Longevity of Sidewall Generators?

[IronMac]

I'm really curious about the longevity of sidewall generators such as Dymotec's offerings. Can anyone provide insight on this? Thanks.

[powerglide]

I used to own a few bikes with these sidewall generators. In fact back in Japan where I grew up almost all commuter/around town type bikes have em. I have never had any problems with them, very robust.

[cerewa]

i'd recommend against the ones you can buy at canadian tire/kmart/similar stores. The one I got was usable, but not really worth the $10 USD i paid for it. It had an overheating problem. (would shut off until cooled off, if i rode faster than ~ 12mph for more than a couple minutes) The incandescent bulbs burned out fairly quickly too.

I switched to cateye LED lights that I use on blinking mode, and I rarely have to worry about batteries-- i recharge 'em every 4 months or so.

You may have already known this, but from what I hear any sidewall generator is a poor choice in the rain. The one I had was hopeless in the rain, in any case.

[BearsPaw]

I used to own a few bikes with these sidewall generators. In fact back in Japan where I grew up almost all commuter/around town type bikes have em. I have never had any problems with them, very robust.

+1

There were plenty of bikes in Japan that looked like they'd had the snot beat out of them, but their generators still functioned. I think you'll be fine with one of these; it may outlast the bike!