub in 2 26" wheels 1 black 6 bolt disc the other polished w/o disc mount


RF, I got a built wheel, it's for my Brompton, they make a 74mm wide axle version for folding bikes ..

also under the Caprio line, Bike Friday buys those for their Tikit builds so there is that as well ..

Brompton uses a 28 hole , BF likes 24, for same 349 wheel rim sizes..
[Shimano has it's own plug, using a bare wire pair to put into it's 2 pieces.. ]

dwmckee

The one thing different about a wet rubber roller on a rim and a wet tire on a steel plate is that the roller on the rim cannot slip sideways, slide off or move out of alignment. It could slip in place, but I am hoping that the traction remains sufficient to get good generation even in the rain. I'll just have to check it out and let you know when I can get it mounted and some miles on it. (Nothing has arrived here yet so still waiting.)

fietsbob

Cross your fingers .. magnetic resistance still can be more than the wet metal and rubber O ring friction.

dwmckee

Yeah, I know that still may be a concern. Just have to see when I get it and set it up. I do not do much riding in wet weather at night though but still something to be concerned about... (If it is raining I just stay home so should not be a significant issue for me.)

DAME

I'm VERY interested to read any review you have on this. Sounds impressive.

dwmckee

Just a quick update. I should be receiving everything this week (slow shipping from Germany) and probably will not have everything set up for few weeks. My brother in law is setting up some test instrumentation for me that we plan to run this through after Christmas, so I should be able to post both some riding results and numerical performance charts as well (assuming we get some decent riding weather here in Pittsburgh around then). I am very interested to see how this works out as well because at least for me this is a much better solution than either a hub unit or a bottle unit. We will see...

Barrettscv 

More info on the Magnic: https://www.bikerumor.com/2013/12/03/...re-studs-more/

zacster

I may have to buy another Magnic light just because I thought it was so cool. I still have the bracket on my bike from where it fell.

Bandera

User review please.

zacster

Later tonight when I have time to really give it some thought.

fietsbob

Further down the bikerumor link post there is a built into the seatpost LED light..
from what I see other than the straight post they offered for Brompton,
the Head looks like they modified a low cost Kalloy, rather than a good post with a micro adjust Head.

zacster

As for the Magnic light, here are my thoughts/review. I only bought a taillight so what I say here only applies to that, but the front lights are the same build with a clear lens.

First off, this thing is really cool. It just works with no other attachments. It is totally self contained. It is bright. Motorists have stopped to ask where I got it from, what kind it is, what batteries does it use. Of course I have to try to explain it. It must not be so bright, or the lens does a good defusing job, that it blinds people since nobody complained about that. It was very visible even during the day.

Installation was a bit harder than I thought. Basically it attaches to the caliper at the brake pad. It has to ride right next to the rim, hence the brake pad. But in order to attach it you need to have a screw that can fit with the bracket, and nothing seemed to want to work, but eventually I made it work. Also, my bike has canti's, which are probably the hardest to work out.

It doesn't have a stand light so it goes dark as soon as you stop. I wouldn't think an extra cap would add much to the cost to make this work, but maybe the size and the magnets inside were an issue. I know the final product that I bought was reduced in size from the original, so maybe he was trying to keep it as compact as possible.

The few people that knew about lighting, dynamos, etc... that looked at it were puzzled because there were no wires, no obvious battery, and yet it stopped when I stopped, so it had to be self powered. It is powered by the eddy currents generated by the spinning rim, yes even a non-magnetic aluminum rim. The magnets inside pick up the current and generate the power for the light. The claim is "Free Energy", but nothing is really free. I would assume the magnets generate a drag against the eddy current, and hence the wheel. But if anybody could actually feel that I'd be surprised. I certainly couldn't tell. Are we harnessing energy lost to heat? I don't know. Just like with good dynamo hubs, most people can't tell.

Ultimately the greatest failure was the mount. I lost it because the mounting screw loosened, and there is nothing else to tether it to the bike. And unfortunately I noticed that it was gone 10 miles from where I last saw it. Oh well. If I buy another one I'll do something to secure it better. The season is almost over for me anyway, and generally in the spring I don't find myself in the dark as much, and certainly once daylight savings starts I almost never do. Maybe I'll wait for the next generation.

dwmckee

Well, sorry for the long delay, but here is a graph of performance for the Trekking model of the Velogical dyno running an Edelux II headlight.

noglider 

Does this mean that even at 20 km/h you get less than one watt?

dwmckee

No. Watts are on the left scale, not the right. At 20 kph you are just above 4 watts it looks like. At around 12 KPH (~7-8 mph) you hit 1 watt output. At about 14.5 kph (~9 mph)you hit 2 watts. They sell 3 different output models and this is the middle one (Trekking). They sell a higher output unit that has higher wattage at lower speeds if you need it. I like this one because it has ample power in the ranges I ride in. If it had higher output I'd be putting in more of my own power and wasting the output. The other great thing is that when you are not using it there is zero drag (unlike hubs which always add slight drag).

I know this not for everyone, but I personally am pretty happy with it. It is on the pricey side, but that is not such a big deal to me as I am willing to pay for something that really solves a problem for me the way I like it.

I had a lot of opportunity for wet weather riding this spring and I can say with certainty that it has zero slippage problem in wet weather. It really is ideal for LED lighting. All of the other dynos on the market are older technology based on higher drain pre LED lighting. (All of the dyno models out there are basically unchanged for the past decade, and have not updated to optimize for the lower power needs of LED lights.)

I'll have to say that the mounting system is a bit crude, but once you have it set it is very solid and dependable. The only caution is that this is not for riding in mud that can get up to your rims. If that happens you are going to have some trouble with it working properly. I ride roads and crushed gravel and this has never skipped a beat.