Originally Posted by
electrik
...(and li-ion lights)...
...or dynamo lighting. In many ways it's perfect for winter riding -
1. Batteries (whether lith-ion or nimh) which have lower runtimes in the cold. Dynamo power doesn't - it's the same output.
2. I'm on the fence about whether I can tell whether the dynamo hub has drag, on long trips, in the summer, with smooth rolling summer tires. But with the rolling resistance of studded tires and the ground being covered with snow, any theoretical or slight extra amount of resistance is a non-issue.
3. You're not bombing down hill at 35mph like you are in the summer, so you need less light.
4. It's a lot brighter in the city at night when there's snow on the ground, so you need less light.
5. Modern LED dynamo lights put out enough light for me to bike around in the summer without additional light (albeit, not racing down twisty hills at 30mph or anything).
I don't think I ever use any extra light in addition to my dynamo light in the winter. Add them all together, that's probably why (all I know is that I never do, lol).