jade408

I am planning to go dynamo hub in the next few weeks. I did a scoping mission at one of the local bike shops. And I left a little confused.

They showed me a front light they just finished installing so I have no worries there. They are also super close to home and have done other work for me in the past.

They mentioned you cannot get a rear light if your bike hasn't been pre-wired/designed to support the rear light.

True or false? Is it possible to wire externally? Or too much hassle? Or something that requires lots of or different experience? Any insight would be appreciated!

The dynamo front light will make a difference, but I really need to get both squared away to be completely happy I hate having to charge lights!

kickstart

They express themselves poorly, you misunderstood what they said......or they're totally incompetent idiots.

All that needs to be done is run wire from the headlight along the frame to the tail light, securing it with zip ties or tape.

Here's some info.
More on Dynamo Lights
Busch & Muller Toplight Line Plus Rear Light Owner Review
Schmidt/Lumotec wiring instructions

jade408

Thanks. It sounded a little weird to me but you know how it goes.

skimaxpower

Many ways of rigging a rear light. The most common is to mount to rear bike rack or seatpost.

noglider 

That's just ridiculous. I think the blog post I cited shows how I wired my bike for both headlight and tail light. It takes only a few minutes. But take some tips from @southpawboston. I wish I had known his techniques before I did it. I still could redo it, and maybe I will one day. He glues heat-shrink tubing to his frame and runs the wires through that. It is much neater than zip ties or wrapping the wires around the frame.

f1xedgear

A ridiculous assertion, I agree. Shame on this LBS.

I use (and am happy with) a US-made dyno lighting system that has both a head and a tail light. You can see the tail-light install here.

noglider 

@f1xedgear, have you got a link to your lights?

f1xedgear

hiya noglider

Sure. If you mean can I give a link to the the manufacturer, Light On! (located in Beaverton, OR), it is here.

If you're asking to see the light set-up on my bikes, then (and I'm guessin' that you've probably already seen this thread) you can see that here.

Hope this answers?

noglider 

Wow, that's a lot of light to get out of a dynamo. Good news. If I read that thread, I had forgotten about it. Thanks.

fietsbob

I Use the wiring scheme of the Manufacturer , the hub powers the headlight, the headlight has a Hot+ lead and a ground- contact, that is the circuit powering the Tail light.

tape and zip tie down the 2 wire cord to the taillight , occasional spots where the heat shrink Tubing is good .

Following directions, the wire to my Brompton Taillight is taped to the rear shifter cable Then passes thru the right chainstay.

mrbubbles

The maker of that light is just commercializing a commonly used circuitry Dynamo LED Light Systems for Bicycles (electronic circuits) with a few tweaks, and using off-the-shelf parts.

Light On! has two LEDs. DIYers (me included) made 6 LEDs setups, 1000+ lumen is possible from dynamo power. I have two sets of them 6 LED setups. <<< This is why I don't bother with anything from B&M.

J.C. Koto

Very interesting. Would you be willing to post (or link to it if you already did) about your lamp setup?

mrbubbles

Circuitry is ziptied to the brake cable housing. No supercaps for standlights. Big thick cable for low-off-high.



Trekking bike. Circuitry and supercap is inside the steerer tube. The big thick cable is the remote for low-off-high.

Both lights have taillight wired in as well (with supercaps for the taillight as well).

1" tall by 2" wide. Heat sinked because it's 6 leds in a very small form factor.

https://forums.mtbr.com/lights-diy-do...iy-413443.html

J.C. Koto

thank you @mrbubbles

noglider 

Thank you, but now I'm disappointed. It looks very crude. I like my Philips and B&M lights, but having more light would be nice.

mrbubbles

Function over form, and I don't have access to machines to build me a housing.

Having more light is much nicer than my B&M.

kickstart

Other road and trail users might have a different opinion.

noglider 

The lights are pretty expensive. In and of itself, that's OK, because quality costs. But at that price level, how much more would it have cost to have nice housings? Not much, I'd guess. Having shaped beams would have increased the price significantly.

It looks like these lights fill a niche. I kind of wish I had them myself, but I'm not willing to plunk down that much on them. I'm glad they serve you well. I know once you spend the money, you don't regret it, since they'll probably last pretty well. One unexpected consequence of dynamo lighting is that the lights are bolted on the bike, which generally means they are more durable.

fietsbob

Wall-E has a cousin, now

J.C. Koto

Oh no you di'int

kickstart

It's a legitimate concern.
More light would be great, but if one often rides in environments where safety and courtesy precludes using it because its not a shaped beam, it becomes counter productive.

unterhausen

it might be a legit concern, but we have rehashed that subject to death. Let's let it lie for a few months?

noglider 

Let that be the torch he bears, uh, so to speak. We have our own crusades.

jade408

50% there. My tailight did not come with the wire to connect it to the front light. So i am waiting. But i did ride home with the front light. It was so nice to not have to deal with putting it on. Can't wait to get the rear one sorted.

himespau 

That's cool that you built your own. I wish I had the electrical confidence to do the same. As it is, I'm not entirely confident in my ability to wire up my B&M lights when they come in. I am looking forward to the challenge of trying to muddle through though.