Originally Posted by
PaulRivers
Your idea of battery lights being better, is from a time when lights weren't very efficient and you needed batteries to get a decent amount of light.
Clearly this is a "be seen and don't ride to fast" kind of light. I wouldn't have bothered with a dynamo hub if this was all I was getting.
But here's an image from last year with a dynamo light (the Cyo - around $100, I own it) -
Here's an image from this year's dynamo light (The Luxos U - $160 to $240 depending on model) -
(Images from Peter White's site - note that it's not greenish in person, it's just a camera white balance problem).
These images are a little brighter and clearer than you'd see in real life - but in real life they're better or as good as my battery lights in actual use as well. In order actually beat my battery lights in real use, I have to run a Sec 900 on high and Seca 1400 on medium - 2 batteries, very expensive, and blinding even for some cars.
If someone wants to be as cheap as possible in the short term while still having enough light to ride with, a battery light is the way to go. If someone wants the least daily-hassle light to use, a dynamo is better.
The original question posted by Aznman was about
cheap and bright light systems which, I think, has been adequately answered. I'm not adverse to spending money on bikes and bike equipment but I don't consider $160 to $240 to fall into that category. It's very difficult to compete with bright lights that cost less than $30.
There is also the problem of multiple lights on multiple bikes. Even $160 adds up if you want to use more than one bike for commuting. I have 7, with several different wheel configurations so I would need several dynamo hubs and several light systems compared to the ease of simply moving the light from bike to bike.
Dynamo systems also suffer from some other problems such as a lack of ability to use multiple lamps, especially a helmet mounted lamp. The cord from a helmet light to a Camelbak is hard enough to deal with, I couldn't imagine a cord running down to the bike.
But let's not what drives light innovation and has since the mid90s...off-road use. Commuters reap the benefit of the technology but the technology isn't made for us. Dynamo systems just don't work for off-road use where you might have to stop for a trail object or where you might be traveling at slow (<3 mph) speed or you might have to walk and/or carry your bike some distance. Dynamos just aren't practical there so there is little incentive to work on their development.