Originally Posted by
MassiveD
An OT question, but I think the people who know the answer may be here. Pre-LED the hubs developed X potential to drive those lights. Now people want to charge their USB stuff, so I doubt there will be a desire to drop the potential much. But if you just ran the generator system for lights, you could get the same amount of output we had with incandescent lights out of LEDs, for maybe 1/10th the electrical load. So the question is, what are the new LED generator light systems like. Do they just blow the old incandescent systems out of the water, or are they the same general light level, and the same general resistance on the pedals?
I used to have a fancy German system on a recumbent bike, and it ran off the tire. That would be a perfect technology to run at normal light levels, but with LEDs and with very much reduced drag, because those systems do let you know they are there, and they can badly wear your tire. But if they had near zero drag, they would be a real option for someone who just wanted to run lights.
The LED lights are much, much better than the old incandescent and even the halogen. I have several vintage bikes with the Sturmey Archer dyno hubs on them. The output on those hubs ranges from 1.6-2.0 watts. With the old lights it was more of a be seen that really see where you were going. I put LED lights on a couple of those hubs and I have as good a lighting as I get out of a car or motorcycle. IMHO some of the best
LED lights on the market come from B&M I have 4 different LED headlights from them. The Lumotec Cyo is the best of the ones I have. Edelux is another one that puts out an amazing amount of light.
Another huge advantage to the LED lights is no burned out bulbs, or blown bulbs because you over powered them on a downhill. On my city bike the light actually powers up enough at a walking pace to provide lighting to see by.
Aaron
