Originally Posted by
interested
I don't know about where you ride, but ninja riders actually do exist and not in any small number either. You seem to say, that if people always remembered their lights and never forgot to recharge them etc, then there wouldn't be any ninja cyclists.
No. What I'm saying is that they're Ninja cyclists by choice the vast majority of the time and if they chose to use any light at all they wouldn't be.
Originally Posted by
interested
My point is, that forgetting, making wrong predictions, having small accidents is what people do and experience all the time, which is why ninja cyclists are seen all the time. So if you see a ninja cyclist, chances are that it isn't because he can afford lights or doesn't own any, that he rides without lights in the dark.
I think we're running into a cultural difference. Believe it or not, people here willingly and consciously hop on a bike at night knowing full well that they have no operable lights. We're starting to see fewer ninjas recently because the police have started ticketing and it's a hefty fine.
Originally Posted by
interested
Exactly, human behavior is. Humans make a lot of right decisions a lot of the time, but they also make mistakes. Having dynamo lights simply takes out the "human error" element when it comes to lights, which is why dynamo light equipped bikes almost never are ninja bikes.
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Regards
Again, I'm not going to argue that dynamo lights don't have their advantages. However, they don't work any more reliably than a battery powered light if they're not actually installed on the bike. That was the OP's problem. He didn't have any lights installed, dynamo powered or otherwise. I'm not trying to beat him up over it either. He made a mistake or two and he lived. I just don't think the situation he found himself in is a convincing argument for getting a dynohub.
The bike share program that I'm a member of uses bikes with dynohubs and it makes perfect sense for that type of bike. I wish the lights stayed on for at least a little bit while you're stopped but I understand that's not a problem with all models. Still, I think a light that stays bright while you're not moving can be really valuable too.